A California appeals court has reversed a lower court and held that a student athlete who sued a school district under the Tort Claims Act after she was allegedly molested by a coach “satisfied the procedural prerequisite, prior to filing suit, of presenting a claim to the district and having the claim acted upon by district.”
On June 2, 2008, Andre LaBeach, a basketball coach, pled “guilty/no contest” to having unlawful sexual intercourse with the plaintiff, a minor who attended Chatsworth High School in the LAUSD, and was placed on felony probation for three years.
LaBeach was a coach for Blessed By God Sports (BBG), a travelling basketball team owned by Andre Chevalier, who was dean of students at Cleveland High School in the LAUSD. In the summer of 2006, LaBeach confirmed to Chevalier that LaBeach and the plaintiff were engaged in a sexual relationship. Chevalier told his wife, Michelle Chevalier, of the relationship. On March 25, 2008, Michelle Chevalier notified the plaintiff’s mother.
The plaintiff then filed a claim, which was presented 78 days after the plaintiff’s mother learned of the molestation. From the defendant school district’s perspective, however, the claim was filed outside the allowable time frame from when the last sexual contact took place.
The plaintiff thus filed an application for leave to present a late claim. the trial court denied the application, prompting the appeal.
Upon review, the panel restated the plaintiff’s rationale for the late claim: “In the realm of amateur basketball, the traveling team you play for is an important factor in determining whether a student-athlete obtains an athletic scholarship. Mr. LaBeach was a coach for BBG that had control over [plaintiff’s] playing time and communications with colleges interested in offering her an athletic scholarship. College tuition, housing, books and food at a four year university can run into the hundreds of thousands. A scholarship was the only way [plaintiff] would be able to afford a college education. Mr. LaBeach began to make sexual advances towards [plaintiff]. In March 2006, LaBeach and [plaintiff] had sexual intercourse. Mr. LaBeach ordered [plaintiff] not to tell anyone. Based on his control over her play time, his ability to assist in her getting an athletic scholarship, her shame about what happened, and the prospect of no one believing her, [plaintiff] took this threat seriously and did not disclose this illegal relationship.”
According to the panel, the lower court erred in not granting the application.
“The plaintiff satisfied the claims presentation requirement of the Tort Claims Act. (§ 945.4.),” held the appeals court. “Because the plaintiff was a minor, her application for leave to file a late claim, filed less than one year after accrual of the cause of action, was timely. (§ 911.4, subd. (b); § 911.6, subd. (b)(2).) Further, the subsequent lawsuit, filed within six months of the District’s rejection of the late claim application, likewise was timely. (§ 945.6, subd. (a)(1).)”
E.M. v. Los Angeles Unified School District et al.,; Ct. App. Calif., 2d App. Dist., Div. 3;
B221206, 2011 Cal. App. LEXIS 466; 4/20/11
Attorneys of Record: (for plaintiff and appellant) The Sweeney Firm and Angela M. Powell. (for defendants and respondents) Haight Brown & Bonesteel, Rita Gunasekaran and Dennis K. Wheeler.
