Kevin Child’s lawsuit against CCSD dismissed
Former Clark County School Board Trustee Kevin Child’s lawsuit against the school district was dismissed last week on the grounds that he did not provide enough evidence to back up his claims.
The suit filed last September alleges that members of the district and other trustees conspired to damage Child’s reputation and his re-election bid to the School Board. Child lost his seat to Irene Cepeda in the November election.
Child’s claims of interference with public office, defamation, invasion of privacy, conspiracy and intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress were dismissed with prejudice.
The order, signed by Senior District Judge Charles Thompson, compares Child’s suit with other strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs. Anti-SLAPP laws in Nevada and California require plaintiffs to prove they have evidence that could result in a verdict in their favor.
The order to dismiss the case states that despite claiming defamation, Child’s suit does not specifically identify any alleged defamatory statements against him, nor does it provide any evidence to prove those claims were false.
It also states that Child’s suit cites an alleged conspiracy, but it does not outline the conspiracy, its participants or when it happened.
Child’s 40-page lawsuit states that issues that involved the district, including a lawsuit filed by an administrator and former district Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky’s negotiations with the teachers union, provided a motive for the defendants to conspire against him.
Skorkowsky tried to limit Child’s access to school properties after a district investigation found that he made female employees uncomfortable and created a hostile and intimidating work environment.
Child was barred from CCSD schools after continued to make unannounced visits to campuses.
Child said the suit was an attempt to clear his name. He said that false claims against him were circulated as retaliation for his scrutiny of the district’s financial practices.
He did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0365. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.