| For updates, see San Diego Education Report Blog. |
| LeBlanc v. Poway Unified School District |
| Poway's attorney Jeffery Morris does not say whether there was discussion about getting rid of the teacher. |
| Jury awards teen $25,000 for incident at Rose Parade By Alex Roth UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER November 22, 2002 A jury awarded $25,000 yesterday to a Rancho Bernardo High School baritone player who was throttled by the school's band director after the boy showed up wearing orange socks for the 2001 Tournament of Roses Parade. A lawyer for 16-year-old Travis LeBlanc, who quit the school's marching band after the incident, said the boy wore orange socks that day because he lost his regulation white ones. A lawyer for the school said the teen-ager was playing a prank. In its verdict, the San Diego Superior Court jury found band director Tom Cole and the Poway Unified School District liable for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. According to testimony, Cole noticed the boy's orange socks, grabbed him by the throat, shook him back and forth and yelled, "I ought to wring your (expletive) neck." "There's a no-violence policy at the school and it should hold for teachers as well as students," said the boy's mother, Keri LeBlanc, a nurse practitioner at Children's Hospital in Kearny Mesa. Jeffery Morris, a lawyer for the district, wouldn't comment yesterday on whether Cole, who is still the school's band director, was ever disciplined. He said Cole overreacted to a prank that was uncovered "minutes before they were getting ready to step into the parade and onto national television." "There were some issues with this young man in terms of his attitude and performance and there was discussion of him leaving the band before this ever happened," Morris said. [Maura Larkins' note: Did the boy consider leaving the band because of an abusive teacher?] The teen-ager was 14 at the time and is now a senior. His lawyer, Bob Fuselier, said the boy's mother decided to sue only after the school refused to apologize. "It really came down to the fact that they wouldn't do anything or say they were sorry," Fuselier said. Fuselier said the boy had a limited choice of footwear after discovering his white uniform socks missing that morning. The band, the Royal Regiment, wears blue and white uniforms. Being chosen to march in the annual parade on New Year's Day in Pasadena is a major honor for a high school band, guaranteeing national exposure. "He had a choice – wear no socks, or wear the orange socks he got for Christmas," Fuselier said. At trial, Fuselier asked for $150,000, saying the boy suffered such emotional trauma that he quit the band and no longer plays an instrument. The boy suffered no major physical damage. Alex Roth: (619) 542-4558; alex.roth@uniontrib.com |
| Music teacher assaults teenager Instead of apologizing, school has lawyer Jeffery Morris smear the victim |
| This case is headed back to court in 2008: |
| Poway Unified |
| Rancho Bernardo High School-- District lawyer--Dan Shinoff District attacks students who changed grades |
| (Missing article) [An article that used to be in this spot has apparently been hacked. I apologize that I am unable to find a copy of the article. Poway's lawyers, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz are suing me for defamation, but I trust they didn't do the hacking.] |
| The San Diego Reader Blog by Jay Allen Sanford March 21, 2008 Rancho Bernardo High School band student Trevor LeBlanc presented a much more convincing case for his own “emotional distress.” In his civil lawsuit against the Poway Unified School District and RBHS band director Tom Cole, LeBlanc contended that Cole yelled at him and assaulted him for wearing the wrong color socks at the 2001 Tournament of Roses Parade, reportedly pulling him out of formation and saying "I ought to wring your [expletive] neck" and "I want to bash in your [expletive] face." Then 16 years old, the student claimed the band director grabbed his throat, shaking him back and forth and pulling his instrument, a baritone horn, out of his hands. After the incident, LeBlanc quit the Rancho Bernardo High School band. During the civil trial, associate RBHS band director Gary Horimoto testified that he saw Cole shake LeBlanc’s shoulders and pull the boy from the line formation, but he hadn’t seen Cole grab the student’s neck or swear at him. In November 2002, a jury found the youth’s “emotional and physical distress” to be worth $25,000.00 in damages, because Cole was negligent when he grabbed LeBlanc and yelled at him for wearing orange socks. The actual band colors are blue and white. |
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