posted July 31, 2010
An attorney for two of the defendants sued by Tonya Craft in Federal Court says her amended $25 million lawsuit still is not specific enough.
Cristina Correia, assistant Georgia state attorney general, said the amended complaint fails to comply with the instructions of Judge Harold Murphy.
Judge Murphy, of Rome, Ga., on July 7 had given Craft attorneys two weeks in which to provide more specifics relating to her accusations. The judge said he then would rule on motions by the defendants to be dismissed from the case.
Ms. Craft filed suit after she was absolved of all charges of child molestation in a highly-publicized trial at Ringgold.
The initial lawsuit was 52 pages and the amended complaint has 72 pages.
The defendants include parents of the children who brought charges against her, the lead detective in the case, the Catoosa County sheriff and officials who investigated the complaints. Attorney Correia represents Greenhouse Advocacy Center and Suzi Thorne.
Other defendants are Sandra Lamb, Sherri and Dewayne Wilson, her former husband Joal Henke and his current wife Sarah, Kelli McDonald, Sgt. Tim Deal, Catoosa County, Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers, Stacy Long, Laurie Evans, and the Childrens Advocacy Center of the Lookout Mountain Judicial District.
Ms. Correia said the amended complaint "continues to provide few 'factual' allegations regarding defendants Greenhouse and Thorne. Instead, the amended complaint consists of conclusory statements and legal conclusions regarding the actions of defendants Thorne and Greenhouse.
"For instance, count three of the amended complaint alleges that defendant Greenhouse 'failed to adequately train and supervise their employees to competently investigate allegations of child sexual abuse. Plaintiff then asserts, in conclusory fashion, that prior incidents of alleged constitutional violations by defendant Thorne have occurred and that defendant Greenhouse took no disciplinary action.
"Plaintiff utterly fails to provide any 'facts' to support these conclusory allegations however. Plaintiff does not identify or describe 'any' incident involving defendants Thorne or Greenhouse where an alleged constitutional violation occurred. Instead, plaintiff asserts that these allegations 'are likely to have additional evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation and discovery.' In other words, plaintiff has 'no' evidence or facts to support her conclusions."
She said, "Despite this court's clear instructions, each count of plaintiff's amended complaint continues to incorporate all prior allegations and claims by reference."
The suit says the children who brought charges against her were coached and that the allegations were not corroborated.
It says the former Chickamauga Elementary School teacher suffered humiliation and embarrassment by the two-year ordeal.
After a trial that lasted into the fourth week, a jury in Catoosa County cleared her of 22 counts of child molestation.
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