Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”
A former student of a Utah teacher accused of engaging in sexual affairs with several of her students has brought suit against the school district that hired her, alleging that the district is responsible for emotional trauma caused by the encounters.
Altice faces fourteen felony charges related to her sexual activities with at least three students. Her sexual encounters with one student occurred “while she was out on bail for charges relating to the first two students,” according to the Daily Mail. A judge revoked Altice’s bail in January, and she remains in jail awaiting her next court date.
In his lawsuit, Altice’s former student alleges that his relationship with Altice started out as classroom flirtation, followed by an exchange of text messages, kissing and then sex. The school district knew about Altice’s behavior, he alleges, because it reprimanded her after discovering photos showing her engaging in inappropriate contact with students.
Charges were brought against Altice in October 2013 after she allegedly admitted to engaging in sexual relations with a different student. That student said the criminal charges against Altice are “ridiculous” and that she does not deserve to be prosecuted for her actions.
Altice’s attorney said she is innocent, and that she only confessed to having sex with students after eight to ten police interviewed her at her home for four hours. Last year, however, the attorney—Edward Brass—appeared to acknowledge that Altice had engaged in sexual contact with at least one student or former student, saying that the student pursued her and “She repeatedly refused and declined his advances until he ultimately broke down her resistance.” Altice faces life in prison if she is convicted.
The lawsuit brought by one of Altice’s alleged victims alleges that the school district failed to “properly monitor, train or retrain Altice” and failed to properly monitor her, according to FOX’s Salt Lake City, Utah affiliate. The lawsuit suggests that the district should have fired Altice when it discovered photos of her engaging in inappropriate contact with students.
The school district’s failure to appropriately discipline Altice led to her sexual contact with the plaintiff-former student, and that contact, he alleges, caused him to suffer “mental, psychological, physical and emotional damages.”
In the lawsuit, the former student claims that Altice enticed him away from school grounds and drove him to her home, where the sexual contact occurred. Altice was married at the time, according to the Daily Mail. Her husband has since filed for divorce.
If you or someone you know has any questions regarding potential personal injury claims, feel free to contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC in Charlotte, North Carolina for a free consultation. Call toll free at (955) 370-2828 or click here for additional resources.
About the Author
Mr. Arnold was raised in Charlotte, where he graduated from Providence Senior High School. He attended Belmont Abbey College, where he graduated cum laude, before attending law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a full academic scholarship.
A board-certified specialist in the practice of Family Law, Mr. Arnold is admitted to practice in all state courts in North Carolina, in the United States Federal Court for the Western District of North Carolina, in the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, and in the Fourth Circuit United States Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.
In his free time, Mr. Arnold enjoys golfing and spending time with his wife and three children.
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