Student settles slap suit

The lawsuit filed by a student who said a teacher slapped him after he called her "cuddy" has been resolved in mediation and the case against the Marysville Joint Unified School District dismissed.

Scott Covington had contended that Jeanine Eyeler, then a teacher at South Lindhurst Continuation High School, approached him Feb. 15, 2007, told him to do his school work and slapped him after Covington referred to Eyeler as "cuddy."

Another instructor had mistakenly told Eyeler that the word is a derogatory reference to a woman, thinking Covington had said "cutty" rather than "cuddy," according to Covington's lawsuit.

Mediation ended with an agreement. Attorney Thomas Santistevan, representing Covington, filed a request in Yuba County Superior Court last week to dismiss the lawsuit.

Jack Taylor , the Yuba City attorney who served as mediator, said Friday he is unable to comment on the matter.

"In mediations the parties sign a confidentiality agreement," Taylor said. "The mediator signs its too."

The agreement allows full disclosure of facts in mediation, he noted.

"I'm bound by the confidentiality agreement," Taylor said.

Santistevan and James Anwyl, the attorney representing the school district, could not be reached for comment.

Eyeler in February 2007 had asked Covington to step outside, called him a problem child and then slapped him on his face and neck in front of other students, according to the lawsuit.

Covington said Eyeler had told students of her brown belt in karate and that she'd use her martial arts skills against any student involved in a fight with others, according to the lawsuit.

Covington said he walked back into class after the alleged slap, gathered his materials and left without incident. He said he then called law enforcement to report the matter.

Eyeler began teaching at the continuation high school in November 2005. She resigned in June 2007 for personal reasons, according to a district board agenda that month.

Contact Appeal reporter Ryan McCarthy at 749-4707 or rmcarthy@appeal-democrat.com.