February 28, 2019 at 11:01PM
A group of former cheerleaders at Clovis (Calif.) High School has joined together to file an explosive lawsuit against their former high school cheer director.
As reported by the Fresno Bee, three former Clovis cheerleaders and their mothers filed a lawsuit that claims Clovis pep and cheer director Stacey Schiro was responsible for "abuse, intimidation, bullying, harassment, and malicious conduct" directed at the then-teens, leading to years of anxiety attacks, migraines and other medical ailments.
Those medical conditions were apparently severe enough to induce one former cheerleader to delay her college enrollment by a year to deal with some of these issues.
Per the Bee, the three cheerleaders have filed for a total of $1.35 million, in the form of $600,000 for physical injuries, $300,000 for "stolen opportunities" and $450,000 in punitive damages.
A critical part of the lawsuit focuses on just how intense Schiro's alleged aggression became, as included in the lawsuit and relayed via the Bee:
"Plaintiff Maddie ran from Schiro to Ms. Lazarri's office (safe room) in effort to hide from Schiro and avoid her abuse, intimidation, bullying harassment, and malicious conduct. Schiro attempted to call Ms. Lazarri multiple times…while Maddie was in the safe room," the lawsuit says. "Ms. Lazarri informed Maddie that it was Schiro calling and that she was not going to answer Schiro' s persistent phone calls while Maddie was in her office seeking refuge and protection."
As for the reasoning behind the financial number provided by the plaintiffs, they acknowledge that there is essentially an element of deterrence involved. If the suit does go forward as planned, it seems likely that deterrence would be effectively delivered. After all, public school districts can't afford to pay out million-dollar judgements on a whim.
A group of former cheerleaders at Clovis (Calif.) High School has joined together to file an explosive lawsuit against their former high school cheer director.
As reported by the Fresno Bee, three former Clovis cheerleaders and their mothers filed a lawsuit that claims Clovis pep and cheer director Stacey Schiro was responsible for "abuse, intimidation, bullying, harassment, and malicious conduct" directed at the then-teens, leading to years of anxiety attacks, migraines and other medical ailments.
Those medical conditions were apparently severe enough to induce one former cheerleader to delay her college enrollment by a year to deal with some of these issues.
Per the Bee, the three cheerleaders have filed for a total of $1.35 million, in the form of $600,000 for physical injuries, $300,000 for "stolen opportunities" and $450,000 in punitive damages.
A critical part of the lawsuit focuses on just how intense Schiro's alleged aggression became, as included in the lawsuit and relayed via the Bee:
"Plaintiff Maddie ran from Schiro to Ms. Lazarri's office (safe room) in effort to hide from Schiro and avoid her abuse, intimidation, bullying harassment, and malicious conduct. Schiro attempted to call Ms. Lazarri multiple times…while Maddie was in the safe room," the lawsuit says. "Ms. Lazarri informed Maddie that it was Schiro calling and that she was not going to answer Schiro' s persistent phone calls while Maddie was in her office seeking refuge and protection."
As for the reasoning behind the financial number provided by the plaintiffs, they acknowledge that there is essentially an element of deterrence involved. If the suit does go forward as planned, it seems likely that deterrence would be effectively delivered. After all, public school districts can't afford to pay out million-dollar judgements on a whim.