Costello v. Mitchell Public School District 79

266 F.3d 916 (2001)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Costello v. Mitchell Public School District 79

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
266 F.3d 916 (2001)

  • Written by Sharon Feldman, JD

Facts

Sadonya Costello (plaintiff) was a seventh-grade student at Mitchell High School. Sadonya was a new student to the school and was struggling academically. Sadonya’s band teacher, Roger Kercher (defendant) called Sadonya “stupid,” “retarded,” and “dumb” in front of her classmates; once threw a notebook at Sadonya; and told Sadonya she could not play in the band because she was too stupid. Sadonya’s mother arranged a meeting attended by Sadonya’s therapist. Kercher angrily walked out of the meeting. Sadonya was taken out of band class and placed in a music appreciation class also taught by Kercher. Sadonya eventually left Mitchell High School and was homeschooled. Sadonya suffered from depression and received psychological treatment. Sadonya and her parents (the Costellos) (plaintiffs) brought, among other causes of action, a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress against Mitchell Public School District 79, the school board and superintendent of Mitchell Public School, the Mitchell High School principal, and Kercher (collectively, the school) (defendants). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the school.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Wollman, C.J.)

Concurrence/Dissent (Hamilton, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership