Justice dismisses former Ursuline School student's wrongful expulsion lawsuit
A state Supreme Court justice dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former student at the Ursuline School, who claimed she was wrongfully expelled after being involved in a fight at a mall in White Plains during the 2020-21 school year.
State Supreme Court Justice David Zuckerman ruled that the lawsuit, filed by a female student identified only as K.M., was without merit.
The lawsuit, which sought $1 million and a reversal of the expulsion, claimed the private, all-girls Catholic school in New Rochelle breached its contract with the student and treated her unfairly. The 15-year-old claimed she was the target of relentless bullying that led to the confrontation.
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Zuckerman disputed that contention, noting the school's code of conduct says violence or the threat of violence on or off campus are grounds for a range of disciplinary actions, including expulsion.
"Ursuline has the right to expel a student who engages in violence off campus, even when the incident is not at a school-related event," Zuckerman wrote in his decision.
The expelled Ursuline student was involved in a physical confrontation with another female teenager, who was not an Ursuline student, at The Westchester shopping center. School officials only found out about the confrontation late last year, after learning of the existence of a video documenting it.
In legal papers filed in response to the lawsuit, Ursuline claimed that the 15-year-old plaintiff was a bully herself.
Ursuline President Colleen Melnyk said in a statement the school does not take expulsion lightly.
"Our Student/Parent Handbook makes it clear that any use of force or violence, even off campus, is a serious disciplinary infraction and will not be tolerated," said Melnyk. "After a review of the specific circumstances, acting in the best interests of our students, the administration had no choice but to take this action.
"We are grateful that the court has upheld our actions in this matter," Melnyk added.
George Galgano, a lawyer for the student and her family, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mike Randall covers breaking news in the Hudson Valley. Reach him at mrandall@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Ursuline lawsuit: Student's claim of wrongful expulsion dismissed
