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Academy alleges libel, slander
July 7, 2007
By Vice Vela
Royal Gorge Academy attorneys have
submitted a notice to several local government entities, claiming
the private school was the victim of libel and slander, and are
asking the defendants involved to pay $1 million dollars in damages.
The notice was received this week by Cañon City and Fremont County
officials, including City Attorney John Havens and County Attorney
Brenda Jackson, as well as Cañon City Police Department and the
Department of Human Services.
The Pueblo law firm of Gradisar,
Trechter, Ripperger, Roth and Croshal, which represents the Academy,
claims the school’s “reputation... has been damaged and has suffered
financial loss” because of a January Cañon City Police Department
investigation into Academy co-director Randall Hinton.
The notice states CCPD and DHS
representatives, during the course of the Hinton investigation,
“advised” students’ parents “to remove their children from the
(school) and libeled and slandered the Royal Gorge Academy.”
Among the “untrue statements” made
by officials were that the Academy was not an accredited school and
that a diploma from the institution would have “no more value than a
GED,” the notice alleges.
It also states CCPD and DHS
investigators told parents “that the quality of education at the
Royal Gorge Academy was inferior.”
The school claims “numerous parents
removed their children from the Royal Gorge Academy, causing
financial loss.”
The notice complies with the
Colorado Government Immunity Act, which, per the state statute,
requires a party that believes it has suffered injury by a
government entity to file a written notice of the alleged claim
within 180 days of the date of the injury.
The notice has been filed with the
state attorney general’s office as well, per requirement of the
statute.
No lawsuit has been filed at this
point in the process. But, the notice preserves the plaintiff’s
right to file suit, if necessary.
Havens would not comment on the
merits of the complaint, but said such matters often include parties
that may not necessarily ultimately be involved in a potential
lawsuit.
“In order to preserve the right to
file suit, a lot of plaintiffs’ attorneys get out the shotgun and
put as many parties as they can on notice.”
Phone calls placed to plaintiffs’
attorneys requesting further information were not returned by press
time.
The Academy opened in Cañon City in
the spring of 2006. The school houses teenagers who have been sent
to the school by their guardians for various reasons, including
behavioral and academic problems.
Hinton currently faces misdemeanor
assault and false imprisonment charges stemming from allegations
that he was abusive toward students at the boarding school.
Hinton is scheduled to appear in
county court Aug. 27 for the start of a trial where he faces seven
counts of third-degree assault and two counts of false imprisonment.
Hinton has pleaded not guilty to
the charges.
Vic Vela can be reached at
vvela@ccdailyrecord.com.
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