The State of the Union
Oh sweet New Jersey you never fail to amaze me. Your roads and bridges are abysmal, nine glorious state parks are proposed to close and you have the highest property taxes in the nation and in today’s (4/17/09) Star Ledger we get more greatness from you…..
Teacher wins ruling, can sue JC ed board
By MARY FUCHS
THE STAR-LEDGER
TRENTON – A Jersey City teacher who was taken to a hospital after another teacher said she had threatened her students may sue the school district for “defamation” and causing “emotional distress,” the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
But the court said Sopharie Leang could not accuse the city’s Board of Education of “assault” and “battery” because her medical records did not show she was harmed after the police brought her to the hospital.
The justices said public school teachers are first and foremost responsible for students’ safety in the event of a threat. But even while trying to protect students, teachers and administrators are still accountable for their actions if they falsely accuse someone, the court said in a 6-0 decision.
While counting books in front of 22 students at School 11, Leang told her colleague, Vladimir Ashworth, that she was sick with laryngitis and that the “amount of stress in (her) body could have killed someone,” according to court documents.
Ashworth, who had been previously accused of sexual harassment by Leang, told the school nurse and principal, Angela Bruno, that Leang intended to “kill 22 people.”
Because of the court’s decision, Leang will now be able to sue Jersey City’s Board of Education for invading her privacy and forcing her to go through a physical and psychological examination.
Howard Nirenberg, the lawyer for the Jersey City Board of Education, said the decision “pretty much addresses the reality of the world we live in today.”
