Lawsuits fly at Groveland school district

Legal issues continue to plague the Big Oak Flat-Groveland School District, including a lawsuit by a dismissed teacher charging defamation, and another suit filed by the district itself against its absent superintendent.

The battles continue despite the May recall of the entire school board, intended to end conflict within the district.
  

The former teacher, Ryan Dutton, of Groveland, filed a civil suit Oct. 30 in the Tuolumne County Superior Court seeking more than $25,000 for alleged defamation by the Big Oak Flat-Groveland district, its superintendent, Mari Brabbin, and the recalled board, which included Mary Kelly, Chuck Day, Dave Gookin, Bryan Berger and Lillian Cravens, court documents say.

The defendants have 30 days to respond to the complaint, though according to school board President Ian Morcott, of Groveland, the district had not received the suit.

Mary Kelly, Bryan Berger and Lillian Cravens each said they had not been notified of the suit. The remaining previous board members could not be reached for comment.

The suit alleges a breach of contract, interference with prospective economic advantage, defamation, civil conspiracy and seeks “injunctive relief.”

The suit alleges the defendants conspired to discredit and disparage Dutton, which allegedly has hurt him economically.

It also states the defendants disclosed private information about Dutton and were “willful, wanton, malicious and oppressive.”

Dutton, formerly a Tioga High School math teacher, was placed on unpaid administrative leave in September 2008 after it was alleged he plagiarized an assignment in his teaching credential program through Cal State TEACH.

The Cal State TEACH program later cleared Dutton of the allegations.

His dismissal was the catalyst for the recall election, though recall proponents maintain Dutton was merely the last straw in a series of misdeeds by the district superintendent and board of trustees.

Former board member Mary Kelly said she wrote a letter to Dutton last spring to let him know she never meant personal ill will toward him.

“I absolutely meant no harm or put downs to anybody ... during the whole issue,” Kelly said in the letter.

Cravens said she was surprised to hear of the suit Dutton filed.

“We’ll have to have Cal State TEACH and the people who gave us the information testify. I’m surprised he wants to do that,” Cravens said. “I don’t have a dime, I’m sure the rest of us don’t either. You can’t get blood from a stone, but more power to him.”

Former trustee Bryan Berger, of Don Pedro, said, “The whole recall was based on lies and this is an extension of that.”

Berger believes the board elected in the recall will use this as an excuse to settle with Dutton for $25,000 or less, since amounts over $25,000 must be approved by the district’s insurance provider, the Joint Power Authority. 

 “We had information that said he wasn’t what he said he was. They’ll never take it to court, ’cause then he’ll be exposed,” Berger said. “Once again the facts are still locked away somewhere. It’s just another one of their tricks. If he wants all of this exposed, we’d be more than happy to go to court.”

Furthermore, Berger said, if the district does settle with Dutton he would be inclined to have the district attorney or county grand jury investigate the district for misappropriation of funds.

Neither Dutton nor his attorney returned calls for comment.

In other legal business, District Superintendent Mari Brabbin, who also received much attention leading up to the recall, is being sued by the district for alleged fraud.

Brabbin has been on extended sick leave since June 2 due to alleged work-related stress, said the suit filed Oct. 22 in Tuolumne County Superior Court.

The suit alleges Brabbin has been “double dipping,” in regard to sick time accrued while she was employed in Oregon prior to her hiring by the Big Oak Flat-Groveland board.

The suit claims Brabbin had 807 hours of unused sick time in Oregon, which was used to increase her monthly retirement benefits from the Oregon Public Employee Reimbursement System (PERS), and that she also transferred the time/credits to her contracts with the Big Oak Flat-Groveland district.

The suit states the district is paying her for sick leave accrued in Oregon, that’s also being used to supplement her retirement income.

The district claims so far it has paid Brabbin $22,800 during her 19 weeks of sick leave and at the end of the 807 hours will have paid her $49,765, court documents said. They seek full reimbursement of monies paid from the 807 hours in question, the suit said.

“We don’t believe the law allows out of state sick leave to be transferred into California,” said the district’s lawyer, Chet Quaide, of Pleasanton.

"Why should she be double dipping? She’s using the same hours to get retirement benefits in one state and getting it as sick leave in another,” Quaide said.

Brabbin declined to comment, but her attorney, Irvine-based Bill Shaeffer, said the suit against Brabbin is “simply vexatious and frivolous.”

“Oregon law doesn’t prohibit this, California law doesn’t prohibit this. This is an item that was discussed and mutually agreed upon,” Shaeffer said, adding that during contract negotiations with Brabbin the district was represented by legal counsel.

Morcott said he was limited in what he could say about the suit but that “the lawsuit pretty much stands on its own.”

Both suits are scheduled for case management conferences in early 2010.