Judge tosses lawsuit against Clark County School District

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that alleged a girl was harassed at Wynn Elementary School because she was black.

In the original complaint, filed in July, a mother said her daughter was wrongly singled out by a chaperone who “yelled, screamed and berated” the girl because of her race during an October 2012 field trip.

The suit named the Clark County School District, Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky and Wynn Principal Ellen Bordinhao as defendants.

Citing “unacceptable” mental abuse, the suit said that Bordinhao mistakenly told the girl she would be moved to another school, which caused the girl to cry.

The girl’s mother, Sheena Hathorn, filed a bullying report, but the district “failed to take any meaningful corrective measures,” according to the lawsuit.

The district asked U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey to dismiss the case.

“There are no allegations to suggest that any of the defendants did anything extreme and outrageous or that there was any intent on the part of the defendants to cause emotional distress,” part of the motion stated. “The timeline as provided by the plaintiffs reveal that the school received, investigated and responded to the concern raised by Sheena Hathorn.”

Dorsey threw out the lawsuit earlier this month after Hathorn’s lawyers did not respond to the judge’s order to amend the complaint.

In response, the district released a statement through spokeswoman Melinda Malone: “We are pleased to hear that the federal judge threw out the case. We will continue to make a safe and respectful environment a priority at the Clark County School District and continue to focus on our cultural competency initiatives.”

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker