Lower Merion School District faces another webcam suit
The Lower Merion School District called the second Robbins filing, which claims nude images of Paige Robbins were taken, a "money-grab" and waste of taxpayer dollars.
Two years after her brother discovered his school-issued laptop obtained images of him and his family in their Penn Valley home, Paige Robbins, now 19, filed a suit of her own.
Representing Robbins, attorney Mary Elizabeth Bogan of Bogan Law Group, LLC filed the suit Dec. 7 in Philadelphia claiming the webcam feature took images of the defendant while naked or partially dressed in the bathroom and in her bedroom while sleeping.
Robbins' brother Blake Robbins received a $175,000 settlement from Lower Merion School District after it acknowledged flaws in the tracking software it used to find missing computers.
In Harriton High School assistant vice principal Lindy Matsko's April deposition regarding Blake Robbins' case, Matsko acknowledged there were photos of his sister.
"Was she – Paige Robbin (sic) naked in the picture that you looked at; do you remember? Her top was off, right? In the picture you looked at?" Blake Robbins' attorney Mark Haltzman asked in the deposition.
"There was a picture probably of Paige Robbins' face. I can't imagine any IT person, I mean, it…" Matsko said, according to the transcript.
Calling the complaint "misleading," and the "epitome of an attempted money-grab," the Lower Merion School District issued a statement noting the timing of the complaint as well as Robbins' decision to wait to file the complaint.
The district also noted after a "thorough, exhaustive investigation – under supervision of the United States District Judge Jan DuBois, the FBI, and the United States Attorney – determined that no one ever saw a compromising image of Ms. Robbins or anyone else. Indeed, the investigation did not recover any images of Ms. Robbins."
"It appears Ms. Robbins simply waited to turn 18 so she could attempt to obtain a payout of her own from LMSD taxpayers," the statement reads. "The District will vigorously defend its position and the taxpayers of this community."
Hearing the statement for the first time, Bogan said Robbins "is an innocent victim whose rights were violated."
"The timing for filing was based on the subject matter," Bogan said in reference to nudity. "It was the most important factor in deciding when to file suit."
Bogan declined to say how long ago she began meeting with Robbins to decide whether or not to file a complaint.
"In this day and age of Internet and technology, we see now more than ever the importance of protecting the privacy of minors," Bogan said.
The complaint states the school district's webcam features violated the plaintiff's privacy as well as the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act and the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillace Act, among others.