MOUNT VERNON — On June 9, 2009, John Freshwater filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court. Freshwater has been suspended from his middle school teaching position by the Mount Vernon school district for alleged misconduct, and his $1 million federal lawsuit claims the school board, school administrators and other individuals deprived Freshwater of his constitutional rights, discriminated against and harassed him.
The suit was subsequently amended to include Nancy Freshwater, John’s wife, as a plaintiff, and added a claim of “loss of consortium.”
Earlier this month, attorneys for the Freshwaters and the defendants together petitioned the court to dismiss the loss of consortium complaint.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Frost granted the motion on Oct. 14 and dismissed the complaint.
The lawsuit is still in the discovery phase, as the attorneys for the defendants just recently issued a large number of subpoenas to certain individuals, various organizations and businesses.
Both Freshwater and the school board are in limbo with regard to Freshwater’s contract termination hearing. The hearing referee Lee Shepherd has not yet rendered his opinion on the matter.
