Article in NYT today re: students, tik tok and targeting teachers

[Anonymous]

There would be monetary damages if it made the teacher feel too unsafe to continue teaching.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I read it. Have lawyers in my family so free representation. If I were one of those teachers, I would sue the kid(s) (and therefore their parents) for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and maybe also libel, and would not settle.
Hopefully their legal costs would make at least some the families lose their home, or better, everything down to the last shirt on their back. It would be hilarious! Then I'd create a Tiktok account and post a video about the whole thing.

I'm a Plaintiff's lawyer. A decent Plaintiff's lawyer can easily cause the other side to have to spend a quarter of a mil in defense costs.

Also a lawyer and I'd be a little cautious here. Intentional infliction of emotional distress is an extremely weak claim and rarely succeeds on its own so it's really mostly a libel or defamation charge. Under the right circumstances it could work but in most of these cases it would be tossed on summary judgment because you would have no evidence of harm and the defendant could argue that it was clearly parody or that too few people saw it. Again with the right facts you could press a lawsuit that really cost them but in the vast majority of cases there would not be any evidence of most of the elements of these claims.

Ok, but even if some of the charges are tossed out, wouldn’t it cost the family enough $ in legal fees to be a preventive measure/warning to others??

Not if the court dismisses the claim and awards the defendant attorney's fees ... then it will cost the one who filed the stupid lawsuit in the first place.

Do you know how infrequently courts award attorney fees to defendants? If you have even a colorable claim, that's not a realistic risk.

Because lawyer's can be sanctioned for bringing a frivolous case.

You must not have read the article. The fact that these little sociopaths got away with what they did and that the teachers wanting redress is called "frivolous" shows a lot of lawyers are idiots who think they're playing chess when they can't even play checkers. Safe to assume that these little darlings will soon be targeting classmates, neighbors and later their coworkers with much more realistic AI deepfakes because hey--no consequences!

If those profiles seemed *at all* plausible, rather than being obvious parodies, then you obviously already have reason to question their suitability to be around kids.

I had this happen to a coworker. Students made dating profiles for her, posting that she had obscene fetishes, etc. She was traumatized when she found out what was all over the internet about her. (I was embarrassed for her. It was invasive, embarrassing, and uncomfortable.) And no, it didn’t look like a parody at all.

But there are posters on this thread who are okay with this, like PP. I guess my coworker just shouldn’t be around kids, huh? I mean, she should accept being publicly humiliated. It’s just a part of the job, I guess. Those silly kids.

That’s awful.

I actually think she should have hired counsel.

There weren't monetary damages.

And no, "emotional distress" wouldn't even cover her attorney's fees.

And remember: teachers should just shut up and deal. Being humiliated and dealing with permanently damaging personal consequences are just part of the job.

At least, that’s what several posters here think.

There's been no supported claims of "permanently damaging personal consequences."

If somebody took your image and posted realistic and pornographic images of you doing illegal acts and then sent it to your clients and your boss, you’re cool with that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There would be monetary damages if it made the teacher feel too unsafe to continue teaching.

So far there haven't been any claims of threats to safety.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I read it. Have lawyers in my family so free representation. If I were one of those teachers, I would sue the kid(s) (and therefore their parents) for intentional infliction of emotional distress, and maybe also libel, and would not settle.
Hopefully their legal costs would make at least some the families lose their home, or better, everything down to the last shirt on their back. It would be hilarious! Then I'd create a Tiktok account and post a video about the whole thing.

I'm a Plaintiff's lawyer. A decent Plaintiff's lawyer can easily cause the other side to have to spend a quarter of a mil in defense costs.

Also a lawyer and I'd be a little cautious here. Intentional infliction of emotional distress is an extremely weak claim and rarely succeeds on its own so it's really mostly a libel or defamation charge. Under the right circumstances it could work but in most of these cases it would be tossed on summary judgment because you would have no evidence of harm and the defendant could argue that it was clearly parody or that too few people saw it. Again with the right facts you could press a lawsuit that really cost them but in the vast majority of cases there would not be any evidence of most of the elements of these claims.

Ok, but even if some of the charges are tossed out, wouldn’t it cost the family enough $ in legal fees to be a preventive measure/warning to others??

Not if the court dismisses the claim and awards the defendant attorney's fees ... then it will cost the one who filed the stupid lawsuit in the first place.

Do you know how infrequently courts award attorney fees to defendants? If you have even a colorable claim, that's not a realistic risk.

Because lawyer's can be sanctioned for bringing a frivolous case.

You must not have read the article. The fact that these little sociopaths got away with what they did and that the teachers wanting redress is called "frivolous" shows a lot of lawyers are idiots who think they're playing chess when they can't even play checkers. Safe to assume that these little darlings will soon be targeting classmates, neighbors and later their coworkers with much more realistic AI deepfakes because hey--no consequences!

If those profiles seemed *at all* plausible, rather than being obvious parodies, then you obviously already have reason to question their suitability to be around kids.

I had this happen to a coworker. Students made dating profiles for her, posting that she had obscene fetishes, etc. She was traumatized when she found out what was all over the internet about her. (I was embarrassed for her. It was invasive, embarrassing, and uncomfortable.) And no, it didn’t look like a parody at all.

But there are posters on this thread who are okay with this, like PP. I guess my coworker just shouldn’t be around kids, huh? I mean, she should accept being publicly humiliated. It’s just a part of the job, I guess. Those silly kids.

That’s awful.

I actually think she should have hired counsel.

There weren't monetary damages.

And no, "emotional distress" wouldn't even cover her attorney's fees.

And remember: teachers should just shut up and deal. Being humiliated and dealing with permanently damaging personal consequences are just part of the job.

At least, that’s what several posters here think.

There's been no supported claims of "permanently damaging personal consequences."

If somebody took your image and posted realistic and pornographic images of you doing illegal acts and then sent it to your clients and your boss, you’re cool with that?

I didn't say I'd be "cool"'with it, but it wouldn't be "permanently damaging" nor would there be grounds for a productive lawsuit.

[Anonymous]

Honestly I just cannot understand why parents don't step up and knock this garbage out. Why aren't they stopping their kids from doing this type of stuff? Enough with the they can't be there everywhere, all the time ... if you can't be there to police (yes, police) and educate your own children on common decency in society then DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN. Abortion is readily available as is birth control. Do the world a favor, either parent or do not have kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I just cannot understand why parents don't step up and knock this garbage out. Why aren't they stopping their kids from doing this type of stuff? Enough with the they can't be there everywhere, all the time ... if you can't be there to police (yes, police) and educate your own children on common decency in society then DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN. Abortion is readily available as is birth control. Do the world a favor, either parent or do not have kids.

Perhaps you shouldn't have been a teacher.

[Anonymous]

Let’s make parents legally responsible for what damage their kids do online and see how quickly parents suddenly decide that their 13 year old doesn’t really need a phone after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s make parents legally responsible for what damage their kids do online and see how quickly parents suddenly decide that their 13 year old doesn’t really need a phone after all.

Wouldn’t that be great?

Just look at some of the immature responses on this thread from people who seem to think this is no big deal.

How quickly they would begin parenting if they had to face consequences when their offspring victimize teachers.

Love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s make parents legally responsible for what damage their kids do online and see how quickly parents suddenly decide that their 13 year old doesn’t really need a phone after all.

They basically are, but as has been discussed here, there aren't much in the way of damages to support a lawsuit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s make parents legally responsible for what damage their kids do online and see how quickly parents suddenly decide that their 13 year old doesn’t really need a phone after all.

Wouldn’t that be great?

Just look at some of the immature responses on this thread from people who seem to think this is no big deal.

How quickly they would begin parenting if they had to face consequences when their offspring victimize teachers.

Love it.

Victimize? Give me a break. You lost any goodwill from parents when you refused to go back to work. I'm sure you deserve whatever the kids say about you.

[Anonymous]

Let it go, folks. There's obviously someone who was a lousy student and who nurses a grudge who's trolling teachers in this thread. Maybe even a couple of "lawyers" from a diploma-mill law school who are mired in debt and making less than teachers do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let it go, folks. There's obviously someone who was a lousy student and who nurses a grudge who's trolling teachers in this thread. Maybe even a couple of "lawyers" from a diploma-mill law school who are mired in debt and making less than teachers do.

Do you think it's just a coincidence that there are nearly no successful libel or defamation suits from teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let it go, folks. There's obviously someone who was a lousy student and who nurses a grudge who's trolling teachers in this thread. Maybe even a couple of "lawyers" from a diploma-mill law school who are mired in debt and making less than teachers do.

Excellent point. It would take a rather horrid person to say a teacher deserves to be treated this way. So, either we’re looking at a spiteful person with a mean-spirited vendetta against teachers or a basic troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I just cannot understand why parents don't step up and knock this garbage out. Why aren't they stopping their kids from doing this type of stuff? Enough with the they can't be there everywhere, all the time ... if you can't be there to police (yes, police) and educate your own children on common decency in society then DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN. Abortion is readily available as is birth control. Do the world a favor, either parent or do not have kids.

OK, b00mer.

Not a boomer or a teacher. Just an observer of the kids gone wild version 2024. Parents have got to step it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I just cannot understand why parents don't step up and knock this garbage out. Why aren't they stopping their kids from doing this type of stuff? Enough with the they can't be there everywhere, all the time ... if you can't be there to police (yes, police) and educate your own children on common decency in society then DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN. Abortion is readily available as is birth control. Do the world a favor, either parent or do not have kids.

OK, b00mer.

Not a boomer or a teacher. Just an observer of the kids gone wild version 2024. Parents have got to step it up.

I didn't think you were a current teacher. Your lack of understanding of kids, parenting, and the Internet clearly puts you beyond working age.