School lawsuit deal put on hold

Judge to review high court ruling

FAYETTEVILLE — A federal court judge said he wants to review a U.S. Supreme Court ruling before he decides whether to approve a settlement in a Title IX sexual harassment lawsuit against the Huntsville School District in Madison County.

In a hearing Thursday morning in Fayetteville, U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks asked Joey McCutchen, the attorney for Rebecca Nelle, why her minor child — identified as B.N. — would be willing to accept a $1 settlement if he had suffered permanent emotional injuries as the complaint alleged.

McCutchen cited Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller PLLC, which the Supreme Court decided in April.

Dividing 6-3 along ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled that victims of discrimination that is forbidden by four federal statutes may not sue if the only harm was emotional distress, according to The New York Times.

McCutchen said the Supreme Court ruling limited damages in the Nelle case to “actual economic damages,” and B.N. incurred no economic damages “to the best of my knowledge.”

McCutchen had offered to waive his attorney fees and to settle for only $1 if the Huntsville School Board would admit liability in the case and see that all teachers and administrative staff got Title IX training, which the board voted unanimously to do in a meeting on July 25.

In Thursday’s hearing, Brooks said his job is to see that the settlement is fair to Nelle’s minor child, who according to the lawsuit, was abused on 14 occasions while being held down against his will by older basketball players at

the middle school.

Brooks also asked McCutchen if he is using this settlement as a “loss leader for other cases,” meaning that if the School Board admitted liability, would that open the door for McCutchen to file suit on behalf of other plaintiffs seeking financial rewards over the same issues?

McCutchen said he currently represents no other students in the Huntsville School District, but he previously represented one in state court over violations of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act pertaining to disciplinary action and allegations of locker-room sexual abuse.

McCutchen said he doesn’t foresee representing any other clients over the same issues regarding the School District.

Nelle filed the lawsuit Sept. 10, 2021, saying the School District knew that students on the boys middle school basketball team were being sexually harassed and sexually assaulted by older boys and did little or nothing to stop it. School officials maintained they first learned of the locker-room incidents in February 2021.

Nelle’s lawsuit cites Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which ensures that all students — male and female — have access to and equality in education. It offers a wide range of protection related to athletics, admission, housing and sexual harassment, among others.

The complaint alleges federal Title IX violations arising from deliberate indifference to and actual knowledge of sexual harassment and sexual assault of multiple students; the district’s failure to promptly and properly investigate reports of sexual harassment; and that a hostile education environment was created that denied B.N. and other students access to educational opportunities.

According to the suit, ninth- grade players on the team would “engage in forcible sexual assault” by holding an eighth-grade team member down while others assaulted them.

According to an amended complaint, at least 17 middle school or high school players were victimized and at least one student paid another student not to abuse him.