Mills seeks dismissal of latest Kinnan complaint

Lawyers for former Manatee County Schools Superintendent Rick Mills filed a motion last week to dismiss an amended complaint former Manatee High School football coach Joe Kinnan filed against him earlier this month.

Mills, former investigator for the school board Troy Pumphrey and the School Board of Manatee County have been named in Kinnan’s lawsuit, which alleges Mills and Pumphrey worked in concert with school board members to defame Kinnan’s reputation.

Kinnan’s original suit was filed last fall and dismissed without prejudice by Judge Brian Iten in January. Kinnan filed an amended complaint earlier this month.

Mills’ lawyer Rob Robinson filed a similar motion to dismiss for Pumphrey. Robinson was not immediately available for comment.

Mitchell Teitelbaum, general counsel for the school board, said the district had received the amended complaint and was in the process of preparing a motion to dismiss the case on its merits. He anticipated the motion to be complete this week and said the school board would be requesting a hearing date.

This story was originally published March 27, 2017 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Mills seeks dismissal of latest Kinnan complaint."