Oakland County judge: Oxford school district cannot be sued for mass shooting
An Oakland County Circuit Court judge ruled Friday that the Oxford school district and its employees cannot be sued in relation to the Oxford High School mass shooting that took place in November 2021.
Judge Mary Ellen Brennan stated that the school district employees have government immunity from any civil lawsuits claiming that Oxford Schools acted negligently while attempting to stop a 15-year-old from killing four schoolmates and wounding many others.
More: Oakland County judge to decide soon whether to dismiss Oxford Schools lawsuit
Governmental immunity is a state law that safeguards public agencies, including school districts, from many lawsuits.
"While Plaintiffs allege claims against Defendant Oxford Community Schools for gross negligence and vicarious liability, such claims do not fall within any of the six recognized exceptions," according to the court order.
Based on the state law, Brennan wrote "the Court concludes that Ethan Crumbley’s act of firing the gun, rather than the alleged conduct of the individual defendants, was ‘the one most immediate, efficient and direct cause of injury or damage.’ ”
More: Oxford school officials: Ethan Crumbley's parents never refused to take him home
In multiple separate federal and state lawsuits, victims had claimed the school district and its employees, including high school counselors, acted recklessly by ignoring clear warning signs exhibited by Ethan Crumbley, an Oxford High sophomore who has pleaded guilty in the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting. The now-16-year-old is awaiting sentencing.
On the day of the massacre, Crumbley had been spotted in class drawing a gun and blood, with the words, "The thoughts won't stop, help me."
Oxford High's dean of students at the time, Nicholas Ejak, later said in a deposition that "there would have been no reason" to send Crumbley home that day, following a meeting with Crumbley and his parents.
Timothy Mullins, an attorney for Oxford Schools, said during a previous hearing in the case that school employees did not know the extent of Crumbley's mental health issues, and that the shooter's parents were better positioned to pick up on issues that may have led him to inflict gun violence on his peers.
"The defendant was in no position to see" that Crumbley was struggling, Mullins said.
One of the attorneys representing the victims, Ven Johnson, has argued that governmental immunity does not apply in this case, as the type of negligence exhibited by the school employees amounts to a higher standard of negligence.
Johnson issued a statement following Friday's ruling.
"On behalf of our Oxford clients, we are deeply saddened and disappointed by Judge Brennan’s dismissal today of all the Oxford Community Schools defendants," he said. "We maintain that governmental immunity is wrong and unconstitutional, and the law should be changed immediately."
Free Press staff writer Lily Altavena contributed to this report.
Contact Nour Rahal: nrahal@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge: Oxford school district cannot be sued for mass shooting
