HUNTINGTON — The parents of a former Winfield Elementary School student claim they faced retaliation, intimidation and alleged false criminal charges from school board personnel after they challenged the school's drop-off procedures for their disabled child.
According to the filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Huntington Division, Timothy Jones and Janie Cole filed the civil action against the Board of Education of Putnam County, Alicia Coey and other individuals citing the Americans with Disabilities Act and the West Virginia Civil Rights Act.
The suit states the plaintiffs' child, Z.S.J., has Down syndrome and is physically and mentally disabled. The plaintiffs allege they have challenged the school's drop-off policy "that required them to sit in the line of drop off traffic until all the vehicles in their group of six to 10 vehicles had unloaded all non-disabled students, wait for all traffic in front of them to move on and then pull to a separate area farther from the doors of the school where Z.S.J. could be unloaded from the vehicle and taken to school," according to the suit.
The suit states on Aug. 28, 2018, Coey went to the Putnam County Magistrate Court and obtained two criminal complaints against Jones by submitting false statements. The plaintiffs allege Coey told the court Jones parked his vehicle on a highway outside a business, forcibly hindering or obstructing a law enforcement officer and failed to have his driver's license. The suit states Jones appeared in court several times between September to January and the charges were dismissed by the county prosecuting attorney.
"All of the threats, course of conduct, intimidating acts and initiation of malicious criminal prosecution directed towards Timothy Jones were in retaliation and reprisal against Timothy Jones and Janie Cole for their activities in advocating vigorously on behalf of their disabled son to secure for him rights guaranteed by federal and state law including the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1991 ...," the suit states.
The plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages as well as litigation costs and pre- and post-judgment interest. They are represented by Harvey Peyton of the Peyton Law Firm PLLC in Nitro.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Huntington Division case number 3:19-cv-00618
