Football coach sued for $20M: Pezzimenti family seeks compensation
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Also named in the suit are high school principal James Bennett, Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale and the Warren County Board of Education, all of whom, the suit claims, were neglectful in hiring Tidwell.
The suit was filed recently in Shelbyville, where on Aug. 30, 2002 junior fullback Mario Pezzimenti was inadvertently struck in the head by a helmet thrown by Tidwell during a heated halftime speech. As a result of the blow, Pezzimenti required 10 stitches to the left side of his head.
Tidwell was ultimately charged with simple assault by the Shelbyville district attorney, a charge resolved by a pre-trail diversion which required Tidwell to spend a period of 11 months, 29 days on probation, pay a $500 fine and undergo anger management counseling. Additionally, he was suspended, with pay, from his coaching and teaching duties until Oct. 23 of last year by school officials.
Though already sentenced criminally, Tidwell can still be held liable in civil court, as is currently being attempted in the suit filed against Tidwell by Pezzimenti’s mother, Jana Fredericks.
According to Fredericks’ attorney, Shelbyville lawyer Jason Reeves, the impetus for filing the suit was out of concern that Tidwell, who as a coach of children is placed in a position of trust, caused harm to a child under his supervision.
In addition to the laceration, Reeves cited several other results of the assault which continue to plague Pezzimenti. These include that the event left him unable to complete the 2002 season, as well as rendering him emotionally unable to play football ever again. Pezzimenti was so affected by the incident, the suit says, he was forced to transfer to White County High School.
“It was a very traumatic event for a teenager,” said Reeves. “A helmet is not a light object and can be quite painful. It left him emotionally, in addition to physically, scarred.”
In including Bennett, Hale and the school board in the suit, Reeves admits the three are not directly responsible for the incident, but believes them negligent in hiring Tidwell.
“We believe there is something in his past that should have surfaced when they were in the process of hiring him. Either they failed to investigate him fully or they overlooked something,” said Reeves, who declined to elaborate on the alleged misdoing.
County attorney Larry Stanley, who will be defending the four when the case goes to trial, said in his opinion the suit itself is not well grounded and that he is confident any judgment will be in the county’s favor.
While declining to make any further comments, he did say he fully expects the judge hearing the case to grant a motion for summary judgment releasing Bennett, Hale and the school board from any liability. All parties being sued said any comment should come from Stanley.
For his part, Reeves said he and his clients will be pleased with whatever judgment the court deems appropriate, be it monetary, an order to remove Tidwell from his position, or something else entirely.
Should a maximum judgment of $20 million be handed down, county budget and insurance officials say the county is properly covered through its self-insurance program and by no means should a tax increase be necessary to comply with any judicial decree.
It has not yet been determined when the suit will be heard, although both attorneys estimated it could be more than one year from now, given the court’s backlog of cases, as well as the lengthy period of discovery, including dispositions, interrogations and physical and mental tests.