Vocabulary
To be held responsible
What is liable?
Negligent teaching that injures a student intellectually or physically may lead to the school being accused of ______ as in B.M. v. State of Montana (1982).
What is educational malpractice? In this case, a special education student was placed in a segregated classroom where the student’s behavior worsened leading to the mother accusing the school of negligently misplacing the student.
Rewarded when defendants have shown malice, fraud, or reckless disregard for an injured person’s safety or constitutional rights
What is punitive damages? Punitive damages were sought in Benner v. St Paul Public School (2019) when Benner challenged the school on their racial equity policy, ultimately causing him to resign and pursue punitive damages.
A plaintiff contributed to the accident therefore eliminating them from collecting damages as in Mils v. School District No. 138 of Cheyenne County (1979)
What is contributory damages?
Jodeen Miles severed two of her finger while attempting to pull a piece of wood out of a machine during shop class. This was against the safe practices her instructor has taught.
The degree of care a teacher of ordinary prudence would have used under like circumstances
What is reasonable care?
Appointing employees that should be known to be unfit and may put others at an unreasonable risk for harm or injury as in School Board of Orange County v. Coffey (1988).
What is negligent hiring?
The superintendent and the school board in Orange County were found negligent of willful conduct when they hired a teacher who sexually abused a student, considering it is their “common law duty” to protect others.
A small symbolic award where the plaintiff has been wronged but has not been able to show actual damages as in Farrar v. Hobby (1992)
What is nominal damages? Joseph and Dale Farrar sued the lieutenant governor of Texas, William Hobby, Jr. alleging depravity of property and liberty without due process and sought $17 million. He was denied, appealed, an awarded $1 in nominal damages.
Laws that permit the judge or jury to compare the relative negligence of the plaintiff and the defendant in causing the injury and to reduce the award to the plaintiff in proportion to the negligence.
What is comparative negligence?
In this court case in Louisiana, a physical education teacher was found liable for mental anguish and suffering after pretending to hang the student’s friends, while also causing personal humiliation.
What is Simpson v. State (1999)?
Reimbursement to injured persons for their actual losses (i.e. medical expenses, lost salary, etc.) that incurred as a result of the defendant’s negligence as in Memphis Community School District v. Stachura (1986)
What is compensatory damages? The respondent was suspended after many parents complained the seventh grade teacher was showing sexually explicit material in his life-science class. He sued for compensatory and punitive damages and they were granted while he also stated an impairment of reputation.
A common-law theory that states that since the state and its agencies are sovereign, they cannot be sued without their consent & should not be liable for the negligence of their employees.
What is governmental immunity?
The winner of a lawsuit
What is prevailing party?
This law provides individuals the right to sue employees based on civil rights violations as in Monell v. Department of Social Services the City of New York (1978).
What is Section 1983?
The United States Supreme Court overruled Monroe v. Pape stating that a local government can be sued based on civil rights violations.
The exists when the injury that has been sustained is the foreseeable result of negligence as in Broward County School Board v. Ruiz (1986).
What is proximate cause?
Broward County School Board was held liable for lack of supervision of the area in which a student was attacked and injury by other students while on school grounds. The court stated the misbehavior of the students was a foreseeable result of no supervision.
The government’s freedom from being sued for money damages without its consent.
What is sovereign immunity?
In Byrnie v. Cromwell Board of Education (2001), an art teacher was authorized to submit a claim against age discrimination under the ADEA, against the local school board.
With the intent to not take an unfair advantage and fulfill a promise to the other party as to not destroy the benefits of a contract etc.
What is a good faith standard?