Reichardt v. Flynn

We granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in this case to determine whether an absolute privilege defense applies to a defamation action involving communications made by students and parents to public school authorities about the perceived misconduct of a public school teacher and coach.

I

Christopher A. Flynn was employed in the Montgomery County public school system as a teacher since 1989 and as a high school track and cross-country coach from 1990 to 1998. From the 1994 school year, until the time of the petitioners’ allegations, Flynn was Walt Whitman High School’s only coeducational…