The exterior of the Oconto Falls Schools District Office is seen Jan. 22, 2021. PC: Fox 11 Online
OCONTO FALLS, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Oconto Falls school board asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit alleging it failed to properly supervise teachers who committed sexual misconduct with students “not to argue that sexual misconduct is acceptable or ever tolerated in its schools but because as a matter of law it cannot be financially liable for the acts of reprehensible teachers,” according to a new court filing.
Multiple former students filed the civil lawsuit, which contains allegations ranging from locker room intrusions, inappropriate physical contact, inappropriate dress requirements, sexual assault by a fellow student and inappropriate relationships with staff members. The amended complaint includes allegations against 11 staff members. Two of those have been charged: Gayle Gander, whose case is currently working its way through the courts; and Brynn Larsen, a former substitute teacher and volleyball coach who spent two years in prison after she pleaded no contest in 2021 to sexual assault involving one of the plaintiffs.
In its response, the school board said: “Teachers who engage in sexual misconduct should face consequences—the loss of their employment, criminal prosecution, and civil liability for the damages they cause.”
However, the district said it doesn’t have “financial liability for the nefarious misconduct of a few bad employees.”
In addition to arguing the district isn’t liable under the law, it also raises the of timeliness.
“As to each Plaintiff, the requirement to plead that the District had actual notice of their claims becomes a catch-22. Without allegations of facts to show actual notice and deliberate indifference, their claims fail. But, if Plaintiffs argue that they have plead facts to plausibly suggest that the District had actual notice of their claims, their claims will fail because they are barred by the relevant statute of limitations,” the response states.
Also, the district said there’s nothing to show any policy or practice contributed to the individual acts of the staff members.
“There is nothing plead in the Third Amended Complaint that comes close to suggesting that there are facts that plausibly suggest a direct causal link between the District’s alleged actions and the deprivation of Plaintiffs’ federal rights by the alleged perpetrator. Simply because a Plaintiff experienced sexual misconduct does not plausibly suggest that a District policy or custom it was the moving force behind it. Id. Here, where the allegations involve acts of intentional sexual misconduct by particular employees, it cannot be said that the District caused, i.e., was the “moving force” behind the injury alleged. There are no facts to show a “causal connection, or affirmative link” between the conduct complained of and the District. Any other conclusion would impermissibly hold the District liable for the actions of its employee,” the district argued.
The district asked for the case to be dismissed.
The plaintiffs have not replied to the district’s brief.
No hearings have been scheduled.
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