SIMI VALLEY : School Board Rejects Wrongful-Death Plea

The Simi Valley Unified School District board has rejected a $1-million wrongful-death claim filed by Scott and Jackie Hubbard, who alleged that the district negligently let a classmate stab their 14-year-old son to death.

Chad Hubbard was killed last winter after schoolmate Phillip Hernandez stabbed him during a fight at Valley View Junior High School. Hernandez, 14, was sentenced to four years in a California Youth Authority prison for involuntary manslaughter last month.

The Hubbards’ administrative claim alleged that the school staff knew or should have known about an ongoing conflict between their son and Hernandez. They sought $1 million in damages from the Simi Valley school system and another $1 million from Ventura County because that is where the district is located.

The school board rejected the Hubbards’ claim at its meeting Tuesdaynight.

“It is normal procedure to reject claims made to the district,” Assistant Supt. E. Leon Mattingley said. “The district will send (the Hubbards) a written notice that their claim has been rejected, and then it is up to them.”

Scott Hubbard said the family will go to court to file a lawsuit against the school district and the county.

“We figured they’d reject it,” he said Wednesday. “We’ll just go ahead with the lawsuit.”

The law requires plaintiffs to file administrative claims before filing a lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court.