Lawsuit Filed Against Jamie Devine, Richland One School Board
Lawsuit Filed Against Jamie Devine, Richland One School Board
Lawsuit Filed Against Jamie Devine, Richland One School Board
Ali De La Cruz,
Plaintiff, SUMMONS
vs.
Defendants.
A lawsuit has been filed against you. YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to
answer the Complaint in this action, of which a copy is hereby served upon you, and to serve a
copy of your answer to the Complaint to said Plaintiff’s attorney the address listed below within
thirty (30) days after such service. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will be rendered against
you for the relief demanded in the Complaint. You also must file your Answer or Motion with the
court.
S/Tyler Rody
Tyler Rody, Bar No. 104238
661 E. Main St.
Spartanburg, SC 29302
(864) 381-7969
(864) 670-5636 – Fax
[email protected]
Attorney for Plaintiff
Spartanburg, SC
August 19, 2024
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STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
Ali De La Cruz,
Plaintiff, COMPLAINT
Defendants.
Plaintiff, complaining of Defendants would respectfully show unto the Court as follows:
PARTIES
Carolina and a citizen of the United States of America. Defendant Devine is a state actor
and a “person” as that term is defined in relation to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He is sued herein for
his acts individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Richland One Board of
School Commissioners.
an authorized political subdivision of the State of South Carolina that is statutorily liable,
both directly and vicariously, for the acts of the individual Defendant and the damages to
Plaintiff under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, S.C. Code § 15-78-10 et seq., and is
also liable pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and 1983 for the damages suffered by Plaintiff due
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to its supervisory indifference and/or tacit authorization of the misconduct of its agents as
detailed herein.
4. Jurisdiction and venue in this Court are proper under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-100(b), as
the acts and/or omissions giving rise to this action were committed, either in whole or in
5. Plaintiff further invokes this Court’s concurrent jurisdiction to hear claims against
Defendant Devine and Defendant School Board arising under the Constitution and federal
statutes, specifically, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 1988, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
7. Plaintiff is an adult education teacher and employed by Richland County School District
8. Plaintiff regularly attends school board meetings held by Defendant School Board in a
public forum to stay informed and to exercise her right to participate in public discourse.
As such, she regularly speaks at Defendant School Board’s meetings and regularly offers
9. Upon information and belief, on or about April 23, 2024, Plaintiff attended a regularly
10. During the April 23, 2024, meeting, Plaintiff made comments as part of the public
participation segment.
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11. In that meeting, Plaintiff criticized Richland County School District One for failing to
evaluate her daughter, who has ADHD and attends a school in its district, after Plaintiff
made several requests for her to be tested and evaluated. Plaintiff further criticized
Richland One for changing her daughter’s classes and failing to implement an education
plan for her daughter, and she criticized Defendant School Board for its budgeting and not
being able to hire psychologists who can assist kids with testing for learning disabilities
and/or challenges.
12. At all times relevant herein, Defendant Devine was a board member for Defendant School
Board.
13. Upon information and belief, during the April 23, 2024, school board meeting and after
she was sitting in the front row of the meeting next to her husband.
14. Upon information and belief, the cell phone used by Defendant Devine to take the
inappropriate photographs was the property of Defendant School Board and/or Richland
15. Defendant Devine was acting within the scope of his employment and/or official duties
with Defendant School Board when taking and distributing the inappropriate photographs
he took of Plaintiff, as these events took place while he was performing the duties of a
16. Upon information and belief, Defendant Devine distributed the inappropriate photographs
to others via text message, messaging application, and/or email to harass, intimidate, and/or
embarrass Plaintiff.
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17. Upon information and belief, Defendant Devine took the photographs for his own sexual
gratification, and/ or for the sexual gratification of the individuals to which he distributed
the photographs.
18. As a result of Defendant Devine’s actions, Plaintiff has experienced emotional distress,
19. Either Defendant School Board is statutorily liable for the actions and omissions of
Defendant Devine brought under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act as an employee/agent
acting in the course and scope of his official duties pursuant to the South Carolina Tort
Claims Act, or Defendant Devine’s conduct outlined above constitutes intent to harm or a
20. Defendant School Board is liable for the constitutional violations of Defendant Devine for
its policies, training, and/or customs that allowed the behavior to take place.
21. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
Every person, who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom
or usage of any state or territory or the District of Columbia subjects or
causes to be subjected any citizen of the United States or other person within
the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or
immunities secured by the constitution and law shall be liable to the party
injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other appropriate proceeding
for redress. . .
23. Plaintiff in this action is a citizen of the United States and Defendant Devine is a person
25. Any reasonable school board member such as Defendant Devine knew or should have
known of this right at the time of the complained of conduct as it was clearly established
at that time.
26. Plaintiff exercised her constitutionally protected right to question the conduct of the
27. Because of his dissatisfaction with Plaintiff’s critical comments about Defendant School
Board and Richland One, Defendant Devine retaliated against Plaintiff and attempted to
embarrass and harass her by taking upskirt photographs of her while she was attending the
28. Retaliatory animus for Plaintiff’s exercise of her constitutionally protected right to question
the conduct of the School Board, was a substantially motivating factor in the retaliatory
29. The actions taken against Plaintiff in retaliation for her protected conduct would deter a
person of ordinary firmness from continuing to engage in the protected conduct of speaking
30. Defendant Devine took inappropriate photographs of Plaintiff as a means of retaliation for
Plaintiff’s protected speech. He is therefore liable for violating Plaintiff's First Amendment
protections.
31. Defendant Devine is not entitled to qualified immunity for the complained of conduct.
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FOR A SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
42 U.S.C. § 1983 – Deliberately Indifferent Policies, Practices, Customs, Training, and
Supervision in violation of the First Amendment pursuant to Monell v. Dept. of Soc. Servs., 436
U.S. 658 (1979).
(As to All Defendants)
32. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
33. At the time of the complained of event, Plaintiff had the clearly established constitutional
34. Defendant Devine and Defendant School Board knew or should have known of these rights
at the time of the complained of conduct as they were clearly established at that time.
35. Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity for the complained of conduct.
36. Defendant Devine and Defendant School Board were at all times relevant herein,
policymakers for Defendant School Board and in that capacity established policies
procedures, customs, and/or practices for Defendant School Board. At all times relevant
herein, Defendant Devine was acting under the color of state law in his capacity as board
member of Defendant School Board and his acts or omissions were conducted within the
37. These Defendants developed and maintained policies, procedures, customs, and/or
which were moving forces behind and proximately caused the violations of the Plaintiff’s
constitutional protections and federal rights as set forth herein and in the other claims,
resulted from a conscious or deliberate choice to follow a course of action from among
39. The deliberately indifferent training and supervision provided by Defendant Devine and
Defendant School Board resulted from a conscious or deliberate choice to follow a course
of action from among various alternatives available to Defendants and were moving forces
40. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
41. As a public official and board member at a public-school board meeting, Defendant Devine
owed a duty of care to the public in attendance at the meeting and to Plaintiff to act
42. Defendant Devine breached his duty of care to Plaintiff and was negligent, grossly
43. Upon information and belief, Defendant Devine’s actions were taken with intent to harm
44. As a direct and proximate result of the negligent/ and/or reckless, willful, and wanton acts
of Defendant Devine, Plaintiff has been unable to engage in her normal pursuits of
proven.
45. Defendant Devine’s conduct of taking and then distributing the inappropriate photographs
of Plaintiff constituted a crime of moral turpitude and he acted with intent to harm and
embarrass Plaintiff, therefore, he can be individually named and liable for this cause of
46. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
47. Defendant School Board is statutorily liable to Plaintiff for the negligent, grossly negligent,
and/or reckless acts of Defendant Devine as outlined herein to the extent that they were
undertaken within the scope of his employment and/or official duties with Defendant
School Board.
48. Furthermore, Defendant School Board owed a duty to the public in attendance at its school
board meetings and to Plaintiff to act reasonably and not to cause them unnecessary harm.
49. Defendant School Board breached its duty of care to Plaintiff and was negligent, grossly
negligent, reckless, and/or willful in one or more of the following particulars, to wit:
50. As a direct and proximate result of the negligent/ and/or reckless, willful, and wanton acts
of Defendant School Board, Plaintiff has suffered damages as outlined in this Complaint
51. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
52. Defendant Devine took upskirt photographs of Plaintiff during a school board meeting and
was certain or substantially certain that such distress would result from its conduct.
54. Defendant’s conduct was so extreme and outrageous as to exceed all possible bounds of
decency and must be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.
55. Defendant caused Plaintiffs’ emotional distress, which was so severe that no reasonable
56. Defendant Devine was intentionally trying to harm Plaintiff by taking and then distributing
moral turpitude.
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FOR A SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION
Voyeurism constituting negligence per se
(As to Defendant Devine)
57. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
58. Defendant Devine was required to obey the laws of South Carolina.
59. Defendant Devine owed a duty to Plaintiff to follow the rules, laws, and procedures under
60. Defendant Devine failed to obey South Carolina law in violation of S.C. Code Ann. § 16-
17-470(B) which states “A person commits the crime of voyeurism if, for the purpose of
arousing or gratifying sexual desire of any person, he or she knowingly views, photographs,
audio records, video records, produces, or creates a digital electronic file, or films another
person, without that person’s knowledge and consent, while the person is in a place where
61. Plaintiff had a reasonable expectation of privacy sitting in the front row of a school board
meeting, and the front row of Defendant School Board’s meetings is a place where one
would reasonably expect to be safe from hostile intrusion or surveillance, especially from
62. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Devine’s violation of South Carolina’s laws,
including the one identified above, Defendant Devine breached his duty to Plaintiff to
follow the rules, laws, and procedures under South Carolina law.
63. As a result of Defendant Devine’s failure to follow the laws of South Carolina, Plaintiff
suffered damages as outlined in this complaint and incorporated into this cause of action.
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64. Defendant Devine’s conduct of taking and then distributing the inappropriate photographs
of Plaintiff constituted a crime of moral turpitude and he acted with intent to harm Plaintiff,
therefore, he can be individually named and liable for this cause of action under the South
65. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
66. Defendant School Board is statutorily liable to Plaintiff for the negligent, grossly negligent,
and/or reckless acts of Defendant Devine as outlined herein to the extent that they were
undertaken within the scope of his employment and/or official duties with Defendant
School Board.
67. At all times relevant herein, Defendant Devine was acting within the course and scope of
68. Therefore, Defendant School Board is statutorily liable to Plaintiff for the negligent,
69. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
70. Defendant Devine was required to obey the laws of South Carolina.
71. Defendant Devine owed a duty to Plaintiff to follow the rules, laws, and procedures under
17-470(C) which states “A person commits the crime of aggravated voyeurism if he or she
knowingly sells or distributes any photograph, audio recording, video recording, digital
electronic file or film of another person taken or made in violation of this section.”
73. Upon information and belief, Defendant Devine distributed the inappropriate photographs
that he took of Plaintiff to several individuals via text message, messaging apps, and/or
email.
74. Defendant Devine violated S.C. Code Ann § 16-17-470(B) by taking the aforementioned
75. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Devine’s violation of South Carolina’s laws,
including the one identified above, Defendant Devine breached his duty to Plaintiff to
follow the rules, laws, and procedures under South Carolina law.
76. As a result of Defendant Devine’s failure to follow the laws of South Carolina, Plaintiff
suffered damages as outlined in this complaint and incorporated into this cause of action.
77. Upon information and belief, Defendant Devine’s conduct of taking and then distributing
acted with intent to harm Plaintiff, therefore, he can be individually named and liable for
this cause of action under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.
78. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
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79. Defendant School Board is statutorily liable to Plaintiff for the negligent, grossly negligent,
and/or reckless acts of Defendant Devine as outlined herein to the extent that they were
undertaken within the scope of his employment and/or official duties with Defendant
School Board.
80. At all times relevant herein, Defendant Devine was acting within the course and scope of
81. Therefore, Defendant School Board is statutorily liable to Plaintiff for the negligent,
82. Plaintiff restates and realleges all previous paragraphs as if they are restated herein
verbatim.
83. Defendant Devine was a state actor at all times relevant herein.
84. Defendant Devine harassed Plaintiff because of her sex as a female, and he would not have
85. Furthermore, Defendant Devine has not harassed males that have spoken at school board
meetings and engaged in criticism of Richland One and Defendant School Board at those
meetings. Scott Barber, who is a male, has regularly spoken at the meetings and criticized
Richland One and Defendant School Board but has not been subjected to harassment by
86. Defendant Devine’s harassment of Plaintiff was severe and pervasive in the following
particulars, to wit:
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a. In taking upskirt photographs of Plaintiff without her knowledge or consent during
embarrass Plaintiff on the basis of her sex and tarnish her reputation, which resulted
87. As a direct and proximate result of the constitutional violations committed by Defendant
88. Defendant Devine is not entitled to qualified immunity, as Plaintiff’s right to be free from
sexual harassment from state actors was clearly established at the time.
verbatim.
90. Plaintiff was subjected to discriminatory sexual harassment in the form of inappropriate
photographs being taken of her and sent to others. The harassment occurred because of and
on the basis of Plaintiff’s sex, and the sexual harassment would not have occurred had
91. At the time of the complained of event, Plaintiff had the clearly established protections to
92. Defendants knew or should have known of these rights at the time of the complained of
93. Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity for the complained of conduct.
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94. Defendants were at all times relevant herein, policymakers for and thus Defendants in that
capacity established policies procedures, customs, and/or practices for Richland County
95. Defendants developed and maintained policies, procedures, customs, and/or practices
herein, which were moving forces behind and proximately caused the violations of
Plaintiff’s constitutional protections and federal rights as set forth herein and in the other
claims, resulted from a conscious or deliberate choice to follow a course of action from
96. Defendants maintained a policy, practice and/or custom of tolerating harassment towards
women and choosing not to train or supervise board members regarding their behavior
97. But for Defendant’s School Board’s policies, practices and/or customs of tolerating
harassment towards women and choosing not to train board members, Plaintiff never would
have suffered from sexual harassment at the hands of Defendant Devine and Plaintiff would
98. Upon information and belief, Defendant School Board’s policies, practices, customs,
intent against women and/or Defendant School Board has tolerated long standing,
99. Defendants have developed and maintained long-standing, department wide customs,
policies, procedures, practices, and/or failed to properly train and/or supervise their
100. The deliberately indifferent training and supervision provided by Defendants resulted from
alternatives available to Defendants and were moving forces in the constitutional and
enjoyment of life, and other pain and suffering on all claims allowed by law
ii. Award punitive damages on all claims allowed by law against the individual
conduct unconstitutional;
iv. Award Plaintiff reasonable fees and costs pursuant to U.S.C. § 1988 and
v. Award such other relief as the Court deems just and proper.
S/Tyler Rody
Tyler Rody, Bar No. 104238
661 E. Main St.
Spartanburg, SC 29302
(864) 381-7969
(864) 670-5636 – Fax
[email protected]
Attorney for Plaintiff
August 19, 2024
Spartanburg, SC