Former W. Aurora student drops lawsuit over expulsion
A former West Aurora High School student, who sued the school district earlier this year arguing he was unfairly expelled after a teacher confiscated his phone in fall 2009, has decided not to fight the district.
An attorney for Alexander Contini recently dismissed the lawsuit, according to court records.
“We brought the matter to a conclusion,” said attorney Andrew Kryder, who declined to elaborate Monday.
According to court records, Kane County Judge Edward Schreiber accepted Kryder’s move in late April to have the suit “voluntarily dismissed.”
In the initial suit, filed in February seeking more than $50,000 damages and a jury trial, Kryder argued his client was unfairly expelled from the high school after a teacher confiscated Contini’s phone Oct. 1, 2009.
The suit accused the teacher of falsely reporting an altercation between him and Contini. The suit also argued the district purposefully scheduled an expulsion hearing on mid-October when witnesses favorable to Contini were unavailable because of standardized testing.
Kryder argued a surveillance videotape would disprove the teacher’s statements that Contini shoved the teacher and yanked his arm.
Other defendants in the suit were the school board, which voted to expel Contini.
The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it may be refiled in the future if Contini changes his mind. Kryder Monday declined to comment on if refiling the suit was an option going forward.