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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A former Chadwick School teacher has reached a tentative settlement of his lawsuit alleging that he was wrongfully terminated from his teaching job at the private, K-12 day school on the Palos Verdes Peninsula because he was in his 60s and had a high salary.
School attorneys filed court papers Friday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Murphy notifying him of a "conditional" accord in plaintiff Nigel Williams' case, which alleged age discrimination and retaliation.
No terms were divulged.
Williams was recruited from Scotland by Chadwick's former headmaster to establish a theater program at the school, once attended by such celebrities as Liza Minnelli and screenwriter Robert Towne, according to his suit filed Sept. 18.
Just before Williams was terminated, the school "referenced the fact that the then 64-year old Williams was the highest paid and most expensive teacher at school," according to the suit, which further states that Williams believes Chadwick replaced him with a less-experienced, lower-paid younger person.
"Teaching and theater were never just a job for Williams," the suit stated. "Nor even a vocation. For Williams, they were a calling and a commitment that he could not ignore and were, in many respects, his raison d'etre."
The suit stated that Williams was told in September 2022 that a complaint was filed against him by a former student based on events in 2018-19 and he was placed on administrative leave. He was terminated in January, the suit further stated.