Court Rules In Favor Of District 86 In Manley Lawsuit

HINSDALE, IL — At the Hinsdale District 86 School Board meeting on Jan. 7, Board President Bill Carpenter said a judge has once again ruled in favor of the district in the lawsuit between the district and Claudia and Noel Manley.

The lawsuit has been going on for almost four years, according to Carpenter, and it began after an incident in 2015 in which Manley had a verbal altercation with a then District 86 student.

The student was distributing leaflets in support of Manley's opponents in the upcoming board election in April 2015. After receiving complaints from the student's parents and the community about Manley's behavior, the board appointed an investigator to look into the incident. There was also an online petition circulating that called for Manley's resignation after the incident. The Manleys then filed a lawsuit in the DuPage County Circuit Court to stop the investigation. The request was denied and the investigation proceeded.

The Manleys then added claims to their lawsuit seeking money damages under federal law against the board and superintendent Dr. Bruce Law. The case then went to federal court to have a federal judge decide the new claims. In 2016, the federal district court in Chicago ruled against the Manleys, holding that their claims lacked merit. This judgement was affirmed in 2018 by the federal appeals court.

Now on Jan. 3, the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit ruled in favor of District 86 and Law on all of the remaining claims in this lawsuit, Carpenter said.

"The courts have spoken clearly and decisively on this case, now for the fourth time," Carpenter said in his statement. "Every single time that the courts have ruled on the merits of this case—first when the Manleys filed for an injunction,second when the Manleys filed federal claims, third when the Manleys filed a federal appeal, and finally now after the Manleys filed claims in state court—the courts have ruled against them and in favor of the District and the Superintendent."

Carpenter added that the board hopes that Manleys will accept the latest decision.

"Should the Manleys continue this futile and expensive exercise the board will continue to vigorously defend itself as we have done for almost four years and we fully expect to prevail, as we have done every time a judge has issued a ruling."

Image via District 86.