GEORGETOWN, DE - A lawsuit alleging a student’s privacy was violated against Sussex Central High School and Indian River School District has been dismissed, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, filed by Aniya Harmon, a former student at Sussex Central High School, centered around an incident last year in which Harmon says images and footage of her exposed breast during an altercation was shared as a meme among school personnel. The suit named Sussex Central High School, the Indian River School District, former Principal Bradley Layfield, and former Assistant Principal Matthew Jones.
Layfield says he was fired from his position as Principal in November, two months after the lawsuit was filed.
On Monday, January 29th, a Delaware Superior Court Judge granted the school and school district’s motion to dismiss the suit against them. In their request for dismissal, the school and district’s defense argued that they shared no liability for the alleged actions of Layfield or Jones, as they were not acting within the scope of their employment.
In opposition, Harmon’s lawyers argued that because the alleged incident had occurred during school hours, the actions were within the scope of Layfield’s and Jones’ employment, making the High School and the School District liable as well.
In his decision, Judge Calvin L. Scott says that while viewing a video of a school incident is within the scope of employment for a Principal and Vice Principal, sharing that footage and creating a meme out of it is not. Because the alleged actions violating the student’s privacy were outside of their professional roles, the charges against Layfield and Jones cannot be applied to the School or District, the Judge argues.
“Because this case does not allege a crime, the act is not criminal,” Judge Scott concludes. “None of the factors greatly support that the Court find the unauthorized conduct was within the scope of employment.”
Though the suit against Sussex Central High School and the Indian River School District has been dismissed, the student’s claims against Layfield and Jones remain.
In a statement to WBOC, Emeka Igwe, one of Harmon's attorneys, says the dismissal is merely procedural and that they intend to refile once more information on the school district's role is uncovered.
"Our lawsuit against the two men we believe are responsible for sharing video of her exposed breast at Sussex Central High School continues and we are pursuing every legal avenue for justice for Ms. Harmon," Igwe said. "Ms. Harmon and her family are anxiously awaiting a decision on criminal charges against Bradley Layfield and Mike Jones for their outrageous behavior toward this student. We should expect much better from senior leadership in our schools."
WBOC reached out to Layfield’s attorney but received no response as of Tuesday evening.
Editor's Note: This article was updated to reflect a statement from Harmon's attorney.