Judge Dismisses Father-Son Plaintiffs' Suit As Frivolous
by Jim Brown
March 14, 2005
(AgapePress) - A judge has rejected a Wisconsin high school student's lawsuit against mandatory summer homework.In January, 17-year-old Peer Larson and his father, Bruce Lawson, filed suit against officials with the Whitnall School District, arguing three honors pre-calculus assignments should not have been required after the 180-day academic year was over. The plaintiffs argued that the summer homework created an unfair workload and unnecessary stress.
However, Judge Richard Sankovitz, has tossed out the suit. In his ruling, the judge observed, "Had the Larsons done a bit more homework," they would have learned that the people of Wisconsin granted the legislature "power to establish school boards."
New York attorney Philip Howard says Judge Sankovitz could have sent an even stronger message to the Larsons. "I think it would have been more of a deterrent if the judge had sanctioned the father for bringing the lawsuit in the first place," he says.
Howard, who heads the legal reform group Common Good, says sometimes, when people get "really upset," they may decide to bring a lawsuit just to "see what happens." However, he expects that if stiffer penalties were involved in cases like the one brought by the Larsons, more people would hesitate before filing a suit that is going to waste the time and resources of the court system.
"If they might get a thousand-dollar fine for bringing a frivolous claim, they might think twice about it," the lawyer says. But, even though Judge Sankovitz was rather lenient, the New York litigator hopes the plaintiffs' disappointing ruling will discourage similar frivolous lawsuits.
"We need to bring order to our court system," Howard says, "and the judge, in dismissing this case, took one small step toward sending the message that the courts are for serious disputes -- not for relief anytime you get angry."
The Larsons maintain that Peer did not have enough time to do the three assignments because he had a summer job as a camp counselor. The father and son have not decided whether to appeal the judge's decision.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
