The Granite City school district has reached a confidential settlement with a former high school student who sued after a fellow classmate allegedly assaulted him in the school gymnasium.
Madison County Circuit Judge Sarah Smith canceled the Oct. 31 trial setting after the Granite City CUSD and plaintiff Austin Gilmore announced their settlement agreement.
A stipulation for dismissal and motion for good faith finding was filed on Nov. 10. Smith granted the motion on Nov. 17, finding that the settlement was made in good faith.
Teacher Brad Hasquin had previously been voluntarily dismissed as a defendant without prejudice. Smith then dismissed him with prejudice along with the school district after the settlement was approved.
Smith wrote in her order that Gilmore’s claims against former classmate Tyler Frizzell remain pending. Smith previously entered an order finding Frizzell in default in August 2021 after he failed to answer or respond to the lawsuit.
Smith wrote that Gilmore “is entitled to judgment on the pleading as a matter of law for defendant’s failure to respond to the complaint within the time allotted by the Supreme Court Rules. The court hereby enters default judgment against defendant Frizzell and in favor of plaintiff.”
Gilmore filed the complaint against Frizzell, the Granite City school district and Hasquin, alleging he was a senior at Granite City High School when he was attending gym class with Frizzell on Jan. 29, 2018. Gilmore claimed the students were waiting for the class to start when Frizzell allegedly put him in a wrestling move and “violently” slammed him onto the hardwood basketball court, causing him to suffer a broken collarbone and ligament damage to his shoulder. There were no teachers, aides, or monitors present at the time.
Gilmore accused the school district of willful and wanton misconduct for allegedly failing to supervise the students. He claimed the defendants should have known Frizzell was a safety risk as he allegedly had a “history of committing violent acts towards other students.”
On July 8, 2020, Smith ordered the Granite City Police Department to produce the complete unredacted incident report and directed the parties not to share, release or disseminate any of the information contained in the report.
Then on Aug. 12, 2020, Smith ordered the school district to release Frizzell’s entire academic record, including transcripts, discipline records and health information. The information is available only to the parties in the case after “having considered the discovery needs in the case, the issues at stake in this litigation, and the information likely contained in the student records of defendant Frizzell.”
Gilmore is represented by attorney Ryan Mahoney of Mahoney Law Firm LLC in Glen Carbon.
The Granite City school district and Hasquin were represented by attorneys Donald Ohl and Matthew Plese of Kog Law LLC in Edwardsville.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 19-L-1194