Natalie Hoernschemeyer and Anne Kerns obtained a victory for a Missouri public school district in a case pending before the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Plaintiff employee brought a whistleblower claim under Missouri Revised Statute Section 105.055 and a retaliation claim under Title VI. In defense of our client, we filed summary judgment on both claims. In response to the summary judgment filing and the legal arguments contained therein, the plaintiff voluntarily abandoned her Title VI retaliation claim, which the Court later dismissed with prejudice. With regard to Plaintiff’s whistleblower claim, the Court granted summary judgment in the school district’s favor.
The Court ruled that the school district was entitled to judgment as a matter of law because the uncontroverted material facts demonstrated the persons plaintiff alleged retaliated against were unaware that she ever engaged in protected activity, and Plaintiff could not prove causation. Winton v. Columbia Public Schools (2022).
