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Eastern District of Pennsylvania Finds that School District Immunity does not Extend to Teacher’s Alleged Intentional Torts

8/19/19

By: Erin Lamb

An Eastern District of Pennsylvania judge ruled that the Philadelphia School District is immune from a lawsuit wherein a special education student was allegedly choked by his special education teacher. However, District Judge Gerald Pappert also ruled that the plaintiffs, the student and his mother, will still be able to seek punitive damages against the teacher over the allegations.
Plaintiffs allege that in March 2018, a special education teacher grabbed the fifth-grade student by his neck. The teacher was allegedly irate that the student had not put his pencil back in the right place. The Complaint alleges that the teacher choked the student and repeated pushed his head and body against the schoolroom wall, during class, and in front of other students.
The student’s mother sued and has alleged the use of excessive force against her son, deprivation of equal protection, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and assault and battery. She further alleged deliberate indifference by the School District to students’ rights to be free from excessive force because of an alleged failure to adequately train, supervise, or discipline its employees.
Judge Pappert ruled that plaintiffs failed to adequately plead their failure to train claims, and that the school was immune from the intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery claims. Judge Pappert noted that the School District had a policy regarding excessive force that the teacher appeared to have disobeyed and rejected the argument that that immunity extended to the teacher. Plaintiffs’ allegations were sufficient to present a range of punitive damages claims against the teacher under both Section 1983, and the allegations of intentional tort.
Plaintiffs were granted leave to amend the Complaint to attempt “one last time” to allege facts to support her allegations of deliberate indifference against the School District,  but were not granted leave to amend any other claims against the School District.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Erin Lamb at elamb@fmglaw.com.

Tucker v. Sch. Dist. of Phila., No. 19-889, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136591 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 13, 2019)