NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A circuit court judge denied motions by the Newport News School Board Thursday to stop discovery and delay the trial date for a teacher’s lawsuit.
Abby Zwerner is suing the school board and three individuals for $40 million. She was shot through the hand and into her chest by one of her first-grade students in January 2023. It claims that school administrators failed to heed warnings that the child had a gun with him that day.
Zwerner also names the former superintendent of schools, the former principal of Richneck Elementary, and former assistant principal Ebony Parker. Parker faces eight felony counts of child abuse in connection with the case.
Attorneys for the school board wanted the lawsuit, currently set for trial in January, delayed until after Parker’s criminal trial which is set for February.
Judge Matthew Hoffman said it was in neither the best interest of the public nor Zwerner to delay the trial.
Zwerner‘s attorney Jeffrey Breit called the attempt to delay “disingenuous.”
“Quite frankly, they shouldn’t be doing that to a teacher here in Newport News,” Breit said. “I’m very upset about it. And I think the judge saw through their efforts to try to delay this case even longer. The criminal case of Dr. Parker could take years.”
Breit told Judge Hoffman he is being denied access to dozens of school personnel that are important to Zwerner’s case.
Anne Lahren of Pender and Coward represented the school board in court Thursday, and responded with this statement following the ruling:
“We are pleased that the Court has scheduled a specific date for our plea of sovereign immunity on behalf of the School Board for October. We strongly believe that both the Board and former superintendent are immune from this suit as a matter of law. Matters concerning scheduling in this case can be further addressed after a final disposition of sovereign immunity by the Virginia Supreme Court, which directly reviews rulings on such issues by statute.”
Zwerner testified last year that she has numerous physical and psychological injuries after the bullet went through her hand and into her upper chest. She said she will never be able to stand in front of a classroom again.
Lahren said in court they will mount a defense of sovereign immunity against the lawsuit.
Breit said that won’t affect his case.
“The school board has the right to claim sovereign immunity,” he said. “It’s a tough burden for us. It won’t affect the individual defendants themselves. The trial will go forward in January against somebody.”
Ebony Parker’s civil attorney called the case unprecedented, saying it is the first time a school administrator has been charged in connection with a school shooting.
Parker, facing eight felony charges, is expected to invoke the Fifth Amendment to at least some of the questions she will face as a witness in the lawsuit trial.
Hoffman will hear the school board’s claim of sovereign immunity in a hearing in October.
