Case Background
A family from Washington County, Oregon, took the Forest Grove School District and Tom McCall Upper Elementary School to Court after their son got hurt during recess. The case, filed in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon for the County of Washington, centered on a fall that happened on the school playground field. The boy, Michael DeSanti, was born in 2012 and was an unemancipated minor enrolled at Tom McCall Upper Elementary School when the incident took place. His mother, Erin DeSanti, served as guardian ad litem for him and also joined as an individual Plaintiff, as did his father, Dennis DeSanti. The Plaintiffs accused the school district and the school of negligence and asked a jury to hold them responsible.
Cause
According to the complaint, the trouble started on December 8, 2022, during recess. Michael was playing with friends on the field behind the school. A man named Quinnton Marshall, who worked at the school as a teacher's assistant and was on recess duty that day, supervised and directed the children. The Plaintiffs claimed Michael stepped or slipped into a hole or trough near a drainage grate while running and fell. They said the sides of the drainage grate sat exposed and that Michael had no idea the field carried this danger. The Plaintiffs argued the school failed to inspect the field, failed to repair the holes and trough around the drainage grate, and failed to warn the students about the muddy, uneven ground.
The Plaintiffs also raised concerns about what happened right after the fall. They said Marshall walked over, told Michael to stand up, and accused him of faking the injury. When Michael tried to walk, he cried and grimaced because his leg and ankle hurt. The Plaintiffs claimed Marshall offered no help even after seeing this. They said other students begged Marshall to call for help, but he told them to carry Michael inside if they really thought he was hurt. The students then carried Michael into the building. The Plaintiffs said Marshall eventually called for assistance, and a school health aide quickly recognized that Michael needed a wheelchair. The school then contacted Michael's grandmother, Trisha Pride, who arrived and met Michael's father at the school. They took Michael to the hospital.
The Defendants told a different story. They admitted Michael fell while running onto the field to grab a ball near a drainage grate or catch basin while Marshall supervised the lunch recess. They admitted Marshall approached Michael, looked him over, and watched other students help him to the building because of self-reported ankle pain. They admitted Marshall called a staff member, who came with a wheelchair. But the Defendants denied the rest of the Plaintiffs' account and denied that they acted carelessly.
Injury
The Plaintiffs said the fall left Michael with serious harm. The complaint listed a fractured left leg, a distal fibula fracture, a back strain, anxiety, depression, poor self-esteem, sleep problems, and post-traumatic stress. The Plaintiffs explained that before the incident, Michael lived an active and social life. He played soccer, football, basketball, and wrestled, ran 5Ks with his mother, and skateboarded. After the fall, they said, he could not take part in any of those activities. They also said Michael had enjoyed school and performed above his grade level, but afterward he grew reluctant to attend, lost motivation, and distrusted the staff. He began to suffer high anxiety and PTSD-type symptoms and walked to and from school far less than before, out of fear that he might get hurt again.
The Defendants admitted that Michael suffered a Salter-Harris II distal tibia fracture that required reasonable and necessary medical treatment costing $24,313.73. But they denied that they caused or contributed to any of his claimed damages.
Damages Sought
The Plaintiffs asked for noneconomic damages they estimated at $730,387.27 for Michael's pain, suffering, and loss of his normal daily activities. Erin and Dennis DeSanti sought economic damages for medical expenses they put at $50,712.73, plus an estimated $25,000 for future medical care Michael would need. The second amended complaint listed a total prayer amount of $806,100.
Key Arguments and Proceedings
Legal Representation
Plaintiff(s): Michael DeSanti (a minor, through Erin DeSanti as guardian ad litem), Erin DeSanti, and Dennis DeSanti
· Counsel for Plaintiff(s): Melissa A. Bobadilla | Matthew S. Kirkpatrick | Zoe B. Saccio
Defendant(s): Forest Grove School District | Tom McCall Upper Elementary School
· Counsel for Defendant(s): John R. Barhoum | Molly Silver | Jeffrey Hansen
Key Arguments or Remarks by Counsel
Claims
The Plaintiffs brought three negligence claims. In the first, Michael claimed the school district and the school carried a direct duty to protect him. He argued the Defendants created a special relationship with students by requiring their attendance and that this relationship created a duty of care they could not pass off to anyone else. He said they broke that duty by failing to inspect, repair, and warn about the field, by failing to help him after the fall, and by failing to properly train and supervise Marshall. In the second claim, Michael argued the Defendants were vicariously responsible for Marshall's negligence under the doctrine of respondeat superior, since Marshall acted within the scope of his work. In the third claim, Erin and Dennis DeSanti sought their medical costs tied to the same negligence.
Defense
The Defendants denied that they acted negligently and denied liability, pointing to the school's practices and policies. They admitted that uneven ground and mud can create a safety hazard, but they denied failing to make the condition safe, denied giving inadequate warnings, and denied allowing students to engage in activities on the field. They also raised an affirmative defense of contributory negligence, arguing that Michael caused his own injuries. They claimed he failed to use due care for his own safety, failed to keep a proper speed for the field conditions, failed to follow warnings about the mud and about playing only in approved areas, and failed to keep a proper lookout. The Defendants also requested a jury trial.
Jury Verdict
The jury sided with the Defendants. On the verdict form dated January 30, 2026, the jury answered the first question, which asked whether the Forest Grove School District and/or Tom McCall Upper Elementary School acted negligently in one or more of the ways the Plaintiffs claimed. The jury marked "No." Because the form directed that a "no" answer ended the case in the Defendants' favor, the jury did not need to answer the remaining questions about causation, Michael's own negligence, fault percentages, or damages. The presiding juror, juror number 228, signed the verdict form. The verdict cleared the school district and the school of liability.
Court documents are available upon request at [email protected]
