Court upholds negligence verdict against Cedar Rapids Community School District

A 2011 civil jury verdict, involving a mother who sued the Cedar Rapids Community School District for negligence when her mentally challenged daughter was sexually assaulted by another student in 2007, was upheld Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court.

Leeann Mitchell sued the district for damages when her 14-year-old daughter left Kennedy High School with a 19-year-old male classmate, who took her into a garage and sexually assaulted her, while his friend shot a BB-gun at the girl.

Mitchell sued the district, arguing Kennedy failed to adequately supervise her daughter, failed to notify her of the unauthorized absence, failed to take immediate action, failed to provide adequate security to prevent it and failed to maintain a system of monitoring special education students during the school day.

According to trial testimony, Sarah Biedenbach and Sandy Colberg, special education teachers of the students, didn't call the parents to report their absences, which they both testified they typically did when their students were absent without authorization. The teachers were not required by the school to take these additional measures, outside of documenting the absences on an automated system in which a parent would be notified of the absence, but usually did.

Biedenbach said in other incidents of absences, she would also ask other students if they knew of the missing student and even contact campus security, but she didn't in this case, according to the ruling.

The jury awarded $500,000 in damages to Mitchell and apportioned 70 percent fault to Kennedy and 30 percent to the 14-year-old.

On appeal, the school district argued it owes no duty to protect students from a third party outside of the school day and off school grounds, and the trial court erred in denying motions for directed verdict and another motion regarding the harm to the girl wasn't within Kennedy's liability, and Kennedy's failure to call police shouldn't have been included in jury instructions regarding negligence.

The court affirmed the verdict, finding no errors by the trial court regarding the motions.

“A reasonable juror could find on this record that Kennedy failed to take any of the specified measures after (the girl) had gone missing from school on the day in question” the court stated.