by Jeff Saunders
Reporter
Nordonia Hills -- A Summit County jury has ruled in favor of the Nordonia Hills City School District in a 2007 complaint filed by a former district bus driver.
Tina Haynal filed the complaint after being fired in 2005 for allegedly failing to control students on her bus and for failing to report misbehavior. She did not return phone calls by press time.
Her attorney, Michael T. Conway, said Jan. 22 that he plans to appeal the verdict to the Ninth District Court of Appeals.
"We're filing next week," he said.
District Superintendent Wayne Blankenship said he was relieved by the jury's decision.
"This was an employee who made a lot of claims that we did things wrong and a jury decided we did things right, and we're glad it's over," he said.
A jury in Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Teodosio's court ruled for the district Jan. 14.
In her complaint, Haynal alleged the district, and her former boss, Transportation Supervisor Dan Marling, violated her civil rights by engaging in a pattern of harassment against her.
Though court records still list Marling as a defendant in the case, the portion of Haynal's complaint involving Marling was dismissed on Aug. 15, 2008, according to court records.
Marling did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story.
In her complaint, Haynal alleged the district harassed her and retaliated against her because of a 1999 wrongful termination complaint she had filed against the district.
The wrongful termination case went to arbitration and Haynal was rehired in 2000 and received a $30,000 settlement with the district in 2002.
The district fired Haynal again in May 2005, alleging she failed to maintain control of student behavior and to report misbehavior on her bus.
E-mail: jsaunders@recordpub.com
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