Former Liberty superintendent files counter suit asking for more than $25,000
Former Liberty Local School Superintendent Joseph Nohra and the school board he presided over have filed a counterclaim against several former and current Liberty school employees and one of their family members who allege that Nohra invaded their privacy in April and May of 2018.
The original suit was filed by Christine Gallaugher who served as the school district's Maintenance and Transportation Secretary for over twenty years. She resigned in 2018 after Nohra began an internal investigation and he says determined that Gallaugher was conducting private business in a publicly funded workspace. Her suit accuses Nohra of invading her privacy.
Gallaugher alleges that Nohra, with the school board's blessing, secretly installed cameras in carbon monoxide detectors in order to listen to her conversations in her board office.
Nohra's counterclaim says that the alleged invasion of privacy occurred in a meeting room where Gallaugher and other employees could not have expected reasonable privacy.
Gallaugher's resignation agreed to terms that both she and Liberty schools would not file any legal actions against each other. Nohra claims that Gallaugher violated terms of her agreement by filing a case against him and the school board.
He also says that the original suit caused him to suffer damages, other injuries, and legal fees. He is asking for at least $25,000 in reparations and other additional appropriate relief that the court sees fit.
The school board did not ask for a specific fee but is asking for the original complaint to be dismissed along with attorney's fees and other awards that the court see fit.
Nohra has also been charged criminally in the matter.
Nohra appeared in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court in July to answer six counts of interception of wire, oral or electronic communication, which are felonies, and five counts of interfering with civil rights, which are misdemeanors. His attorney released a statement then again claiming that the cameras were purchased in order to conduct the investigation into Gallaugher.
Norah resigned as superintendent in June 2020 claiming he wanted a better work-life balance. He began his tenure in 2017.
