TROY, MI — An Oxford Community School District employee and counselor is asserting famed attorney Geoffrey N. Fieger erroneously named him in his recently filed $100 million lawsuits, and that the false allegations against him have already taken a toll on his life.
The Southfield-based Fieger, Fieger, Kenney & Harrington law firm on Thursday, Dec. 9, filed the two suits in U.S. District Court on behalf of Jeffrey and Brandi Franz and their daughters, Riley and Bella Franz, of Leonard.
Riley, a 17-year-old senior at Oxford High School, suffered a gunshot wound to her neck when Ethan R. Crumbley allegedly went on a shooting spree in the school on Nov. 30, killing four students and wounding six more and one teacher. Bella, a 14-year-old freshman, was near her sister when she was shot and “narrowly escaped the bullets discharged toward her,” the suits state.
In the suits, Fieger names the school district, Superintendent Timothy Throne, Oxford High School Principal Steven Wolf, Dean of Students Ryan Moore, two counselors, two teachers, and a staff member as defendants. The latter five defendants are not named in the suit.
Fieger alleges that the morning of the shooting, a teacher found an alarming note on Ethan Crumbley’s desk, which was reported to Moore.
Shortly thereafter, the 15-year-old sophomore’s parents — James R. and Jennifer L. Crumbley — visited the school and met with Moore, Wolf, and other staffers, the suit states.
After this meeting, Ethan Crumbley returned to class with a backpack that had a 9mm Sig Sauer SP in it. About 12:52 p.m., he began shooting. The four students killed were Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17.
Moore, however, is asserting he was not the Dean of Students or at the high school the day of the shooting.
On Tuesday, Dec. 14, Troy-based attorney Timothy J. Mullins filed a motion on Moore’s behalf, seeking Moore’s dismissal from the suit and sanctions against Fieger.
“Throughout the Complaint, Mr. Fieger accused Mr. Moore of being aware that the shooter poised a threat to students and did nothing,” Mullins wrote. “Mr. Fieger affirmatively alleged that Mr. Moore made students less safe by his actions.”
Mullins went on to write that Moore had not worked in the high school for more than a year and was working at a different building when the shooting occurred.
“This is not much ado about nothing,” Mullins wrote. “In reality, because of Mr. Fieger’s sloppy legal filings, Mr. Moore has received death threats.”
After Fieger’s lawsuits were filed, Moore had a reinforced steel door installed on his home, installed new locks, and removed his children from school for their safety, Moore himself wrote in declaration attached to Mullins’ motion.
Moore, a member of the district’s Trauma Response Team, has had his ability to render effective aid and counseling hindered by the suits, he added.
“As a result of being improperly named in Fieger’s lawsuit, I have suffered reputational harm and I worry about my future employability,” Moore wrote. “I have experienced a significant increase in emotional stress during an already traumatic time for the Oxford Community, that has negatively impacted all aspects of my daily life.”
According to Moore’s page on the Oxford Virtual Academy website, he ceased working as the high school’s Dean of Students at the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year, taking a new role as a counselor with OVA.
In an article by The Oxford Leader published Aug. 25, a different individual is listed as the high school’s Dean of Students.
An MLive reporter on Dec. 10 emailed Fieger regarding this incongruity but has received no response.
In his motion, Mullins states he sent Fieger a letter regarding Moore being improperly named in his suits. Fieger did not remove Moore from the suits and instead filed a motion accusing Moore of destroying evidence by making his LinkedIn profile private, Mullins wrote.
“Mr. Fieger is trying to obfuscate his sanctionable actions by filing motions that lack factual and legal merit,” Mullins wrote. “The Court needs to stop this misconduct before it gets worse; the Court needs to stop it before someone is physically injured or killed because of Mr. Fieger’s reckless and false statements.”
Mullins’ motion ends with him asking the court to remove Moore from the suits and to sanction Fieger.
Meanwhile, Ethan Crumbley is charged with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of felony firearm.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are both charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter.
All three Crumbleys remain in custody on high bonds.
Read more:
First lawsuits filed against Oxford schools seek $100M on behalf of wounded student, sister
Accused Oxford shooter ruled a ‘menace’ to other juveniles, will remain in adult jail pending trial
