Murray County's school district is dropping its legal effort to recoup some $30,000 in court costs from parents who sued the school after their son committed suicide, according to the Fulton County Daily Report.
The parents, Tina and David Long, unsuccessfully sued the school district, alleging the district was negligent in protecting their 17-year old son, Tyler, from consistent bullying by classmates and that the bullying led him to hang himself in 2009.
The Longs, however, had their lawsuit dismissed and recently the school district, located in Chatsworth, Ga., sought legal recourse to get back money spent defending the case in court.
The parents of Tyler Long, one of five young people featured in the critically acclaimed 2012 documentary "Bully," are being sued by the Murray County school district to recoup some $9,000 in court costs after the Longs' lawsuit against the school system was dismissed, according to a story in the Fulton Daily Report.
Murray County is in north Georgia, near Dalton.
Tina and David Long sued the Murray County Board of Education after their son, Tyler, 17, a student at Murray County High School in Chatsworth, Ga., committed suicide by hanging in 2009. The parents alleged in the lawsuit that school officials did nothing to stop the constant bullying their son endured, as portrayed in the film.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court on Jan. 29, 2010, and notes that Tyler had Asperger's Disorder. The lawsuit was dismissed last year by Judge Harold Murphy and appealed. The appeal was upheld in June.
The producers behind “Out of Order,” an independent documentary feature film which follows “three queer members of the Presbyterian Church (USA)” as they work toward LGBT acceptance, have created an indiegogo fundraising campaign to help finance the completion of their project.
The drive has already raised $3,608 of the $20,000 goal and ends April 10.
From the film's website: