Why go to school? Kid gets expelled, sues and wins $200,000

[proud2BlibKansan]

MICDS agrees to pay $200,000 to family of expelled student
By David Hunn
Of the Post-Dispatch
07/09/2005

One of the area's most prestigious private schools has agreed to pay $200,000 to the family of a student expelled for soliciting and distributing nude photos of a ninth-grade classmate.

The settlement draft marks the end of a scandal that shocked Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School two years ago, when students chatting on the Internet persuaded a girl to send them pictures of her in naked poses.

According to court documents filed last month, MICDS officials agreed to pay the $200,000 to the family of Matthew Beath, destroy his discipline records and send a letter to students and parents.

The letter, to be signed by both the school's headmaster and Beath's parents, acknowledges that the $17,000-a-year upper school in Ladue should have done some things differently and that, indeed, it has improved discipline policies since the trouble two years ago.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/education/story/88B9B2DCB2F066FF8625703A000E9728?OpenDocument

[FreedomAngel82]

1. Why did they do that?

He was doing an illegal act (distributing underage porn) and should've gotten punished. Why did the kid win the court case? I don't get it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. I don't get it either.

But it is a private school. My dad was an administrator at a private school and the parents threatened and filed lawsuits all the time - especially when their kids got kicked out. One time a kid was kicked out because his parents did not pay his tuition. When his parents asked for a transcript, the school said not until you pay your bill. The parents sued and won - got the transcript AND some money.

[atre]

20. That surprises you? You think that schools can withold transcripts?

for nonpayment of tuition?

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. It wasn't his case

But no, that doesn't surprise me. In fact, because of this case, I know schools can NOT withhold transcripts. Even if you DO owe them money.

When I was ready to graduate from college, I was told I owed money for parking tickets on campus and my transcript was being held until I paid the fines. Funny thing was, I didn't own a car then and had never driven on campus, much less parked there. So my dad had his attorney write a letter and my transcript was released. I still have that letter. The attorney didn't even mention the fact that I didn't have a car. The law was on my side - it was MY transcript. I also got about 20 copies of it - free of charge :)

[Massacure]

5. The school interrogated the boy without a lawyer or his parents.

That seems to be the problem the parents of the boy had. I don't know the circumstances around the interrogation though, or its legality.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Well guess what?

They can do that.

[atre]

25. You're absolutely right about that

There's no state action when a private school interrogates a kid.

The causes of action asserted here are defamation (not for the nude pictures issue, as the article seems to suggest, but rather for the republication of the same girl's charge of rape against the boy) and invasion of privacy (which encompasses four different torts, and I can't be sure which applies here without more information).

The only good reason for the school to settle would be if the girl's accusations of rape were not accurate.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. Bingo!

I think you are right about the false rape accusations.

But one of the little facts most people don't realize is that the school can interrogate kids without parents present. I think even a public school can do this.

My son went to a Catholic high school and the cops came to the school one day to interview a bunch of kids there about a shooting at a high school football game. It wasn't their school's game, but a bunch of those kids had been present and were potential witnesses. Anyway, the school called me and asked if I wanted to be present while my son was interviewed. They made it clear that the cops or the school officials could interview him without a parent present. But I was one of 'those' parents who they knew would complain if I wasn't notified. So I called my cousin the attorney and he said yes, they could interview him with or without my permission. And he advised me to hightail it over there and sit in on the interview, which I did.

[chalky]

10. There seems to be a huge gap in the story between how the pictures got

out and how this Beath kid got involved, but I suspect this bit says loads:

"The Beaths were shocked. The family had deep roots at the school."

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. The girl used the school's server to post her nude pictures

So why was she not expelled?

[bluestateguy]

2. Looks like college is paid for

Most private school administrators know not to fuck with the parents because they have the resources to sue and actually win.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. I doubt they needed the proceeds of this lawsuit to pay for college

This is a very expensive private school. If these parents could afford the tuition, they can afford college.

[bluestateguy]

8. True

I guess it just goes into the kid's already large trust fund.

A few months in Iraq would straigten out little shits like this guy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. I went to a school just like this in KC

and trust me, none of my classmates ended up in the military. Most went on to college so they had something to do while waiting for daddy's money.

[Horse with no Name]

14. and a great attorney

Incredibly stupid.
The kid should have been kicked out.
Sad thing is, the victim got nothing.:shrug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. Victim?

She took nude pictures of herself and posted them on the internet, using the school's server. Doesn't seem like much of a victim to me.

[Horse with no Name]

22. While this is true

but I didn't have a better word to use--but HER naked pictures were posted. She got nothing. Doesn't seem either of them should get anything--but if one of them should have--it should have been her and not him.
Does that make sense?lol
I guess I didn't complete my train of thought.
There just isn't much personal accountability these days.:shrugs:

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Yes, I agree

if either of these kids had to benefit, it should have been her. I still have a hard time feeling sorry for either one of them though. I can't even imagine how stupid a kid has to be to take nude pictures of herself AND post them on the internet, using the SCHOOL'S SERVER. sheesh.

[Kerrytravelers]

3. This is our future, people. No responsibility.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Thank you

precisely my point in posting this.

[seabeyond]

13. betcha they voted bush too, wink n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. No doubt

I am sure they did too.

[atre]

16. Is anyone wandering what that article didn't tell us?

This is one of the corporate media's standard attacks on the legal profession: take a real-life claim, mention a few of the surrounding facts, and cast it in as ridiculous a light as possible. People always bite the bait.

OK, after a more extensive review, the problem was the author of this piece makes the kid's involvement in the nude pictures incident as a cornerstone of his legal claim against the school. From what I can tell, the problem was that the girl accused the same kid of rape. The kid then turned around and sued the school for defamation and invasion of privacy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. I want to know

what happened to this girl who posted porn on the internet.

[sakabatou]

18. Hu-wha?

Is up still down? Is black still white?

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Not in La La Land

where the rich people live.

[sakabatou]

23. Oh, of course

That's where money grows on tree and liberalism is a mental disorder :sarcasm:

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. I happen to know wealthy people who are avid liberals

but they are a minority, that's for sure.

[sakabatou]

29. Un