A federal judge refused to certify a class action from a Chicago Public Schools graduate and his father, who alleged CPS violated their religious freedom rights as Christians by allowing a program in schools that encouraged students to engage in Buddhist meditation.
Amontae Williams, now 21, and his father, Darryl Williams, filed a putative class action against the Chicago Board of Education, the David Lynch Foundation and the University of Chicago. In addition to the federal allegations, they said the defendants violated the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Amontae was a student at Bogan Computer Technical High School from the fall of 2017 to his spring 2019 graduation.
The family said Bogan was one of eight schools that implemented a Quiet Time program from 2015-2019. According to their filing, the Foundation created the program, the school board allowed implementation and UC researched its effects. The program involved two 15-minute sessions per day, during which students could opt to participate in transcendental meditation, a program that included a “Puja” initiation ceremony. Other students who did not opt-in to the program had a chance to meditate, but were not compelled to do so and did not attend the initiation.
In an opinion issued Sept. 13, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said he had already agreed to dismiss part of the complaint, and while he did grant leave for the family to amend its complaint, he denied their motion for class certification. That motion included a putative class for all Quiet Time students from 2015-2019 and subclasses, one for those who participated in meditation training and one for those who did not.
Kennelly first rejected the defendants’ argument that Amontae wasn’t a suitable class representative because he eventually warmed to meditation and lacked knowledge of the case.
“These inconsistencies are unlikely to be a significant factor in litigation at the class level because they would only impact Amontae's individual damages determinations and thus would not undermine his credibility severely enough to distract from the other aspects of the case,” Kennelly wrote. “Amontae's lack of familiarity with every aspect of the case or the specific reasons for suing each defendant are similarly insufficient to establish inadequacy, as he demonstrated a basic understanding of the purpose of the lawsuit and his proposed classes during his deposition. One cannot expect a plaintiff, either a class representative or an individual plaintiff, to know details about evidence, legal theories, or strategy; that's why people hire lawyers.”
However, Kennelly agreed Amontae fell short of showing an ability to make final decisions regarding the case.
“The legal services agreement between him and his counsel is clear: Amontae has surrendered his responsibility to make final litigation decisions to a ‘Steering Committee’ composed of proposed class counsel and other individuals unknown to the court, not including Amontae himself,” Kennelly wrote. “Amontae’s lack of any knowledge about the decisions, operations or membership of the committee to which he has delegated control of the litigation further underscores his inability to take an ‘active and honest and attentive’ role in the litigation or be more than just a ‘placeholder for the attorneys driving this case.’ ”
Kennelly said that decision meant he didn’t need to address the proposed student classes. The judge then also denied Darryl Williams’ motion for class certification for lack of standing. Although he said parents to have a right to direct their children’s religious training, that means he only has standing for the portion of his claims preceding Amontae’s 18th birthday.
“The parties do not dispute that when Amontae began learning transcendental meditation, he was already a legal adult,” Kennelly wrote. “During his deposition, Amontae testified that he was present for an initiation ceremony in October 2018, after he had turned 18 a month earlier. He also stated that no one at his school was meditating in class during his junior year, when he was still a minor, and that the transcendental meditation instructors did not come to his school until the following year. Therefore, to the extent that Darryl’s claim is based on either the transcendental meditation initiation or instructor-led meditation, it must be dismissed, and his motion for class certification must be denied for lack of standing.”
Kennelly set a status hearing for Sept. 22 to schedule future proceedings and a trial date for the remaining claims.
The Williams family members have been represented by attorneys John W. Mauck and Kirstin M. Erickson, of the firm of Mauck & Baker, of Chicago.
CPS has been represented by attorneys Elizabeth K. Barton, Kaitlin T. Salisbury and Christina Rosenberg, of the Chicago Board of Education's Department of Law.
University of Chicago is represented by attorneys Mark S. Mester, Johanna Spellman, Renatta A. Gorski and Sofia A. Vitiello, of the firm of Latham & Watkins, of Chicago.
The David Lynch Foundation is represented by attorney James J. Sipchen, of the firm of Pretzel & Stouffer, of Chicago.