In December 2011, plaintiff Anita Thompson, 64, an African-American who taught English at James Monroe High School, in Los Angeles, was told to recalculate her students’ grades and rewrite her syllabus, based on a new school district policy. Thompson claimed that the request was made so that students who had not earned passing grades could be allowed to pass through the system. She claimed that when she spoke out against policy, Los Angeles Unified School District officials took illegal retaliatory actions against her. While on medical leave in February 2012, Thompson received a letter informing her of a year-end evaluation, in which she received a negative evaluation. Thompson alleged that as a result, she was forced into early retirement in June 2012. Thompson sued the principal of James Monroe High School, Christopher Rosas; the school’s vice-principal, Marilu Pigliapoco; and the operator of James Monroe High School, the Los Angeles Unified School District. Thompson alleged that Rosas and the school district allowed Pigliapoco to take retaliatory action against her, which resulted in her forced retirement. Esther Jimenez was also named as a plaintiff in the initial complaint, but her claims were related to an unrelated matter involving Athen Elementary School (also operated by the Los Angeles Unified School District). Thus, the plaintiffs’ complaints were bifurcated, and the Thompson matter went to trial. Thompson, who was an English teacher within the Los Angeles Unified School District for 34 years, complained to the school district that many of her students had reading skills far below the third grade level and should not be pushed through the system under the district’s new policy. However, she claimed that she was forced to change her student’s grades and rewrite her syllabus to allow students who had not earned passing grades to pass through the system. Thompson claimed that as a result of speaking out against the Los Angeles Unified School District, she was retaliated against between December 2011 and May 2012, and was transferred to the school’s most challenging classes. She alleged that as a result, she attempted to comply with her instructions, but was still accused by school officials of violating the policy. During this time, Thompson sought assistance from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Thompson also claimed that as a result of her treatment, she went out on medical leave for stress in February 2012, during which she received a letter informing her of a year-end evaluation. Thompson claimed that this is when she learned of her negative evaluation, which ultimately forced her into early retirement in June 2012. Thompson’s counsel called Charlene Pederson, a legal representative for the NAACP. Pederson testified that Thompson had come to her with complaints regarding the school district’s actions and concluded that Pigliapoco’s actions against Thompson were racially motivated. However, on cross-examination, defense counsel questioned Pederson as to how she identified racism as a factor in the dispute, to which Pederson stated that she knew discrimination when she saw it. Defense counsel argued that Pigliapoco’s request to have Thompson recalculate and revise her student’s grades were not motivated by Thompson’s race. Counsel also argued that Thompson received a poor evaluation due to her miscalculation of student grades and failure to follow the school district’s policy. In addition, defense counsel contended that during cross-examination, Thompson stated that she had intended to retire before the period of her alleged harassment. Defense counsel also cited documents evidencing that Thompson had met with a retirement counselor and that her retirement had been set as of January 2012. However, Thompson responded that she had only been contemplating retirement., Thompson claimed that due to the actions of the Los Angeles Unified School District, she developed emotional anguish, depression and headaches. He alleged that as a result, she had to take medical leave due to stress prior to her forced retirement. Thus, Thompson sought recovery of $150,000 in lost past earnings, as well as a recovery of damages for the defendants’ intentional infliction of emotional distress.