TEXAS — A student who was suspended from school andbarred from attending graduation agreed to settle his lawsuitagainst Midland School District for $150,000 in April.Casey Riggan was punished for having possession of a photo thata friend took of the school principal’s car parked in front ofa female teacher’s house. School administrators accused Rigganof being disrespectful and fostering rumors and ordered him toapologize.Riggan refused to apologize and instead sued the school districtin federal court. He was suspended for three days, placed in analternative school and barred from attending graduation.
The school district’s $150,000 settlement offer came aftera judge denied the district’s motion for summary judgment in January,according to Riggan’s attorney, Brian Carney.
Carney said the settlement "adequately represented thedamage that [the school district] had caused."The amount of the settlement "not only compensated Caseyand allowed him to go on with his life," Carney said, "itemphasized the severity of what they did and how bad it was."