Edouard Doyen-Jean and Rosenie Clerveaux-Jean v. The School Board of Broward County and Lisa Taormina

Robin Harlowe (Palm Beach, FL) (Employment) Robin Harlowe (Palm Beach, FL)(Employment) obtained Summary Judgment in an employment claim.  The Plaintiffs, a prior school teacher and his wife, filed a thirty-one Count Complaint for various causes of action in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Broward County, based on an abuse report called in by the Defendant, an Occupational therapist. The Plaintiff was an ESE teacher who allegedly acted inappropriately towards a nonverbal student with downs syndrome. The Defendant, who was a mandatory reporter, called in an abuse report based upon her observations of the interaction between the Plaintiff and student on two separate occasions. The School Board terminated the Plaintiff’s position as a result of the report and he requested an administrative hearing which resulted in his reinstatement based on a finding that the Defendant’s allegations were not credible. The Plaintiff and his wife then filed their lawsuit for damages based upon his termination. I prepared and filed a Motion for Final Summary Judgment as to all counts based upon the statutory immunity provided to all mandatory reporters who have a reasonable cause to suspect abuse. The Court granted the Motion for Final Summary Judgment as to all counts finding that the Defendant was entitled to immunity as a matter of law because she had reasonable cause that her observations rose to the level of child abuse and was required by statute to report the suspected child abuse to the DCF regardless of the ultimate findings in the administrative case. The Court went on to state that purpose of granting immunity to reporters is to encourage persons to report abuse without fear of being sued and to limit that immunity as the Plaintiffs suggested would create the same chilling effect that the immunity statute seeks to eliminate. The Plaintiffs’ initially filed a Notice of appeal but ultimately filed a Voluntary Dismissal.