Court Round Up

Pennsylvania: School district must pay $260K in spying case
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal judge says a suburban Philadelphia school district embroiled in a laptop spying scandal must pay a family’s lawyer about $260,000.

Lower Merion School District was ordered Monday to pay attorney Mark Haltzman for work done in a civil case involving allegations school officials improperly used webcam-enabled laptops to spy on students.

Senior U.S. District Judge Jan DuBois says Haltzman deserves to be paid for work he did that led to an injunction barring the district from secretly monitoring activity on school-provided laptops.

Haltzman represents Blake Robbins, who claims the district photographed him 400 times in a 15-day period last fall, sometimes as he slept or was half-dressed.

District officials say they are disappointed in the judge’s decision.

New York: Teacher settles suit against NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City teacher who was suspended for allowing students to use sexually explicit language in a class on HIV/AIDS has settled her claim against the city for $45,000.

In May, a judge ruled that Faith Kramer was wrongfully suspended and said her lawsuit against the Department of Education could proceed. The city said  it settled the case to avoid costly litigation.