BELLEVILLE – Mascoutah High School volleyball coach Todd Gober settled a retaliation suit filed by former student Brooke Junker and started a defamation suit against her and her parents the same day.
Settlement of Junker’s suit occurred in mediation at U.S. district court on Aug. 23, and Gober’s suit was filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court on the same date.
Gober took the school board out of the dispute in his defamation suit, introducing wife Breanna Gober as second plaintiff and parents Beth and Jeff Junker as second and third defendants.
Brooke Junker sued Todd Gober and the school board last year, claiming he demoralized and degraded her and teammates.
She alleged discrimination, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Gober and the school board moved to dismiss the complaint and District Judge David Dugan denied the motion this July.
Dugan found Junker plausibly alleged misconduct due to her sex and for reasons relating to intimidation, humiliation, power, and control.
School board counsel Julie Bruch of Northbrook answered the complaint on Aug. 21, claiming Gober based his conduct on legitimate reasons.
Bruch claimed the school board’s response wasn’t clearly unreasonable in light of circumstances.
She claimed if allegations of unlawful conduct were found to have merit, defendants took prompt and effective action to remedy such acts.
Former magistrate judge Stephen Williams mediated the dispute on Aug. 23 but didn’t immediately post a report on the session.
O'Fallon attorney John Julian filed Gober’s suit at 4:02 p.m.
Williams reported the success of mediation to District Judge David Dugan a day later and Dugan granted 60 days for completion of documents.
In Gober's complaint, Julian alleged defamation, false light and interference with business relations for Todd Gober.
For both Todd and Breanna Gober, he alleged intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress including physical manifestations.
Julian claimed Brooke Junker’s suit was a malicious abuse of process.
“Plaintiffs thus reserve all rights in any action based on abuse of process and malicious prosecution pending the outcome of the parallel action,” he wrote.
He claimed that outside of the parallel action, the Junkers made false and damaging statements in writing, meetings, and conversations.
The Junkers allegedly indicated Gober shouldn’t have been hired, and he had been terminated from prior coaching roles.
Julian claimed the Junkers also indicated Gober had an affair with an athlete under his tutelage and couldn’t be trusted to supervise girls.
He claimed they designed a campaign to ruin Gober’s standing in the community and stain his reputation in general.
Julian added that the Junkers designed statements to interfere with Gober’s business relationships.
Julian provided an address at Aegis Law in O’Fallon, though his registration provides an address at Aegis in Barrington.
Marie Pudlowski, Mark Schuver, Montana Sinn, and Natalie Lorenz, all of Mathis, Marifian and Richter in Belleville, represented Junker in Dugan’s court.
No one entered an appearance for the Junkers in St. Clair County Court for Gober's suit as of Sept. 5.