ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A federal judge ordered Allentown School District to cover an ex-teacher’s legal fees and costs after he successfully sued ASD for violating his First Amendment rights last year.
Former Raub Middle School teacher Jason Moorehead was retaliated against by the school district for his conservative beliefs after attending a 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally, a jury found in August.
ASD is on the hook for Moorehead’s $814,879.50 in attorneys’ fees and $157,717.98 in other costs, for a total of $972,597.48.U.S. District Court documents
As a result, Moorehead was awarded $131,500 total in damages.
Now, ASD is on the hook for Moorehead’s $814,879.50 in attorneys’ fees and $157,717.98 in other costs, for a total of $972,597.48, according to court documents filed this month.
That payment is covered by insurance and won’t come from ASD’s budget, an attorney for the school district told LehighValleyNews.com in April.
The amount owed is millions less than Moorehead and his attorneys sought. They wanted the district to pay them $3.1 million based on the time, effort and money it took to win the complex case.
Though the school district’s attorneys didn’t dispute Moorehead’s ability to seek legal fees and other costs, they claimed the payment request was inflated and asked the court to deny it outright as a result.
Arguments
Attorneys for both Moorehead and ASD argued their cases in front of District Court Judge John M. Gallagher last month at the federal courthouse in Allentown.
ASD’s attorneys said Moorehead was upset with his damages amount, which was only 2.6% of the $5 million he demanded of ASD to settle.
“All in all, while Plaintiff’s fee petition is excessive, it does not demonstrate such a high level of malfeasance” as to deny it outright.U.S. District Court Judge John M. Gallagher
They argued Moorehead and his team wanted to use the fees and costs as a way to get closer to the payout they thought they'd win through the trial.
Moorehead also turned down $2.5 million offered by ASD to settle.
Moorehead’s attorneys pushed back. They said the jury trial was essential to correct the record because ASD wouldn’t issue an apology for its treatment of Moorehead.
In his opinion, Judge Gallagher said Moorehead and his attorneys are “entitled to recovery of fees and costs” because they were successful in a civil rights case, but the amount they requested was “unreasonable.”
“All in all, while Plaintiff’s fee petition is excessive, it does not demonstrate such a high level of malfeasance” as to deny it outright, Gallagher said.
