ORANGE : School District Suit Hearing Set

Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Bauer will hear arguments Feb. 1 on a motion to dismiss a $60-million lawsuit accusing the Orange Unified School District of invasion of privacy, defamation and breach of contract in connection with a sexual harassment case against three of the district’s top administrators.

In an 87-page document filed Jan. 10 in Superior Court, the school district’s attorney, Mary Jo McGrath, is seeking to dismiss the month-old lawsuit lodged against the district, its interim superintendent, two unnamed board members and McGrath. McGrath contends that the multimillion-dollar suit was filed prematurely and that it fails to provide proper evidence to support its case.

But Pasadena attorney Dale Gronemeier, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the three administrators facing disciplinary action for their behavior, said McGrath’s motion is groundless.

As a result of a district probe into sexual harassment, school board trustees initiated steps in December to fire Deputy Supt. Richard Donoghue and to demote Chief Fiscal Officer Joyce Capelle and Director of Maintenance and Operations Howard Mason.

Donoghue, 48, is accused of creating a hostile work environment, inappropriate touching, distributing lewd materials and using sexually offensive language in the workplace, according to court documents. Mason, 45, and Capelle, 39, are accused of sexual harassment, immoral conduct, intimidation and creation of a hostile work environment, according to court documents.

The three administrators are seeking $20 million each in damages against the district on allegations of invasion of privacy, emotional distress and damage to their reputations.

McGrath also claims in her motion to dismiss that a series of news leaks originated with the administrators, not the district as the administrators’ suit alleges.

“We think they did it,” McGrath said. “The school district has nothing to gain from press coverage. Their entire lawsuit is an intentional brush fire to divert attention from the primary situation, which is the treatment of school employees.”

But Gronemeier said McGrath’s claim is “outrageous.”

“Their argument has the egocentrism of the Southern sheriff who asserted during the days of the civil rights demonstrations that black protesters must have wanted to be beaten because the beatings led to press criticism of the sheriff’s conduct,” Gronemeier said.

In a related action, Bauer granted a preliminary injunction Tuesday afternoon barring the release of confidential personnel information about the administrators. The injunction follows a temporary restraining order imposed in December. Gronemeier pressed for the injunction because of a series of media leaks about the sexual harassment case.

“I think the judge’s action was appropriate, predictable and understandable,” said Gronemeier Tuesday afternoon.