Former Teacher Partially Granted Appeal in Lawsuit Against Williamson County School District

4514 Cole Ave, #600 | Dallas, Texas 75205

Call Kardell Law Group 214-306-8045

Melanie Lemon, a former teacher for Williamson County Schools in Tennessee, was granted a partial appeal by the state’s Court of Appeals regarding a lawsuit that had been previously dismissed in which she claimed the district forced her to resign after she was “bullied” by administrators.

Lemon’s claims included wrongful termination, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress and negligence of leadership. The appeals court allowed the wrongful termination claim to proceed. Both the district court and the appeals court ruled that Lemon did not have sufficient evidence of breach of contract and would be barred from pursuing any legal action with regard to negligent leadership or emotional distress because she resigned before she filed an official complaint with the district.

However, the state appeals court ruled that the claim of wrongful termination is applicable under the Teacher’s Tenure Act.

Case background

Lemon had been a second-grade teacher at Walnut Grove Elementary. She claims she was stalked, bullied, intimidated and defamed by administrators at the school and district during the 2015-2016 school year, specifically naming the school’s principal and the district’s superintendent and assistant superintendent.

The case goes back to an interaction Lemon had with a parent over a student’s behavior during “Back to School” night at Walnut Grove. The parent had reported that Lemon grabbed a student by the wrist while telling the student to stop their behavior. Lemon was suspended for three days without pay and had a surveillance camera placed in her room.

She later received significant community support from parents, students and teachers after she resigned.

For more information about how you can proceed with a wrongful termination case to protect your rights, contact an experienced attorney at Kardell Law Group.

By Steve Kardell | Published December 26, 2019 | Posted in Employee Rights, Wrongful Termination | Tagged bullied, emotional distress, experienced attorney, intimidated and defamed by administrators, negligent leadership, stalked, wrongful termination

Awards & Honors

Our Office

Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
#600
Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
Fax: 469-729-9926

Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.