 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Schackmann v. Cathedral High School8/30/2005
Appellants challenge the dismissal by summary judgment of their claims against respondent school for defamation, negligent infliction of emotional distress, due process, and breach of contract. Appellants also contend that the timing of the summary judgment motion violated the scheduling order. We conclude that it was not an abuse of discretion for the district court to consider the summary judgment motion. Further, because appellants were not compelled to self-publish statements made by the school, because negligent infliction of emotional distress requires a viable defamation claim, because the school is not a state actor for purposes of due-process rights, and because there is no evidence of recoverable damages to sustain recovery on the breach-of-contract claim, we affirm.
FACTS
Adam Schackmann was a senior at respondent Cathedral High School (school), and Richard and Sandra Schackmann are his parents. The school is incorporated as a private, not-for-profit educational corporation and is associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud.
On Saturday, December 1, 2001, the school was burglarized and vandalized. Adam had basketball practice at the school early in the day. That evening, he and two of his classmates returned to the locked school. Adam represented that their reasons for returning were to retrieve items that he and one of his friends had left. Adam said he saw a police vehicle at the school as they arrived. Adam and his friends entered the school through a door that one of the friends had propped open earlier in the day. They brought a flashlight, walked through several areas of the school and were in the building for half an hour. Adam did not retrieve the items for which he had allegedly come. At one point, the three went to see what the police were investigating. They were arrested as they stepped out of an elevator. At the police station, the boys were interviewed, and according to one of the officers, their statements differed regarding when they saw the police and why they went to the school. Fingerprints, blood, and broken glass were found at the scene of the burglary; Adam and his friends consented to giving police fingerprint samples and turned over their shoes and sample clothing to be tested for physical evidence.
Police evaluation of the situation was mixed. On the night of the burglary, one unidentified officer informed a group of individuals, including the president of the school, that in that officer's opinion, Adam and his friends were not involved in the burglary. This information was conveyed to the principal and the dean of students. However, the officer responsible for the investigation was suspicious of Adam and his friends because of inconsistencies in their statements. Although the boys' prints and clothing did not match the evidence collected from the scene, the police continued to investigate them for a year. Ultimately, no charges were filed against them.
Approximately two days after the burglary, the school principal and the dean of students met with Adam and his parents, as well as the two other students. The principal and the dean of students found the students' statements inconsistent and felt that Adam did not tell the whole truth. Adam and his parents left the meeting "feeling that [the principal] and [the dean of students] felt that our son had lied, and that he was involved in this incident at Cathedral with a fourth person."
The principal and the dean of students determined that the three students had committed the following violations: entered the building without authorization, evaded the police, were not honest with the principal or the dean of students, and endangered the
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Minnesota Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|