Federal judge dismisses Lincoln Memorial’s discrimination lawsuit, but it’s not over yet
A federal judge described Lincoln Memorial Academy’s latest attempt at legal action as “painfully confusing” before dismissing the lawsuit, but an appeal is already in the works.
In February 2020, the academy filed suit against the School District of Manatee County, the city of Palmetto and Florida’s Department of Education, alleging discrimination related to the termination of Lincoln’s charter, the dismissal of several school district employees and the revocation of the principal’s educator’s certificate.
Lincoln supporters have lost previous legal efforts.
On Dec. 30, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell dismissed the case with prejudice, which means the case cannot be filed again in the same court. Honeywell gave several reasons for the decision to deny LMA’s charges, including a lack of clarity about who the school sought damages against and a failure to make the case that discrimination had occurred.
LMA had argued that the school district unlawfully terminated its contract and fired employees because they are Black.
“Lincoln Memorial Academy was singled out and treated differently than other Charter Schools or other ‘conversion’ charter schools, because of the ‘race’ of its founder and principal officer Eddie Hundley (African American),” LMA wrote in its lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claimed that the city of Palmetto “conspired” with the school district to have the water shut off at the school, leading to the school board’s decision to revoke the charter. LMA also said the Department of Education improperly barred Hundley from working with students.
However, Honeywell criticized LMA’s lawsuit for its “continued failure to define and to separate claims” even after their lawyers were given a chance to amend their complaint.
In a statement provided to the Bradenton Herald, Michael Barber, a district spokesperson, said the lawsuit’s dismissal matches with LMA’s previous attempts at legal action that found the district did not break the law. The school board is also seeking nearly $13,000 in legal fees from LMA.
“The most recent federal ruling was very much in alignment with all other previous rulings in this case,” said Barber.
Charles Johnson, a lawyer for the city of Palmetto, agreed that the lawsuit should have been dismissed.
“The judge determined that the facts put forward by the plaintiffs were insufficient to state a valid claim against the city of Palmetto,” Johnson said. “The ruling of the court validates our belief that the suit against the city of Palmetto was without merit.”
Reached for comment Wednesday afternoon, Hundley said he disagreed with Honeywell’s ruling.
“The disappointment comes in the fact that the ruling was not based on the merit of the case but on technical and procedural legalese,” Hundley said. “We were not afforded our day in court, as of yet. I have to make the decision to either pursue the appeal process or accept that we may never see justice.”
By Wednesday night, Hundley had made up his mind. In an email to the Bradenton Herald, Hundley’s lawyer, Roderick O. Ford, sent notice of his client’s appeal of the judge’s ruling.
Ford asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to consider the request.
A hearing for the appeal has not been scheduled.
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 5:50 AM.
