Case Against Capella Dismissed

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by BlackBird, Nov 22, 2007.

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  1. BlackBird

    BlackBird Member

    Case Against Capella Dismissed - (2007-11-21)

    All charges brought against Capella University by a former learner were dismissed on Monday, November 19, 2007, in United States District Court for the Central District of California. The court found that Capella did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and provided adequate accommodations to Jeffry La Marca. Capella has consistently denied Mr. La Marca’s allegations.

    Capella has brought counterclaims against Mr. La Marca alleging defamation and interference with business relations. He attempted to have Capella’s counterclaim dismissed, but was unsuccessful at the district court level. That decision is currently on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
     
  2. sulla

    sulla New Member

    This is great news. I heard the result from another source but thanks for posting it, Blackbird. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 22, 2007
  3. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    There is a great comment that was posted with the Chronicle of Higher Education's report. It was from the father of a daughter that is deaf. He stated that LaMarca should spend some time with her daughter and interpreter to get an idea of what a disability is.

    Let me get this straight - he couldn't navigate WebCT, but he could build a number of Capella bashing websites. I can't wait to read the judge's written decision on why he tossed out the case.

    Here's the link to the Chronicle article:

    http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2561/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-against-capella-u

    Shawn
     
  4. glimeber

    glimeber New Member

    I can't wait to see how the Capella side of the litigation resolves itself. At the end of the day, this guy will have spend 1000's to defend himself and quite probably 100's of 1000's for the liability. Given the hate this guy spews guess you get what you sow?
     
  5. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Good points, since it is very unlikely that he can ride the contingency train now :) I have read many of the court documents, and Capella has a very strong case. In the district court ruling permitting the counterclaim to move forward, the court ruled that if there was any evidence of falsehood, that that was enough for consideration.

    There is more information about the Capella's counterclaim, including the judges decision to let the counterclaim move forward at:

    http://forums.degreeboard.com/showthread.php?t=6351

    Shawn
     
  6. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Is Mr. LaMarca the same as this Mr. CapellaStinks or Mr. CapellaSucks guy who has been causing such trouble by making such trollish websites about Capella?
     
  7. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    My take on that father's arrogant comment is that a psychiatric disability is no less real than a physical disability. The disappointing part about this case is that it will have a chilling effect on legitimate claims of psychiatric disability. But Clearly Mr. CapellaStinks or Mr. CapellaSucks totally over-reacted.
     
  8. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Yes - he is the same person according to court documents.

    Shawn
     
  9. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    Ted,

    On the one hand, I totally agree with you - legitimate claims of psychiatric disability are real, and the ADA does mandate reasonable accommodation. In addition, I believe that when possible, especially in the educational setting, there is a moral obligation to assist those with legitimate disabilities, whether those disabilities be physical or psychiatric.

    However, what is to be done for those frivolous (IMHO) cases such as LaMarca's? I'm not concerned about a chilling effect because the case was thrown out. In other words, the judge did not rule in favor of the defendant (Capella), rather, the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence on LaMarca's part.

    My take on the father's posting on the Chronicle website is that someone who files a frivolous (IMHO) disability case ought to spend some time with people who are truly disabled.

    Again, I find it hard to believe that on the one hand, due to LaMarca's alleged disabilty, he couldn't navigate WebCT (although according to his OCR complaint - he was the most prolific discussion poster in his classes); while on the other hand, his alleged disability did not prevent him from building elaborate websites with multiple links to his other websites and multimedia presentations.

    Shawn
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 23, 2007
  10. sulla

    sulla New Member

    I was thinking the same thing. La Marca owes an apology to all students with legitimate psychiatric disabilities.
     
  11. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I agree completely; if Mr. LaMarca had just filed his suit and kept his mouth shut, he probably would have won a convenience settlement.
     
  12. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    I don't doubt Mr. LaMarca's claim of a psychiatric disability. What does gall me is that, having seen a link to this case (possibly over at degreeboard), Capella had offered every reasonable accomodation that he asked for, but he continued to press for a court case and demanded accomodations that have nothing to do with his disability. I also think that those Capella administrators that had to deal with this case directly were in an unenviable position. The last thing one would want to do in a case like this is give credence to the student's claim that the university is persecuting paranoid people. :confused:
     
  13. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Some of the things he said on his websites made him look like a manic-depressive on a wild manic swing.
     
  14. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    As usual, good points Ted. I think you are right about Capella administrators (though I have no inside knowledge of this). The fact that Capella did not take legal action against LaMarca until LaMarca filed his suit against Capella is evidence of that IMHO.

    Capella is now in the position of making a decision to continue to pursue the counterclaim. I can't imagine that even if Capella wins that they will be able to collect anything substantial for LaMarca. However, my guess is that LaMarca is going to continue to file appeals, additional lawsuits, etc., leaving Capella with no choice but to go through with the matter.

    Shawn
     
  15. sulla

    sulla New Member

    But what else could he sue them for? He practically hit them with everything but the kitchen sink.
     
  16. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I would wager that's not the point. If you aggressively defend frivilous lawsuits, that discourages the next person from doing the same.

    Unless LaMarca is acting pro se (which would be further evidence he's not academically disabled), no attorney is going to take an appeal like this on a contingency basis, and appeals run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
     
  17. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    I would hate to be Mr. CapellaSucks' lawyer if that happens. Imagine trying to convince this guy that he should plead not guilty by reason of insanity and/or offer to print a retraction on his websites. :rolleyes:
     
  18. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    If Mr. LaMarca is acting pro se, that'd be further evidence of his insanity.
     
  19. sulla

    sulla New Member

    That might explain why he often refers to himself as "We..." in his web pages. LOL
     
  20. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    If LaMarca promised to offer an apology to the University on his websites and take down the materials that defame the university, that would be good enough for me. However, I am speaking just for myself, and in no way does my opinion in this matter speak for Capella University (ergo - I'm just a Ph.D. learner at the University).
     

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