BREAKING NEWS: Two School Board Members Served
Attorneys for Nicole Cole file civil complaint against Lisa Phelps and April Gillespie charging malicious prosecution; ask court to award $1 million.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Spotsylvania School Board members Lisa Phelps and April Gillespie were informed today that they are defendants in a complaint filed by an attorney for fellow School Board member Nicole Cole. The complaint lists five charges, including malicious prosecution, and seeks $1,000,000 in damages.
The complaint stems from a May 20, 2024, School Board meeting.
According to the complaint filed by Cole, during a closed session meeting Phelps repeatedly would walk out of the room and leave the door open “in efforts to frustrate the purpose of having a closed session,” according to the complaint.
After Phelps left the room on several occasions and left the door open, the complaint says, Cole “stood near the door to facilitate closing the door whenever Phelps wished to come and go from the closed session.”
During one of Phelps’ re-entries, the complaint charges that Phelps “walked into Cole’s foot” and then accused Cole of tripping her.
Phelps later then “walked to the door to exit and then leaned against the door so Cole could not close the door.”
The complaint further claims that Gillespie was “instigating” Phelps’ actions and occasionally filming the event on her cellular phone.
Eventually, the closed session continued without further incident, according to the complaint.
On May 21, Phelps swore out a criminal complaint charging Cole with assault and battery. That case went to court, and on July 1, 2024, Cole was found not guilty.
The complaint Phelps and Gillespie were served with today includes five counts:
Malicious Prosecution
Common Law Civil Conspiracy
Statutory Business Conspiracy
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Defamation per se
A jury trial is requested.
This is an emerging story. Stay with the Advance as more details come to light.
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