Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a sexual harassment case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this sexual harassment case and its proceedings.)
INJURIES: The plaintiff sought recovery in the form of injunctive relief, i.e., an extension of the modified temporary restraining order.
Facts:
In April 2010, the petitioner, a 16-year-old female student at a Sacramento high school claimed that she was sexually harassed by Andrew Santos, an academic counselor at the Sacramento High School. The petitioner filed a complaint with the Sacramento Unified School District, in accordance with the district’s sexual harassment complaint policy, but after a district investigation, administrators chose not to remove Santos from his position.
The petitioner appealed the investigation determination to the district superintendent, asking that Santos be removed from any position that put him in contact with female students. After the district decided not to remove Santos, the petitioner applied for a temporary restraining order with the County Superior Court Aug. 31, 2010, before the school year began, which would keep Santos 100 yards (and later modified upon stipulation to 50 yards) from her and her home at all times.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
The petitioner alleged that throughout the 2009-10 school year, Santos instigated inappropriate behavior on several occasions, including hugging her while placing his face on her chest and his hands on her waist, talking about her hair, caressing her inner thigh, placing his nose on her neck and telling her she smelled good, and patting her buttocks as she left his office.
The district’s investigation concluded that there were no witnesses to the alleged incidents and that Santos denied the allegations, but the investigation also determined that the student was “more credible” and that Santos “engaged in inappropriate and unprofessional behavior contrary to District policy.” Santos returned to his usual position. The district claimed it “took into consideration the size of the high school” and the “ability to minimize contact” between the student and Santos in deciding to retain him at the high school.
“We believe that with these precautions, there is little or no chance that any additional offensive contact between the two will occur,” a letter from a district administrator stated.
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.