Seattle Public Schools is appealing the $8 million verdict tied to a 2018 incident in which a former math teacher hit a then-middle school student and ejected him from the classroom.
A King County jury returned the verdict in November, but the case continued for several months, with a final ruling on key questions coming just this month.
First, the district sought a new trial, arguing a bevy of claims, including that attorneys for the former student, Zakaria Sheikhibrahim, relied on emotional appeals to send a message to the district in their arguments. The district also argued the jury had been improperly instructed and that one of the jurors should have been removed for bias because the juror said they thought the district’s presentation of images from Sheikhibrahim’s Instagram appeared to be racist.
The court also looked into an allegation of potential juror misconduct related to whether the foreman, a former trial lawyer with experience in discrimination cases, used his background to sway the jury to punish the district with its verdict.
The court also considered two constitutional claims by Sheikhibrahim’s attorneys on whether their client’s due process rights were violated when he was suspended after the incident and whether the district denied his right to an education, “without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste or sex,” under the state’s constitution.
Superior Court Judge Sean P. O’Donnell, who is running for a state Supreme Court seat, denied SPS’s bid for a new trial on June 23 and Sheikhibrahim’s lawyers’ constitutional claims on July 17.
SPS filed a notice of appeal in the state Court of Appeals on July 10. It amended the notice last week, after the order on the constitutional claims, which also included the rates for Sheikhibrahim’s attorneys’ fees, which the district has to cover.
The district has not laid out the specific grounds for its appeal, but the notices filed indicate it is asking a higher court to review the rulings in the case, including the final November judgment, the denial of a new trial and a portion of the order on Sheikhibrahim’s attorney’s fees. A new firm, Seattle-based Carney Badley Spellman, has joined the district’s team.
“We remain disappointed in the court’s ruling and continue to seek a fair outcome through the appeal process,” the district said in a statement Tuesday, declining to comment further because the litigation was ongoing.
Sheikhibrahim’s attorneys also filed a notice for a “cross appeal” last week, which they said was in response to the district’s filing. They said they would drop their appeal if the court does not take up the district’s case, but wanted to reserve their right to raise specific claims if a new trial or the district’s appeal moves forward.
“We would much prefer that this process was done and that the verdict be left undisturbed,” said Lara Hruska, one of the lead attorneys representing Sheikhibrahim.
Sheikhibrahim’s attorneys said their client sustained a traumatic brain injury from the encounter with former math teacher James Johnson, and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. An appeal further delays his ability to obtain treatment, they said.
“It’s not just that he doesn’t have access to money, but also what that money symbolizes,” said attorney Kaitlin Leifur-Masterson. That includes “stable housing and treatment for the conditions that are exacerbated by continued delay,” she said.
The case is tied to a January 2018 incident at Meany Middle School, when Johnson hit then-13-year-old Sheikhibrahim during an argument over the student having his backpack in class. School policy barred backpacks in the classroom.
Student witnesses said racial slurs were used during the altercation between Johnson, who is Black, and Sheikhibrahim, who Black, Muslim and of Somali descent.
In the lawsuit, Sheikhibrahim’s attorneys accused the district of ignoring years of warnings about Johnson’s conduct, including allegations of inappropriate interactions with female students.
Johnson was suspended for five days in connection with the incident and was later transferred to Washington Middle School, where complaints followed, KUOW reported. They district didn’t separate from Johnson until 2021, after a KUOW report on the Meany incident and Johnson’s discipline record.
The jury found the district responsible for Sheikhibrahim’s injuries and violating the state’s antidiscrimination and equal education opportunity laws. The district admitted in court to negligently supervising, training and retaining Johnson.
Sheikhibrahim’s attorneys said they’ve seen a willingness from the district, since the trial and under new leadership, to respond faster to parents’ inquiries and when staff members are accused of abusing students.
“I think that the community is saying, ‘We will not tolerate this. This was unacceptable. … We don’t do this anymore,’ ” Hruska said. “And I think the district, they don’t want to be a district (that) does this anymore.”
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