Litigation Update
A brief overview of our important lawsuits.
I would first like to apologize for being MIA over these last several months. I assure you it is not because I have stopped my mission or that I do not genuinely appreciate your support. Fortunately, I have been swamped with extremely important lawsuits that have consumed my entire life! This post will provide a quick update about what I’ve been doing and objectives for the coming months.
So, let’s dive into some of what I’ve been up to. It is important to note that some of these cases relate to The Gavel Project, while others belong to my law firm, Heath Law, PLLC (which I launched in November of 2022).
The Gavel Project’s Cases involving School Districts and Protecting the Rights of Children:
- G.W. v. Coronado Unified School District:
This case comes out of San Diego and involves a high school Junior, G.W., who was forced to sit outside in the cold, alone, for six weeks while she watched her classes via Zoom (at the beginning of 2022). Our client, G.W. was punished because she chose to stand up for her rights by politely declining to wear an oxygen-inhibiting mask. She was treated as if she was subhuman and somehow a “danger” to those around her. Because she did not wish to participate in the charade of masking, she was ostracized, demoralized, and humiliated by the school district and its employees.
The defendants in this case filed an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss the lawsuit and a hearing occurred in May of last year. During the hearing, the judge compared our client’s refusal to wear a mask to bringing a gun onto campus. Despite the judge acknowledging that he was required to accept our client’s allegation that she was perfectly healthy throughout the protest period, he decided to ignore his duty and took judicial notice of the fact that our client was a danger to her classmates and school faculty due to her status as an “asymptomatic spreader” of COVID-19. Therefore, he erroneously dismissed the case by concluding that our client’s protest was not protected speech. The problem with the judge’s decision is that judicial notice only applies to facts that cannot reasonably be doubted or disputed (such as the fact that the city of Los Angeles is in the State of California or that the sky is blue). It is in no way a fact, that our client was an asymptomatic spreader of COVID-19 or that she was at all dangerous to others by removing her mask. This is just one of many problems with the judge’s decision to dismiss our lawsuit. This case is currently in the appeal process, which I am personally litigating through The Gavel Project. I will provide an update once oral argument is scheduled.
- Reynolds and Esmaili v. Saddleback Valley Unified School District:
This is another case out of California wherein three elementary school children were separated from their peers all day, and forced to sit outside in a large “cage” (a courtyard completely surrounded by metal bars, see pictures below) without any protection from the elements, for a period of four weeks at the beginning of 2022 simply because they chose to stand up for their rights and not wear masks. Our clients were also repeatedly denied their right to an education, as they were often not given any schoolwork or any way to view their classes. The only time during the school day they were allowed to leave the cage, was to go to the bathroom.
The Defendants, Saddleback Valley USD, filed a demurrer (a type of responsive pleading that challenges the legal sufficiency of the lawsuit rather than the factual allegations made in the complaint). If granted, the demurrer can terminate a lawsuit before it goes to court. In this case, a tentative ruling was made granting portions of the demurrer, while at the same time, denying other portions. Based on that tentative ruling, The Gavel Project (through its wonderful California Attorney, Tracy Henderson) filed an Amended Complaint in mid-February addressing the issues brought up in the demurrer. We are awaiting a response by the Defendants to the First Amended Complaint, which is due in mid-March.
- E.G. v. ABC Unified School District:
This is a case out of south Los Angeles where an 11-year-old elementary student was pulled out of class at the beginning of 2022 and forced to sit on a planter box after being told that she had contact with someone with Covid-19. While outside, the students that were quarantined were each asked whether they were vaccinated against Covid-19 and forced to answer in front of their classmates. Those who said they were vaccinated were allowed to return to class, while the students who said they were unvaccinated were forced to go home and quarantine for five days. The unvaccinated students were then told that they could return on the sixth day—but only if they showed a negative Covid test. The parents of the unvaccinated children were called and told that they must pick up their children immediately, regardless of whether the children showed signs of illness.
E.G.’s father came to the school to see what was going on, but after learning about the obviously discriminatory policies that the school was trying to place on his daughter, he refused to take her out of school. E.G.’s father also told the principal that he would be bringing her to school the next day and that she would be allowed into class because she was entitled to receive an education free of discrimination.
The principal and three other administrators were waiting in front of E.G.’s classroom when she arrived, and they refused to let her in. The administrators went out to speak to E.G.’s father, who recorded the interaction. E.G.’s father asserted that the administrators could not deny his daughter an in-person education. At this same time, the principal escorted E.G. to an isolation room (pictured below) where she was forced to sit by herself. The isolation room was a solitary room, about the size of a bathroom, with only a few objects in it. A plastic curtain (allegedly hung to stop the spread of COVID-19) ensured that E.G. was blocked from any interaction with others that might walk by. While they walked to the isolation room, the principal demeaned her father, which gave E.G. severe anxiety and made her feel physically ill. The principal then accused E.G. of recording the interaction between them, and had the sheriff seize E.G.’s cell phone (from her hand) to search the phone. E.G. was terrified and shaking.
E.G.’s father was then told by administrators to delete the recording of his interaction with them. When he refused, one of the district administrators filed a police report against him, claiming that he was breaking the law (which is untrue, as he was in a public place when recording the interaction) and that he had been hostile.
The next day E.G. and her father attempted to go to school again. When they arrived, the police, along with the Child and Welfare Attendance Unit, the principal, and other school administrators, were there to block their path into the school. E.G.’s father provided them with a copy of California Education Code 201 to remind them that all children have the right to attend in-person learning, free from harassment and discrimination. They replied by telling him the only way E.G. would be allowed back on campus was to show a negative Covid test. The school then wrote a letter indicating that E.G. was a danger to those around her for not wearing a mask and filed another police report against E.G.’s father.
Due to these events, E.G. was kicked out of school for a short period of time causing her to fall behind in her studies. Her parents were forced to spend $50 an hour on a private tutor to get her caught up on her schoolwork. When E.G. was finally allowed to return to class, she was forced to wear a mask, which made her ears hurt, made her feel tired, and gave her severe anxiety (among other issues). When she decided to take the mask off, her teacher reported her to the principal, and E.G. was once again forced to sit alone in the isolation room (surrounded by plastic curtains). This went on for 15 days until the “masking rules” dropped.
During those 15 days, E.G. fell further behind in school and felt increasingly anxious due to the social alienation and bullying she experienced from school faculty. She suffered immense emotional trauma and became fearful that her peers would make fun of her, and that she would continue to be harassed by her teachers and school staff.
- Boyle v. Capistrano Unified School District:
In March 2021, B.B., a first-grade student at Viejo Elementary School drew a picture portraying children of various races holding hands. This drawing contained the phrase “Black Lives Mater” and “any life.” The principal of the school was made aware of the drawing by a parent and chose to reprimand B.B. for the drawing – citing it as “inappropriate” and “racist.” The principal further demanded B.B. apologize for the drawing and subsequently “benched” B.B. from recess for the next two weeks. While attending the same campus, B.B. was involved in an uncomfortable interaction with the school counselor. This school counselor traumatically stalked B.B. and her brother around the school courtyard for no apparent reason and refused to listen to B.B.’s demands to be left alone. The counselor persisted and even shockingly followed B.B. to the girls’ restroom. Unfortunately, the school has yet to take accountability.
With the help of The Gavel Project, B.B. sued the principal, the counselor, and the school district for the violation of her constitutional right to free speech, retaliatory harassment, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and negligent retention and supervision.
The case was filed February 2023. Sadly, two weeks before B.B.’s trial (which was scheduled for this week), the Court sua sponte granted the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment—on a basis not even argued by either B.B. or the Defendants. In effect, the Court concluded that B.B. didn’t enjoy First Amendment protections because of her young age and her position—that all lives matter equally—was offensive (the Judge amazingly cited a New York Times Article as support for his shocking conclusion). At this time, B.B. will be appealing the Court’s decision. Sadly, The Gavel Project lacks sufficient financial resources to handle the appeal. However, we hope to handle the trial if and when B.B.’s case is remanded. We are confident that the appellate court will see past the noise and recognize this case for what it is: a deliberate violation of a child’s constitutional freedoms.
As the case proceeds on appeal, our team prays for a simple outcome: that students’ right to free speech remains protected—regardless of age and skin color.
If you stand with The Gavel Project’s mission, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today by visiting our website!
Heath Law’s Cases involving Medical Malpractice, specifically related to the Covid-19 Hospital Protocols:
I recently filed two lawsuits in the Maricopa County Superior Court (against Banner Health, and the Mayo Clinic) alleging causes of action for medical malpractice, wrongful death, and various intentional torts (such as false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery) in connection with the infamous COVID-19 hospital protocols that tragically took countless lives during the plandemic. In both of Heath Law’s cases, our clients’ husbands had been admitted for symptoms that our medical experts contend could have been treated effectively on an outpatient basis.
Though there has been a recent uptick in lawsuits regarding Covid-19 protocols, none to my knowledge have been heard by a jury, making both of Heath Law’s cases potentially precedent-setting. If either one of these hospitals is found liable, it could start a domino effect across the Nation that could finally get justice for the families of tens (and possibly hundreds) of thousands of people who lost their loved ones at the hands of doctors and nurses, who ironically took an oath to “do no harm.”
- Platt v. Mayo Clinic:
We filed our first hospital protocol complaint on December 2, 2023, on behalf of Betsy Platt. Betsy’s husband, Christopher Zicari, tragically passed away at a Mayo Clinic facility in late 2021 after being admitted with a COVID-19 diagnosis. The complaint alleges that during his time at Mayo Clinic, Christopher was starved, dehydrated, neglected, and overdosed on sedatives (including, amazingly, sixteen doses of morphine on the day he passed away). The complaint also alleges that Mayo Clinic discriminated against Christopher based on his unvaccinated status.
- Smith v. Banner Health:
On February 2, 2024, Heath Law filed another COVID-19 protocol suit against Banner Health on behalf of Sherri Smith and her daughter for the wrongful death of Charles “Chuck” Smith, another unvaccinated patient who lost his life to deadly COVID-19 hospital protocols in late 2021. Chuck was a retired police officer and Air Force veteran. While at Banner, the staff surreptitiously treated Chuck with the toxic drug, remdesivir (Veklury), despite Sherri and Chuck expressly refusing treatment with that drug. Equally disturbing, the Banner nurses physically and chemically restrained Chuck before forcefully ventilating him. These invasive interventions (along with many other issues caused by Banner and its staff) ultimately contributed to Chuck’s death.
Heath Law Cases involving Election Integrity in Arizona:
As a private practitioner, I have been blessed to work on a handful of high-profile cases, including multiple lawsuits challenging the results of the 2022 General Election in Arizona. Below are a few articles covering my election-related work:
Attorney Files Lawsuit Against Judge Who Dismissed Kari Lake's Election Contest
Notably, I have a big hearing on the afternoon of March 22 for my case representing Abe Hamadeh and several Arizona voters regarding Maricopa County’s failure to abide by the signature verification laws for absentee voting.
While I am blessed and honored to have the opportunity to take on such important cases, the workload does not come without a significant cost. I would be remiss if I did not thank my friends, my team at Heath Law, PLLC, the volunteers at The Gavel Project, and my family for all their love and support. I also would like to express my sincere gratitude for those that read this publication and those that support The Gavel Project. Without your ongoing financial support, none of this would be possible!
Sincerely yours,
Ryan
Thank you for all the great work you do. I would love to know the status of the lawsuit against the judge who dismissed Kari Lake's case.