A judge has dismissed Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the mother of an administrator at the Inglewood aeronautics and aviation training school who was fatally shot, allegedly by a campus security guard.
Tywana Williams, the mother of Cameisha Clark, contended in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that the college was negligent in the employment of Jesse Figueroa — a felon — as a security guard.
But on Tuesday, Judge Michael Small removed Spartan College from the case, agreeing with school attorneys that the correct place for the plaintiff’s claims is a workers’ compensation forum.
“For one, plaintiff has failed to plead … that Spartan College had a specific intent to injure Dr. Clark, an allegation that would take plaintiff’s claims outside the (workers’ compensation) exclusivity doctrine,” the judge wrote, adding that she secondly cites no fraudulent concealment on the school’s part that also would allow her to keep her claims in court.
However, the judge said Williams may be able to continue with the part of her case against Spartan Education Group LLC, the school’s parent company, if she provides more information in an amended complaint filed by April 13.
“The Spartan defendants’ contention at the hearing that any such amendments would amount to a sham pleading may be correct,” Small further wrote, adding that he will address that contention if SEG challenges the plaintiff’s amended complaint.
The shooting occurred at about 3:45 p.m. on May 2, 2025, inside an office on the campus in the 8900 block of Aviation Boulevard, between Arbor Vitae Street and Hillcrest Boulevard, authorities said. Figueroa is accused of fatally shooting Clark, 37, who had recently been promoted to dean of students, and wounding her assistant, a 35-year-old woman.
Inglewood Mayor James Butts told reporters after the shooting that Clark was the shooter’s primary target, calling it a case of workplace violence.
Figueroa, 40, of Monterey Park, was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of a firearm with a prior violent conviction and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to court records. He is awaiting the setting of a date for a preliminary hearing.
The complaint also names as defendants Good Guard Security Inc., American Guard Services, Figueroa and others.
The complaint alleges that neither the security company nor Spartan College conducted even the most basic of background checks that would have easily identified Figueroa’s extensive criminal history, which included multiple counts of robbery stemming from a case in 2007. Figueroa’s security guard license had expired nearly 14 years earlier, but that also wasn’t checked or flagged by the security company or Spartan College, the suit filed last Aug. 19 contends.
A case management conference is scheduled for Sept. 16.