S.C. et al v. Calkins et al
| Massachusetts District Court | |
| Judge: | Richard G Stearns |
| Case #: | 1:25-cv-10007 |
| Nature of Suit | 890 Other Statutes - Other Statutory Actions |
| Cause | 28:1441 Petition For Removal--Other Contract |
| Case Filed: | Jan 02, 2025 |
| Terminated: | May 22, 2025 |
| Case in other court: | Superior Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk County, 2484CV03147 |
| Last checked: Wednesday Jul 02, 2025 5:49 AM EDT |
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Defendant
Board of Trustees of Teachers College, Columbia University
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Defendant
Lucy Calkins
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Represented By
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Defendant
Irene Fountas
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Defendant
Fountas and Pinnell, LLC
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Defendant
HMH Education Company
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Represented By
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Defendant
Gay Su Pinnell
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Represented By
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Defendant
Greenwood Publishing Group, LLC
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Defendant
RWPN, LLC
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Plaintiff
K.C.
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Plaintiff
R.H.
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Plaintiff
S.C.
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| Docket last updated: 09/30/2025 11:59 PM EDT |
| Thursday, May 22, 2025 | ||
| 74 | 74
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pgs
order
Order Dismissing Case
Thu 05/22 3:32 PM
Judge Richard G. Stearns: ORDER entered. ORDER DISMISSING CASE. (NMC) |
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| 73 | 73
order
Order on Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim
Thu 05/22 3:20 PM
Judge Richard G. Stearns: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered granting 52 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim; granting 57 Motion to Dismiss. The court begins (and ends) its analysis with the educational malpractice bar, which, despite the dearth of state court cases directly addressing the issue, plaintiffs do not contest is viable in Massachusetts. Plaintiffs contend that their claims survive the educational malpractice bar because they are based on misrepresentations used in the marketing of defendants' products, not on the educational quality of those products. See Opp'n [Dkt # 63] at 10 ("Here, the 'essence' of the action is that Defendants misrepresented that the Literacy Products were research-backed to increase their profits."). But the court is not convinced. Because the Amended Complaint acknowledges that defendants have cited at least some research in support of their products, the allegation of misrepresentation is best understood as arising from some purported inadequacy in that research -- that (1) the recited studies are unreliable, suffer from methodological flaws, and lack any sound educational theory or foundation, or (2) a literacy curriculum cannot, as a matter of law, be researched-based if it does not use phonics -- rather than its non-existence. The court cannot find defendants' research inadequate, however, without delving into the merits of defendants' approaches to literacy education (or calling into question the judgment of the professional educators who chose to adopt defendants' literacy programs despite the existence of purportedly glaring flaws in the supporting research and a purportedly overwhelming scientific consensus in favor of phonics). In any event, even if the court construed plaintiffs' claims to target something other than educational quality, the nature of the alleged harm -- developmental delays and associated emotional/economic distress -- would nonetheless bring the claims within the scope of the bar. Any inquiry into causation for such injuries would necessarily require the court to assess "the quality of the educational program offered by the Plaintiffs' schools and the degree to which deficiencies, if any, are attributable to the content of the Literacy Materials." Reply [Dkt # 72] at 3-4; cf. Barkhordar v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll. , 544 F. Supp. 3d 203, 209 (D. Mass. 2021) (noting that even a breach of contract claim based on a failure to provide promised services could run afoul of the educational malpractice bar if determining damages would require an assessment of educational quality). (RGS, law3) |
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| Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | ||
| 72 | 72
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respm
Reply to Response to Motion
Wed 05/21 5:55 PM
REPLY to Response to52 MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM and, in the Alternative, Motion to Strike Class Allegations filed by Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas, Fountas and Pinnell, LLC, Greenwood Publishing Group, LLC, HMH Education Company, Gay Su Pinnell, RWPN, LLC. (Ellsworth, Felicia) |
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respm
Reply to Response to Motion
Wed 05/21 4:19 PM
REPLY to Response to57 MOTION to Dismiss filed by Board of Trustees of Teachers College, Columbia University. (Lapp, Daryl) |
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