Latest news with #Schubart
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
3 Kellam High students accused of racial harassment sue principal for defamation
VIRGINIA BEACH — On the morning of March 12, a group of Kellam High School friends got together at their usual gathering spot outside the school. It was one friend's birthday, and they celebrated by giving him presents before classes began. The gifts included a birthday card with handwritten notes, some candy and a bag of fried chicken. Videos later obtained from school surveillance cameras showed the group hugging and laughing after the gift exchange, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. A teacher who witnessed the interaction told Kellam Principal Ryan Schubert about it a shortly afterwards, the lawsuit said. The concern: The three boys offering the fried chicken were white, while the one receiving it was Black, suggesting that the act may have been a play on an old and racist stereotype about Blacks and fried chicken. Soon, the students were brought in for questioning. They told school officials it was all just a joke. The teen celebrating his birthday also told them he thought the gift was funny, and said he'd even asked his friends to give him fried chicken for his birthday, the lawsuit said. Police and prosecutors were notified, but determined no crime had been committed, according to the claim. Within hours, representatives of the NAACP, school board and community members were contacting the school. The next day, Schubart authorized an email to all parents that described the incident as 'racist harassment' and said the students, who weren't named in the email, would be disciplined 'to the fullest extent possible,' the lawsuit said. Local TV reports soon followed. That was the last day the three teens attended Kellam, and now they have filed a $10 million dollar lawsuit against Schubart in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. They were suspended from school and they claim that — as a result of the school email and the television stories that followed — they have repeatedly been threatened with bodily harm, stalked, hostilely confronted by strangers, and have suffered damage to their property. A spokesperson for Virginia Beach Public Schools, which is not named as a defendant, didn't immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment. Schubart couldn't be reached by The Pilot and no attorney was listed for him in online court records. The students who are suing are not named in the filing to protect them from further damage to their reputations, according to their attorney, Tim Anderson. Even though they weren't named in the email, other students and parents quickly figured out who they were, Anderson said. All three have been homeschooled since their suspension, and do not plan to return to Kellam next year even though they've been told they can, he said. 'The actions of Ryan Schubart were reckless, defamatory and an outright betrayal of the trust placed in a school principal,' the lawyer said in a message to The Pilot. 'Mr. Schubart knowingly spread false allegations against minor students — branding them as racists in a narrative he manufactured to appease political pressure. His email to the school community not only disregarded the truth but also destroyed the reputations and futures of innocent children.' Schubart knew the boy receiving the gift was friends with the others, and wasn't offended by the gift, yet left that out in investigative reports, the lawsuit said. He also failed to view the video or conduct a reasonable investigation before taking action, the complaint said. And a claim in the email that a teacher 'immediately intervened' when they saw the incident occurring was proven false by the video, Anderson said. The students' long-term suspension has put their academic futures in jeopardy, according to the claim, and their rights to due process were denied when they weren't given a fair and impartial disciplinary hearing. Jane Harper,
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
$10M defamation lawsuit filed against Kellam High School principal over 'racist harassment' incident
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The families of three Kellam High School students are suing the school's principal, Ryan Schubart, alleging he 'published materially false and defamatory statements in an email addressed to the entire student body on or about March 13, 2025.' Schubart's email claimed that the students engaged in 'racist harassment' and that 'the students involved will be disciplined to the fullest extent possible.' But the civil complaint says that the plaintiffs were part of a 'close friend group' that included the student alleged to have been the victim of racist harassment. The incident took place on March 12, the birthday of the alleged victim. According to the lawsuit, before the start of school, the plaintiffs 'presented the gift recipient with a gift intended as a joke consisting of handwritten notes on a birthday card, a bag of fried chicken, and various candy, which was received in the same spirit as a friendly gift by the recipient.' The lawsuit also claims that security camera footage of the incident shows 'the plaintiffs, the gift recipient, and other students laughing, hugging, and engaging in friendly behavior,' and that the entire encounter lasted '2-3 minutes.' The three plaintiffs, who are remaining anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the allegations, were subsequently removed from the school, and according to the lawsuit, 'have been threatened and property damage has occurred.' 10 On Your Side's Cheyenne Pagan is interviewing attorney Tim Anderson, who is representing the three students, and will provide updates as they are made available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mom buys product she thought was U.S.-made, but warns of misleading labels
As President Trump's trade war continues, some consumers are searching for products made in the U.S. When Mary Schubart set out to buy bedding for her twins heading off to college, she was looking for products that were safe, provided comfort and, if possible, she wanted to buy American-made. "I like the idea of buying to support the local economy, but my overriding concern was safer," Schubart said. Schubart said she thought she found the perfect mattress pads from Pottery Barn Teen. It was advertised online as "crafted in the USA," but when they arrived, she was surprised to see one of the tags read "made in China." "I knew it is one of the countries that has less stringent regulations pertaining to health and pertaining to final product production, so I was disappointed," she said. Schubart reported her findings to Truth in Advertising, a nonprofit watchdog group that investigates when companies make false claims. Laura Smith, the Truth in Advertising legal director, said they had already flagged false claims by Pottery Barn Teen to the Federal Trade Commission. "We had found 800-plus examples of products marketed as 'made in the USA' or 'crafted in America' when they were actually imported," Smith said, of the merchandise found on seven William Sonoma websites in 2019. Schubart's complaint led to the largest "Made in the USA" civil penalty in history, with more than $3 million against Williams Sonoma, the parent company of Pottery Barn Teen. In a statement, Williams Sonoma apologized for what it called an "administrative mistake," saying, "Last year, we received an FTC fine due to an unintentional administrative mistake associated with the online product descriptions of seven items we sell. We are deeply sorry for any confusion that may have been caused by the inaccurate information that was shared, and we have improved our processes to help prevent similar incidents in the future." "Civil penalties, as long as they're more than a slap on the wrist, they can have a real impact. But it needs to be a fine that's big enough to hurt," Smith said. What qualifies as "Made in the USA?" The Federal Trade Commission requires that products advertised as "Made in the USA" be all or virtually all manufactured domestically. Plus, the ingredients or components must be made and sourced in the United States, which is the issue in a current lawsuit against Reynolds Aluminum foil for its "Made in the USA" label. The suit claims the product's key raw material, Bauxite, is not mined in the U.S. Reynolds says the claims have no merit and it will defend the case. How to know if a product is American-made Amid Mr. Trump's tariffs on certain products, some companies have said they plan to invest more in U.S. manufacturing. To verify if a product is "Made in the USA," check the label for that exact wording. Beware of qualifying language like "Assembled in the USA" or "with imported parts." If you're unsure, consumers can verify with the brand by going to its website or calling directly. Australian reporter covering Los Angeles protests shot with rubber bullet by police officer Kristi Noem says "we are not going to let a repeat of 2020 happen" amid L.A. crackdown Magic in the dark: The fantastical worlds of Lightwire Theater
