kaorder1999
02-15-2007, 12:12 PM
Carroll parent sues over postgame e-mailsBy JESSAMY BROWN
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
SOUTHLAKE - A Carroll Senior High parent has sued two other Carroll parents, contending that they damaged his reputation by e-mailing district administrators false information in December about an incident at a football playoff game.
In his lawsuit, filed Dec. 20 in Fort Worth, Kosse Maykus, a Southlake homebuilder, said his reputation was damaged by Margaret Krage Stonecypher and Tess Siebert. In the e-mails, the women said Maykus had behaved badly and assaulted Stonecypher in the stands at the Dec. 9 playoff game between Carroll and Colleyville Heritage at Texas Stadium in Irving.
Maykus' suit said the allegations are untrue, and he is seeking $500,000 in damages.
Maykus also filed a criminal complaint in December against another Carroll parent, accusing the man of assaulting him at the same game. Irving police said they could not release details of that complaint because it is under investigation.
On Tuesday, Stonecypher and Siebert said they e-mailed district officials about the incident because they wanted officials to be aware of it.
Maykus, Stonecypher, Siebert and the Southlake man named in the criminal complaint are all parents of Carroll Senior High School varsity cheerleaders, a group that for the past year has been involved in controversy over the team's selection process.
Those involved in the lawsuit said Tuesday that the incident at the game had nothing to do with the cheerleading controversy.
Stonecypher and Siebert have countersued and are also seeking damages.
Stonecypher said Tuesday that she was in the stands cheering the Dragons' against Heritage when Maykus confronted another parent who was standing farther down her row.
The confrontation between the two men turned into a "yelling match," Stonecypher said. Maykus crowded her, knocked pompoms from her hands and ignored her requests to step away, Stonecypher said. Other parents pulled Maykus away, Stonecypher said.
In her countersuit, Stonecypher said that Maykus was "threatening and menacing," and that knocking down the pompoms constituted an assault.
Stonecypher said she reported the incident to Irving police but did not follow up by signing a complaint. The evening of the game, Stonecypher e-mailed Carroll officials detailing the incident.
"I was afraid. It wasn't to hurt anybody's feelings," Stonecypher said Tuesday about why she sent the e-mail. "I felt like it was a school matter, and it needed to be handled in-house."
Siebert was sitting in the row in front of Stonecypher and said she saw what happened but declined to provide details Tuesday. She said she later e-mailed school officials outlining what she saw because she wanted administrators to be aware of it.
"I was so appalled at the behavior of another parent," Siebert said Tuesday. "I was very upset about it."
Maykus declined to comment. But his attorney, Jeffrey Cook of Dallas, said Tuesday that the e-mails to district officials were libelous. He declined to give his client's version of the events.
"The lawsuit is based on e-mails that falsely accused Mr. Maykus of conduct he didn't do," Cook said. "There was an incident at Texas Stadium, but he didn't assault anybody."
Carroll schools Superintendent David Faltys said district officials referred Stonecypher's concerns to Irving police because school districts do not have jurisdiction over problems between parents off district property. District officials can bar adults from a school venue if they become a disruption to the game or a player, he said.
Maykus filed a criminal complaint with Irving police contending that another man assaulted him at the same game.
Cook said that incident occurred before the one that involved Stonecypher and Maykus.
Maykus told Irving police that the man pushed him over some seats after they had words, Irving police spokesman David Tull said Monday.
The report was originally referred to Irving's city attorney as a Class C misdemeanor offense, Tull said. But Maykus said he suffered injuries that could make the charge more serious, so the case was referred back to detectives, Tull said.
"That process has slowed all of this down," Tull said. "Not much is available right now because it's an open investigation."
The controversy over Carroll cheerleaders erupted in December 2005 after tryouts. Several parents complained that the tryout process was flawed.
In March, the Carroll school board voted to cut 19 girls from the squad, but later, citing scoring anomalies, reversed the decision and agreed to allow all 33 girls who tried out to be on the squad.
School officials said this week that hard feelings over the controversy persist at the school.
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
SOUTHLAKE - A Carroll Senior High parent has sued two other Carroll parents, contending that they damaged his reputation by e-mailing district administrators false information in December about an incident at a football playoff game.
In his lawsuit, filed Dec. 20 in Fort Worth, Kosse Maykus, a Southlake homebuilder, said his reputation was damaged by Margaret Krage Stonecypher and Tess Siebert. In the e-mails, the women said Maykus had behaved badly and assaulted Stonecypher in the stands at the Dec. 9 playoff game between Carroll and Colleyville Heritage at Texas Stadium in Irving.
Maykus' suit said the allegations are untrue, and he is seeking $500,000 in damages.
Maykus also filed a criminal complaint in December against another Carroll parent, accusing the man of assaulting him at the same game. Irving police said they could not release details of that complaint because it is under investigation.
On Tuesday, Stonecypher and Siebert said they e-mailed district officials about the incident because they wanted officials to be aware of it.
Maykus, Stonecypher, Siebert and the Southlake man named in the criminal complaint are all parents of Carroll Senior High School varsity cheerleaders, a group that for the past year has been involved in controversy over the team's selection process.
Those involved in the lawsuit said Tuesday that the incident at the game had nothing to do with the cheerleading controversy.
Stonecypher and Siebert have countersued and are also seeking damages.
Stonecypher said Tuesday that she was in the stands cheering the Dragons' against Heritage when Maykus confronted another parent who was standing farther down her row.
The confrontation between the two men turned into a "yelling match," Stonecypher said. Maykus crowded her, knocked pompoms from her hands and ignored her requests to step away, Stonecypher said. Other parents pulled Maykus away, Stonecypher said.
In her countersuit, Stonecypher said that Maykus was "threatening and menacing," and that knocking down the pompoms constituted an assault.
Stonecypher said she reported the incident to Irving police but did not follow up by signing a complaint. The evening of the game, Stonecypher e-mailed Carroll officials detailing the incident.
"I was afraid. It wasn't to hurt anybody's feelings," Stonecypher said Tuesday about why she sent the e-mail. "I felt like it was a school matter, and it needed to be handled in-house."
Siebert was sitting in the row in front of Stonecypher and said she saw what happened but declined to provide details Tuesday. She said she later e-mailed school officials outlining what she saw because she wanted administrators to be aware of it.
"I was so appalled at the behavior of another parent," Siebert said Tuesday. "I was very upset about it."
Maykus declined to comment. But his attorney, Jeffrey Cook of Dallas, said Tuesday that the e-mails to district officials were libelous. He declined to give his client's version of the events.
"The lawsuit is based on e-mails that falsely accused Mr. Maykus of conduct he didn't do," Cook said. "There was an incident at Texas Stadium, but he didn't assault anybody."
Carroll schools Superintendent David Faltys said district officials referred Stonecypher's concerns to Irving police because school districts do not have jurisdiction over problems between parents off district property. District officials can bar adults from a school venue if they become a disruption to the game or a player, he said.
Maykus filed a criminal complaint with Irving police contending that another man assaulted him at the same game.
Cook said that incident occurred before the one that involved Stonecypher and Maykus.
Maykus told Irving police that the man pushed him over some seats after they had words, Irving police spokesman David Tull said Monday.
The report was originally referred to Irving's city attorney as a Class C misdemeanor offense, Tull said. But Maykus said he suffered injuries that could make the charge more serious, so the case was referred back to detectives, Tull said.
"That process has slowed all of this down," Tull said. "Not much is available right now because it's an open investigation."
The controversy over Carroll cheerleaders erupted in December 2005 after tryouts. Several parents complained that the tryout process was flawed.
In March, the Carroll school board voted to cut 19 girls from the squad, but later, citing scoring anomalies, reversed the decision and agreed to allow all 33 girls who tried out to be on the squad.
School officials said this week that hard feelings over the controversy persist at the school.