Judge Dismisses FAWPA Claim Against Ben Copeland Over Individual-Capacity Suit

1 articles · Updated · Virginia Lawyers Weekly · Jun 1

A federal judge in Lynchburg dismissed Dr. Derrick Brown’s FAWPA claim against former interim superintendent Ben Copeland, ruling the statute cannot support relief against a defendant sued only in his individual capacity.
FAWPA limits remedies to reinstatement, back pay and restored benefits, and the court said those remedies can be provided only by an official acting in an official role, not by an individual former supervisor.
Brown, the former chief academic officer of Lynchburg City Schools, alleges Copeland retaliated after Brown said underprivileged and minority students required protection.
The ruling leaves Brown v. Copeland’s FAWPA count out of the case while underscoring a narrow reading of a Virginia whistleblower law with little appellate guidance on individual-capacity suits.

Sources

A court dismisses a retaliation claim on a technicality. What does this mean for the students he sought to protect?

If supervisors can't be sued personally for retaliation, are whistleblower protection laws fundamentally broken?