La Jolla Country Day Suit Over Headmaster’s Record Dismissed

The attorney for a prominent private school in Milwaukee, Wis., said Friday that a lawsuit brought by La Jolla Country Day School against his board was dismissed in Milwaukee Circuit Court this week.

The suit alleged that the University School of Milwaukee covered up financial and sexual misconduct on the part of headmaster John C. Littleford, who left the elite Wisconsin academy to take a similar position at La Jolla Country Day School in 1990.

During his time at Country Day, Littleford, 48, and the school’s board of directors were sued by a former receptionist who accused him of repeatedly touching her, making inappropriate comments and pressuring her for a sexual relationship.

That suit was recently settled out of court, with Lisa R. Gordon, 23, the former receptionist who now attends UC Davis, receiving a payment of $9,250. Shortly before the settlement, Littleford was suspended, while still receiving full salary and benefits.

In its lawsuit, the Country Day board of directors accused Littleford’s former employers of withholding allegations of sexual harassment involving a former teacher at the school in Milwaukee, and of failing to disclose financial problems he allegedly engineered.

In rejecting the suit, Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge John E. McCormick said Wednesday that “a letter of recommendation should not be construed beyond its purpose. It usually provides a prospective employer with a review of the positive aspects.”

The relationship between the University School of Milwaukee and its La Jolla counterpart “didn’t require University School to tell La Jolla everything they knew about Littleford,” the judge added.

James P. Connelly, the attorney for the University School who also serves as one of its board members, said the school had “not yet made a decision” about whether to sue the La Jolla school in seeking to cover what he termed substantial legal costs.

Connelly said he felt the motive of the suit was to collect as much information as possible from the personnel files of the University School of Milwaukee and then use it to fire Littleford.

“Before the suit was filed, we offered to provide them with everything we had, and they declined,” Connelly said. “They didn’t want to see it. And, in the initial (interview) process (in 1990), we were never asked a single question that would have touched on any (allegations of sexual and financial misconduct).”

Connelly said the school remains committed “to offer them any information they might conceivably need outside the context of a lawsuit, but, so far, they have shown no interest, and I don’t know why.”

Dr. Sidney C. Smith Jr., a cardiologist and president of the 17-member board of the La Jolla Country Day School, was out of town Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Russell M. Lein, the Milwaukee attorney who represented the La Jolla school, was also unavailable for comment Friday.

Reached at his home in La Jolla, Littleford said he had not been in contact with Country Day officials but that he expected to have a settlement conference before the end of the month.

Country Day, which has a longstanding reputation of academic excellence and sends many of its graduates to Ivy League schools, charges its upper-division students $7,740 a year for tuition. About 900 students are enrolled at the school.