Lynwood : Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Sought by Injured Student
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A $35-million lawsuit filed by a former Lynwood High School football player against the school district and the city of Lynwood was dismissed this week by U.S. District Judge Ronald S. W. Lew in Los Angeles.
The player, Shawn Powell, has been a quadriplegic since suffering a spinal cord injury during a game at Paramount High in 1983. He had contended in the suit that the city and school district failed to fulfill a promise, allegedly made by Mayor Louis Thompson shortly after the injury. Powell said that Thompson, who died in 1986, had promised in Powell’s hospital room that the city and school district would care for his future needs.
Lew ruled Monday that Thompson lacked the authority to make such a promise, if indeed it had been made. The case had been scheduled for trial in November, but defense attorneys filed a pretrial motion seeking dismissal.
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