Michigan School Shooting Victims File Lawsuits Seeking $200M from School District

Michigan School Shooting Negligence Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: Two students have filed lawsuits against the Oxford Community School District in Michigan after a deadly school shooting at Oxford High School last month.
• Why: The students, one of whom was shot in the neck and wounded, allege the school district was negligent for allowing the shooter to stay in school despite previous warning signs.
• Where: The lawsuits were filed in a Detroit federal court.

A Michigan school district has been slammed with two lawsuits seeking $100 million each, after an Oxford High School student took a gun to school on Nov. 30 and killed four students, and injured many more. 

The lawsuits were filed in a Detroit federal court, NBC News reported Dec. 9, and were filed on behalf of one student who was shot in the neck and wounded by the school shooter, and her sister, who was next to her when she was shot. 

In total, four students died in the shooting in Oxford Township, which is roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. Their names are Justin Shilling, 17, Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Tate Myre, 16. At least seven others were seriously injured and taken to hospital.

Michigan School Shooting Lawsuits Say Officials, Staff Failed to Heed Warning Signs

According to lawyer Geoffrey Fieger, the lawsuit was filed against the Oxford Community School District, Superintendent Timothy Throne, Oxford High School principal Steven Wolf, the dean of students, two counselors, two teachers, and a staff member.

It alleges that the defendants were negligent in allowing the school shooter to remain in school, despite warning signs. 

Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old sophomore at the school, has been arrested and charged as an adult with murder, terrorism, and other crimes for the alleged shooting. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, have also been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. Their arrests came after a short manhunt, however, the pair eventually turned themselves in. 

According to Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, people other than Ethan Crumbley should be held accountable for the shooting. 

“While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there are other individuals who contributed to the events on Nov. 30, and it’s my intent to hold them accountable as well,” McDonald said at a news conference Dec. 3.

“Gun ownership is a right, and with that right comes great responsibility.”

Oxford Superintendent Tim Throne told the Associated Press that counselors met with Ethan and his parents on the day of the shooting. 

They concluded he was not a risk to himself or others, according to Throne, but told his parents to get him outside counseling within 48 hours or they would call child welfare officials.

The Crumbleys “flatly refused” to take their son home, Throne said.

The Nov. 30 shooting happened just before 1 p.m at the school, with investigators saying that Crumbley began shooting after he left a bathroom and that he remained in the school’s hallway until he was detained.

Could Oxford School District, Officials Face Class Actions, Legal Action After Shooting? 

Personal-injury lawyers have expressed doubt that the school district could be successfully sued for letting Crumbley stay in school, saying Michigan law sets a high bar for liability when considering public schools and government bodies.

“You have to show that the administration or faculty members were grossly negligent, meaning they had a reckless disregard for whether an injury was likely to take place,” Attorney A. Vince Colella told the Associated Press.

“I see a lot of negligence, but I don’t foresee charges against anyone in the school,” Detroit-area defense attorney David Steingold added. 

“You would have to show specific intent. No one on the staff intended to commit a crime.”

Meanwhile, in November, Kyle Rittenhouse, accused of shooting two men dead and wounding others during a Black Lives Matter protest, was found not guilty on charges of homicide. Despite the verdict, Wisconsin officials and the police face legal action accusing them of violating the constitutional rights of the BLM protesters by encouraging Rittenhouse and other “white nationalist militia persons” to act as vigilantes during the demonstration. 

Do you think Oxford School District officials and staff should face legal action after the Michigan school shooting? Let us know in the comments!

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