QVSD Ordered to Pay $500,000 in Attorney Fees
The financial fallout from a landmark federal discrimination lawsuit against the Quillayute Valley School District continues to mount.
Following a federal jury verdict in April that found QVSD liable for cultivating a hostile work environment, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle has ordered the district to pay exactly $500,000 in attorney fees to the plaintiff’s legal counsel.
The June 2 supplemental judgment adds a half-million dollars to the $249,760 previously awarded to former cross-country coach Kari Larson by an eight-person jury.
On top of the verdict and the newly ordered attorney fees, the court clerk awarded Larson $14,773.17 in litigation costs against the district.
The fee order represents the latest chapter in a high-profile legal battle that has drawn intense community scrutiny over the district’s internal disciplinary practices and its handling of misconduct allegations against veteran track coach Brian Weekes.
During the multi-day trial, the jury sided with Larson on her core Washington Law Against Discrimination claim against the district.
However, the jury did not find Weekes or Title IX Coordinator Kyle Weakley individually liable for retaliation or negligence.
Because Weekes and Weakley prevailed on those individual claims, Judge Settle granted their motions to re-tax costs in their favor.
The $500,000 attorney fee burden, alongside the $14,773.17 in costs, falls entirely on the Quillayute Valley School District.
A Mounting Toll
For a school district already facing deep community frustration, the financial reality of the court’s order is stark.
Combining the jury’s $249,760 verdict, the $14,773.17 in court costs, the $40,125 paid to the Special Master, and the $500,000 attorney fee order, the district’s court-mandated financial exposure in this single civil rights case has eclipsed $800,000—not factoring in whatever QVSD has paid its own defense counsel to litigate the matter.
The judgment arrives amidst ongoing turmoil at QVSD Board of Education meetings.
Following the April trial, community members and parents have repeatedly packed board meetings to demand transparency, criticizing Superintendent Diana Reaume’s testimony defending boundary violations, and calling for accountability regarding student safety protocols.
With the federal litigation concluding, the community is left to reckon with the cost—both cultural and financial—of the district’s administrative decisions.
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