EVERETT — The Everett School District will have to pay more than $120,000 in legal fees to settle a dispute with a Cascade High School student.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas S. Zilly issued the decision Aug. 6, wrapping up the last unresolved issue in the case.
Michael Leal, then a senior at Cascade High, sued Everett Public Schools in November 2014 after he’d been suspended three times for handing out religious pamphlets and preaching at school events, sometimes using a bullhorn.
Leal claimed his First Amendment right of free speech was being infringed upon by school district policies.
According to the suit, Leal was suspended for violating district policies that state that students who distribute materials they write or produce themselves should not disrupt school activities or interfere with operations.
On May 29, Zilly expunged the suspensions from Leal’s record, saying that he would still be able to preach at school, provided he not disrupt instruction.
Cascade High allowed Leal to preach near the statue of the school’s bear mascot, and in return Leal dropped the element of his suit saying his religious rights were being violated.
Zilly also upheld the school district’s policy that limits when and where Leal or any other student can hand out printed materials. The district’s rules state that students can only do so before or after the hours of instruction, and only outside the entrances of the school.
The judge tossed out a part of the policy that requires the printed material to have been written or produced by the student.
Leal’s attorney, Kevin Snider of the Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento, California, said this concludes the case unless the school district files an appeal.
School district spokeswoman Mary Waggoner said the district’s attorneys had not indicated whether they would appeal the decision.
In assessing attorney fees, Zilly reduced Snider’s request by 15 percent due to the vagueness of some of the claims, but allowed some additional costs for travel and follow-up work, arriving at a total of $120,638.26 that the school district must pay.
The Washington Schools Risk Management Pool, which defended the district, will cover the entire amount, Waggoner said.
“It is disappointing that the district’s insurance company is being held responsible for the full cost of the Michael Leal’s attorney fees — even though his attorneys did not prevail on all points for their client,” Everett schools superintendent Gary Cohn said in a statement.
Leal graduated from Cascade High School in the spring.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
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