Judge tosses former Pickens teacher’s suit

A judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a former Pickens County teacher that accused public school districts in two counties and some of their top officials. Tenth Circuit Judge Cordell Maddox’s order dismissing Mariam Noorai’s three-year old lawsuit covers 35 pages and was filed in the Oconee Common Pleas Court last week “with prejudice”—meaning that Noorai may not renew the claim. She had gone to court, alleging eight causes of action—including a series of incidents she alleged were directed at her after she reported a student for plagiarizism. Noorai claimed she was forced to resign and then was victimized by a conspiracy that prevented her from a job in the adjoining Oconee County School District. But, after a hearing last month, Maddox dismissed all causes of action and said he found no evidence to support’s Noorai’s allegations. About the Oconee district’s decision against hiring her, Maddox ruled, “Even if she were able to establish that she was ‘clearly more qualified’ for the jobs for which she applied, noting in South Carolina provides a disgruntled job applicant a cause of action in tort against a prospective employer that chooses another candidate.” The dismissal removes from liability defendants the Pickens and Oconee districts and the following employees of those two districts: Gary Culler, Donald Boggs, Richard Hudak, Earnestine Williams, Marilyn Raines, and Dr. Kelly Pew.