School settles with parent who filed suit

STEPHANIE RICE, Columbian staff writer
October 16, 2003; Page c1
Section: Clark County/region
Article ID: 2003289019 -- 397 words

Officials at St. Joseph Catholic School have agreed to pay $10,000 to a former student whose mother sued the private school in 2000.

Attorneys for the mother and the school said they could not discuss the settlement, which was supposed to be confidential but nevertheless was mentioned several times in papers filed in Clark County Superior Court. The lawsuit was dismissed Tuesday by Judge Roger Bennett after the out-of-court settlement was reached.

The former student's mother, Rosemere resident Jana Panfilio, claimed her son was taunted by his seventh-grade classmates in the winter of 2000 and then wrongfully expelled.  The school said Panfilio withdrew her son.

When she filed the lawsuit in August 2000, Panfilio said her son was expelled because of her contact with school officials over the alleged taunts.  Panfilio, a single mother and a non-Catholic, also claimed the school officials didn't like her "lifestyle".

Seattle attorney Patricia Buchanan, who represented St. Joseph, said the school's staff members "remained steadfast that they didn't do anything wrong.

"This was a defensible case," Buchanan said.

She said the school opted to settle so the boy could move on with his life.

"He was a great little kid," Buchanan said.

She said the real conflict was between the school and the boy's mother.

Buchanan said school officials had asked the mother to refrain from calling parents of her son's classmates while the school did its own investigation of the alleged harassment.  The mother wouldn't cooperate, Buchanan said.

In Panfilio's lawsuit, she asked for her son's readmission to the school, $2,480 in tuition reimbursements and an unspecified amount for emotional distress.

The $10,000 was placed in an account, which her son can draw upon when he turns 18 in 2008.  The boy transferred to a Vancouver public school after he left St. Joseph and never returned.

Vancouver attorney Bill Montecucco, who represented Panfilio, said he had no comment on the settlement.

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