DALLAS – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the father of Ahmed Mohamed, the Muslim teen who became known as “clock boy” after being arrested for bringing a homemade timepiece to school in a pencil case.
The order came down May 18, dismissing both Irving ISD and the city of Irving from the litigation. However, the plaintiffs have until June to amend their complaint.
Last August, Mohamed Elhassan, Ahmed’s father, filed suit against Irving ISD, Principal Daniel Cummings, and the city of Irving in the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas, Dallas Division.
Prior to the lawsuit, Ahmed's family delivered a letter threatening litigation, seeking a total of $15 million in compensation.
Ahmed was a freshman at MacArthur High School when the incident occurred on Sept. 14, 2015. The boy sought to demonstrate his technical abilities to his teachers by assembling a beeping digital clock, which he brought to school in a pencil case.
When he showed the clock to his teacher, Ahmed was instructed to put the device back in his backpack and not show anyone else. Later that day, he showed the clock to a fellow student and his teacher noticed.
Ahmed was detained and interrogated by Irving police officers but never charged.
The lawsuit alleged Ahmed’s rights were violated in contravention of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the judge found that the plaintiffs’ complaint “contains no allegations from which the court can infer that a school official with authority to take corrective action had ‘actual knowledge’ of the harassment or discrimination and responded with ‘deliberate indifference.’”
Ahmed and his family, who also sued a number of conservative media personalities, relocated to Qatar after the incident.
The plaintiffs are represented by Fort Worth attorneys Susan Hutchinson and Christopher Stoy.
Case No. 3:16-cv-02283-G