A Westlake Village private school wants a judge to pare child abuse and civil rights allegations from a lawsuit filed on behalf of a student who alleges he suffered permanent right eye damage from his confiscated laser device when his teacher shined it into his line of vision in the classroom.
The boy’s Van Nuys Superior Court lawsuit names as defendants Oaks Christian School and the teacher. The case alleges child abuse and neglect, general negligence, assault, battery and civil rights violations. The plaintiff seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
But according to court papers filed by the school’s attorneys on Oct. 16 with Judge Valerie Salkin, the child abuse and civil rights violations allegations are not supported by the facts and should be dismissed. The boy had been disruptive in class and when the teacher offered to escort him to see the school nurse so she could look at his eye, he declined so he would not be late for baseball practice, according to the school’s lawyers’ pleadings.
Because the boy’s suit already alleges general negligence, battery and assault, adding a child abuse claim is “unnecessary and unwarranted,” the defense attorneys allege in their court papers. In addition, the civil rights claim fails because there are no facts showing the teacher threatened violence against the boy, according to the same defense attorneys’ pleadings.
A hearing on the school’s motion is scheduled Nov. 24.
According to the complaint, the boy, now 14, was a seventh grade student at Oaks Christian when on April 29, 2024, he took a “532nm 5 mw high power green laser pointer torch” to school and it was confiscated by his teacher.
About a week later, the boy asked the teacher to return the laser pointer and she said she would do so at week’s end, the suit states. The teacher then began pointing the laser at various objects in the classroom, including walls and various body parts of students, the suit filed June 25 further alleges.
The boy was sitting in class doing his work when the teacher allegedly pointed the device at his right eye, at which time he noticed a bright green light, according to the suit.
“Plaintiff immediately felt discomfort and turned his head away, exclaiming “ah,” the suit states.
Minutes later, the boy experienced blurred vision in his right eye and he informed a classmate, the suit further states.
At the end of class, the teacher told the boy that he should stop being disruptive and focus while in class, to which the plaintiff apologized and said, “Sorry, my eyes are messed up,” according to the suit.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department report on the event stated the teacher apologized and offered to walk the boy to see the school nurse, but he declined so that he could get to baseball practice on time, the suit states.
The boy suffered permanent damage to his right eye, including laser maculopathy, the suit states. The plaintiff also continues to experience a spot in his right eye, which has affected his ability to see clearly, including when playing baseball, according to the suit.
The teacher should have known that the laser device could cause retinal damage and that green light lasers are particularly dangerous, the suit states.
Oaks Christian is a college prep, day and boarding school for students in grades 4-12.