A federal jury awarded former Trinity Valley School human resources director Carrie Skains $10.15 million after finding the Fort Worth private school retaliated against her and defamed her in an account to its community of its handling of allegations against a former piano teacher.<\/p>\n
The unanimous verdict, reached Sept. 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, marks a turn in a legal fight that began nearly two years ago as Trinity Valley faced scrutiny over its handling of allegations against the teacher.<\/p>\n
While jurors rejected Skains\u2019 claim that Trinity Valley discriminated against her because she is a woman, they found the school retaliated against her after she complained about alleged discrimination.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The jury also found that two statements about her role in the teacher allegations were defamatory \u2014 false or misleading enough to damage her reputation \u2014 and not substantially true.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trent Muse, a former piano instructor, was fired in April 2023 after a family reported that their child saw his penis during a one-on-one lesson. He was arrested in June 2024 and later indicted on five counts of indecency with a child<\/a>.<\/p>\n Walt Taylor, an attorney representing Skains, said in a statement that the case centered on the school\u2019s decision to publicly discuss her conduct<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cEmployers are under no obligation to make public statements about an employee, but when they choose to, those statements must be truthful,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n Taylor said the verdict should send a broader message to employers and their governing boards.<\/p>\n \u201cThey cannot save their own skins by throwing someone else under the bus with false statements,\u201d he said. \u201cIf Trinity Valley School or other employers can do this to their director of human resources, who can\u2019t they do it to?\u201d<\/p>\n Attorneys representing Trinity Valley did not respond to requests for an interview or comment on the verdict and whether the school plans to challenge it.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a statement, board chair Kit Ulrich said Trinity Valley leaders have received the jury\u2019s decision and are reviewing the court\u2019s ruling with legal counsel and insurance providers. Leaders will not comment on the allegation, Ulrich said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we can say is this \u2013 our first obligation is to our students and to the families who entrust us with their care,\u201d Ulrich said. \u201cWe will continue to support our families in the spirit of compassion, transparency, and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n Skains sued Trinity Valley in December 2024<\/a>, initially alleging gender discrimination and retaliation. Her complaint included a Dec. 18, 2024, letter that school trustees sent to thousands of parents, employees and other community members following a third-party investigation into the Muse case.\u00a0<\/p>\n The letter was critical of the administrators involved<\/a> whom trustees claimed kept information to themselves rather than disclose and did not conduct a full internal investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this endeavor, some members of our administrative leadership team fell meaningfully short of this duty,\u201d trustees wrote, alluding to their role as leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n The jury found those two statements in the letter defamed Skains.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe letter has really devastated her,\u201d Frank Hill, who represented Skains when she filed the lawsuit, said in January 2025.<\/p>\n For the two statements, jurors awarded Skains $3.59 million for past and future damage to her reputation, past and future mental anguish and lost earnings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jurors went further, finding that the harm caused by both statements resulted from malice, believing the school either knew the statements were false or seriously doubted whether they were true. They awarded $3.15 million in damages for each statement, adding $6.3 million to the verdict in punitive damages.<\/p>\n Still, the jury reached a more mixed conclusion on Skains\u2019 employment claims.<\/p>\n Skains had alleged that Trinity Valley treated her differently from male employees by assigning her substantial additional responsibilities without additional compensation. In her original complaint, she said the additional load forced her to work 60-hour weeks and came after she complained in February 2023 about the conduct of then-Chief Financial Officer Adam Wojtelwicz.<\/p>\n Jurors found that assigning Skains to extra work without additional pay did not amount to gender discrimination, but they agreed she was retaliated against following her discrimination complaints.<\/p>\n Jurors awarded Skains $150,000 for past pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life, along with $110,000 in wages and benefits, on the retaliation claim.\u00a0<\/p>\n The amounts listed on the verdict total $10.15 million. The jury award is not necessarily the amount that Skains will ultimately receive. Post-trial motions, like an appeal, and legal limits on damages can affect an award after a verdict.<\/p>\n Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @matthewsgroi1<\/a>.<\/p>\n