Oxford school lawyer plans immunity defense in mass shooting; wants Fieger sanctioned

One week after attorney Geoffrey Fieger lambasted Oxford school officials over their handling of a deadly mass shooting, a school lawyer returned fire in a series of blistering court filings that shed light on the defense strategy — and an aim to punish Fieger.

Oxford school officials plan to argue that they are immune from a lawsuit that seeks to hold them responsible for the Nov. 30 mass shooting that left four students dead and seven others injured, including a teacher, according to court filings.

And their lawyer wants Fieger sanctioned for his handling of the lawsuit, which seeks $100 million on behalf of two survivors.

"Mr. Fieger should learn to admit when he makes a mistake," Oxford school attorney Timothy Mullins wrote in a Friday court filing, alleging that Fieger put an educator's life in danger by mistakenly adding him to the lawsuit. "To err is human. To refuse to fix a mistake he made — despite knowing that he has placed an

educator’s life in jeopardy — is unconscionable and shocking."

Mullins alleges that a former high school dean named in the lawsuit has received death threats, and that Mullins has repeatedly asked Fieger to remove the man's name from the lawsuit because he hasn't worked at the high school in over a year.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the man's name remained in the lawsuit.

"This man, whose name has been publicized now worldwide, whose picture has been put on TV, has absolutely nothing to do with this case," Mullins said in a phone interview with the Free Press. "Take the man's name down."

Fieger was not readily available for comment, though in court filings his law firm has argued that it did its due diligence in backgrounding the school official before adding his name to the lawsuit. Until the day after the shooting, Fieger's team has claimed, the man's LinkedIn page and the Oxford school website listed him as dean of students.

Fieger's firm also has stated that it has has offered to remove the man's name from the lawsuit, but only if the school lawyer provides the "proper name" of the dean of students on the day of the shooting.

That sounds like "extortion," says Mullins.

"Mr. Fieger had exactly one acceptable response: apologize ... and dismiss him as a defendant," Mullins wrote in a court filing. "Rather than do what basic human decency requires, he continues to double down."

More: New details emerge about family at center of Oxford school shooting

Mullins, meanwhile, has asked U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith to dismiss the former school dean from the lawsuit and impose "significant sanctions" against Fieger. He is also asking the judge to block the issuance of subpoenas that would give Fieger's team access to video surveillance footage from the shooting, in addition to other evidence.

Fieger's lawsuit claims school officials ignored red flags about a student with troubling behavior and put others in harm's way by not doing enough to stop 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley from tearing through the hallways with a gun, as police say video evidence shows.

Mullins argues that Fieger is prematurely asking for expedited information that he is not entitled to, noting that the issue of immunity hasn't even been raised yet, much less decided by a judge.

"Defendants will immediately file motions based on qualified immunity, making discovery improper at this stage," Mullins has argued in court filings. "Plaintiffs are advancing constitutional claims against individual defendants in their individual capacity, that are barred by qualified immunity."

Mullins argues that the school district shouldn't have to turn any evidence over to Fieger until a judge first decides whether school officials are covered by immunity.

"When qualified immunity is raised as a defense, the Supreme Court’s instructions are clear: until the 'threshold immunity question is resolved, discovery should not be allowed,'" Mullins has stated in court records, adding immunity isn't just a defense to liability "but a shield against the burden of facing trial and 'other burdens of litigation,' including 'broad-reaching discovery.'"

Mullins would not elaborate on the immunity defense strategy, saying only that his goal right now is to get the school district back up and running.

"My focus is to get this community healed … to get the teachers who love their kids back in the classrooms," said Mullins, adding that Fieger will get the information he seeks in due time.

"Everybody will be identified in the confines of litigation," Mullins said, noting there's a more pressing criminal case going on. "The prosecutor made it very clear, 'I don’t want you releasing anything.' I said, 'Agreed.' We've given them (the prosecution) everything we have."

On the day of the shooting, police arrested Ethan Crumbley, a sophomore at Oxford High School who prosecutors say shot up his school with a gun that his parents bought him four days prior as an early Christmas present. He is facing first-degree murder and terrorism charges.

His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are facing involuntary manslaughter charges for their alleged roles in the killings. Authorities say the parents failed to keep the gun properly secure, but the defense disputes that.

All of the Crumbleys have pleaded not guilty and are being held at the Oakland County jail.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oxford school lawyer plans immunity defense in mass shooting