Gagnon, Pumphrey file lawsuits against Manatee County School District

BRADENTON -- Legal cases continue to mount against the Manatee County School District as this week a former employee filed a lawsuit and a suspended employee served the district with an updated lawsuit.

Bob Gagnon, a former interim superintendent in the school district, filed a defamation lawsuit against the school board, the school district and former school board member Julie Aranibar this week, seeking in excess of $15,000.

Troy Pumphrey, the now-suspended professional standards investigator for the Manatee County School District, served the district with an amended version of his previously filed lawsuit on Thursday.

Gagnon claims the district has intentionally communicated knowingly false and defamatory information about Gagnon to several third parties, which has interfered with his future ability to get a job. He has also suffered emotional and physical distress, he claims.

Gagnon demands a trial by jury and money that would account for past and future losses, missed employment opportunities and damage to his reputation.

The district has yet to be served with the suit from Gagnon, according to Staff Attorney Mitchell Teitelbaum.

When reached Friday, Aranibar said she was aware of the suit but had no comment on it.

Gagnon referred all questions to his lawyers. John Romano, a West Palm Beach-based lawyer, for Gagnon could not immediately be reached on Friday.

Gagnon's suit stems from the Roderick Frazier child abuse case, in which, ultimately, Gagnon was acquitted of one felony count and one misdemeanor count of failing to report child abuse. Gagnon was also cleared by an administrative judge, who said the district failed to show enough evidence that Gagnon had violated any law, rule or school board policy.

The board has since reimbursed Gagnon for backpay and legal fees.

The district was served with an updated lawsuit from Pumphrey this week, Teitelbaum confirmed.

"The matter is now being referred to outside counsel to defend the district," Teitelbaum said.

The amended lawsuit, which will supersede a lawsuit he filed in January, seeks more than $100,000 in damages and lists seven counts against the school district, the school board and board member Dave "Watchdog" Miner.

Although the amended suit has one fewer count than the previously filed suit, the amended suit is longer and includes more up-to-date allegations against the district, including an example of what Pumphrey called unfair treatment concerning how the school board treated Debra Horne, another former investigator, in a recent meeting.

Part of the reason Pumphrey believes he was placed on paid, administrative leave is because of an anonymous package delivered to the district containing details of a sealed and expunged records from Maryland, where Pumphrey signed someone else's name to a deed of trust, which was later notarized. Pumphrey contends he had permission to sign the document. The case originated in 1997 and authorities declined to prosecute in 2002. The record was expunged a few years later.

The district has not made the actual contents of the sealed and expunged record public, saying the documents are part of an ongoing investigation.

In his amended lawsuit, Pumphrey refers to the school board's recent decision to pay legal fees for Horne as an example of "the harassing, discriminatory, retaliatory, defaming, libelous, slanderous and humiliating conduct" that Pumphrey is suffering.

The board went against the superintendent and the attorney's recommendation when they decided to award Horne more than $18,000 in legal fees she incurred when she was charged in connection to the Frazier child abuse case.

Horne entered a pre-trial intervention program as opposed to going to trial and the charges were eventually dropped. Horne never plead guilty or admitted any type of guilt. Her record has been sealed and expunged, as well.

The board debated on whether the pre-trial intervention was considered a successful defense of the charges, ultimately voting 4-1 in Horne's favor, with Karen Carpenter voting no.

The vast majority of Pumphrey's lawsuit remains the same. He claims he was denied for a promotion for a job he was qualified, he claims he has been discriminated against because he is black and he claims his reputation has been irreparably damaged.

Pumphrey's lawsuit stems from a press conference and subsequent public comments made by Miner.

In October, Miner began calling for Pumphrey's resignation, saying he lied on his resume as part of his application to work with the school district. Pumphrey said he held Class C/MA license, which deals with being a private investigator in Florida, but he had only applied for it and never received it.

Miner's request failed to gain traction with board members and district officials until Mills received the anonymous package and placed Pumphrey on paid administrative leave.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter@MeghinDelaney.

This story was originally published February 20, 2015 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Gagnon, Pumphrey file lawsuits against Manatee County School District."