LAS VEGAS (NewsNation) — A former student of the Clark County School District is suing the district for allegedly failing to protect him from bullying.
He’s also suing the parents of the students who he claims bullied him
Nicholas Monroe said three classmates started harassing him online and that eventually escalated to physical violence.
In the complaint filed in Clark County District Court, the 17-year-old said he was brutally beaten by three students at Basic Academy of International Studies.
“It started online through the social media app Instagram, and it progressed into actual bullying at school,” Monroe said.
“This started online, going into the 2020 school year, in January,” Monroe told NewsNation. “I was direct messaged that I should kill myself. From there, it just got worse — threats saying that they were going to jump me at school, and just continual threats to my safety and telling me that I should just kill myself.”
According to the lawsuit, the teens are accused of causing injuries to Nicholas Monroe’s head, neck, shoulders, chest, back, legs, hips, knees, ankles and extremities. He also claims he suffered a brain injury.
When he sought the district’s help, Monroe alleges it failed to protect him.
“It was three days in a row where I had approached my administration, telling them, Hey, these kids not only are approaching me online, and here’s the printout report showing the actual threats, but they’ve now approached me three days in a row saying that they’re going to jump me in school, and then they jumped me in a classroom with no supervision.”
Jacob Leavitt, Monroe’s attorney, said Monroe’s mother also contacted the school regarding the incident and nothing was done.
“This is systematic with Clark County School District, even though they have policies and procedures and the student and their parents follow them. Clark County School District doesn’t follow its own policies, as you can see, in this instance, and many others that I get inquiries throughout every week.”
According to Leavitt, every week he gets 10 inquiries to his law firm Sin City Law from students looking to sue bullies and their parents.
Leavitt said that going after the parents is a way to hold them accountable for their children’s behavior.
“The end goal is to bring this somewhat to a close,” he said. “Hitting the parents, if that’s what it takes, in their pocketbooks, then that’s what it’s going to take. It’s unfortunate that it has to come to this, but this is the approach I’m taking with my firm.”
They’re asking the parents of each of the students for $10,000, which Monroe believes would cover the $15,000 he claims he has incurred in medical expenses plus money for psychological distress.
The teens being sued, and their parents, don’t have a lawyer listed on court records, NewsNation affiliate KTLA reported.
Leavitt said the three teens are facing charges related to injuries.
A jury trial is scheduled in Clark County District Court for Sept. 5, 2023.
NewsNation affiliate KTLA contributed to this report.