Garcia sues Lanning, alleging Feb. 26 assault
By Marcus Clem
More fallout has arrived from a Feb. 26 St. Joseph Board of Education incident with a new lawsuit filed by Isaura Garcia against fellow board member Whitney Lanning.
Alleging a single civil violation of assault, Garcia’s lawsuit recounts the events of that night, in which Lanning confronted Garcia over what Lanning has called an inappropriate reference to Lanning’s child. Both women are members of the school board.
According to a petition for damages filed in Buchanan County’s Fifth Judicial Circuit Court late this week, this led to Lanning allegedly “scream(ing) a barrage of threats of physical violence in Garcia’s ear” as Garcia moved away. Lanning allegedly uttered several expletives about what Garcia had allegedly said and what Lanning would do in response before Garcia left the scene.
The suit references Lanning throwing several items she had in her hands, including a computer and a bag, at a cinder block wall as Garcia and another school board member who had stepped in to separate the two women, walked through the school district building where the meeting was held.
The lawsuit references how Lanning has been charged with second-degree harassment, a Class A misdemeanor, by the Buchanan County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. If Lanning is convicted, she faces a penalty of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Garcia seeks unspecified damages and fees in her civil lawsuit. Paul E. Brothers represents the plaintiff on behalf of Graves, Garrett & Greim, LLC, of Kansas City, Missouri. Terri Lowden represents Lanning on behalf of Mark H. Wissehr P.C. of St. Joseph. No defense responses are yet on file.
The Garcia lawsuit notes that Lanning has declined to apologize for the events of Feb. 26 or to step down from the board, something she has been urged to do by various elected officials. One leading source of scrutiny has been The Lion, a publication of the Stanley M. Herzog Foundation. Todd Graves, a partner in the law firm representing Garcia, serves as the foundation’s chairman.
The Board of Education will gather at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3, in a special session to, among other matters, consider its next steps on the Lanning-Garcia disagreement. Board members had previously resolved to take no further action pending the Tuesday, April 2, election for three board seats. A $20 million bond issue is also on Tuesday’s ballot.
Lanning is scheduled to appear in her criminal case before Associate Circuit Judge Chad Gaddie at the Buchanan County Circuit Court before the April 3 meeting. The civil matter has been assigned to Judge Kate Schaefer and will come up for a hearing at 9 a.m. June 26.
Reached on Saturday, Lanning declined to comment about the lawsuit.
