On November 21, 2023, Nix Patterson and Cameron Spradling reached a $5 million settlement with Kingfisher Public Schools resolving a case on behalf our client Mason Mecklenburg concerning claims of hazing, bullying, physical and mental abuse he suffered as a student and football player at Kingfisher High School. The settlement was the result of years-long litigation and was reached just weeks before trial was set to begin in federal court in the Western District of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, OK.
The terms of the settlement also require that Kingfisher Public Schools (KPS) no longer allow head coach Jeff Myers to ever coach at KPS ever again, and for KPS to institute a mandatory training program for its administrators, staff, teachers, coaches, volunteers, and Board members that addresses how to identify, respond to, and prevent bullying, hazing, and sexual harassment.
It is believed to be one of the largest settlements ever in a case involving school hazing. More information about the case can be found in this article.