Ex-cheerleader's lawsuit close to settling

By: Luke Stangel

Posted: 3/7/07

A partially paralyzed former cheerleader who sued San Jose State University for $30 million is "very close" to settling her case out of court with the school, a lawyer representing the school said in court Tuesday.

Lawyers will now try to finalize the details of the settlement agreement in the next 60 days, and plan to return to court on May 8 to give the judge an update on where settlement talks stand. The exact amount of money the school will pay to settle the case, if any, remains unknown.

Rechelle Sneath was an 18-year-old freshman when she fell and was paralyzed from the waist down while practicing an aerial routine with her fellow Spirit Squad members on Jan. 7, 2004.

She later sued - claiming her coach, Jenise Mills-Fitzpatrick, did not provide adequate safety for Sneath's acrobatic maneuver and did not directly supervise the routine.

In the lawsuit, Sneath's lawyer estimate San Jose State University and the California State University system owe Sneath $30 million - $15 million for past and future medical expenses, $10 million for past and future loss of income and $5 million for the loss of household services.

Lawyers on both sides of the case met in late February with a court-appointed mediator to try to work out an out-of-court settlement. In court Tuesday, Matthew Sullivan, a lawyer representing SJSU and the CSU system asked Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cain for more time to finalize the settlement agreement, which was "very close" to completion.

Sullivan declined to comment outside of court. Thomas Beatty, another lawyer representing the school, did not return calls for comment this week.

The school has argued in the past that Sneath signed a waiver before joining the Spirit Squad assuming liability for any injuries she suffered while practicing or performing on the team, Beatty said in an earlier interview.

According to the lawsuit, Mills-Fitzpatrick pushed the cheerleading squad the day Sneath fell, forcing them to do push-ups when they made mistakes. She asked Sneath to perform two back tuck basket tosses - where a cheerleader is thrown in the air and caught by as many as four cheerleaders forming a "basket" with their arms - although Sneath had done the maneuver just six times before, according to the lawsuit.

The cheerleaders didn't catch Sneath, who fell to the ground. Today, Sneath uses a wheelchair.

Neither Sneath nor Mills-Fitzpatrick appeared at Tuesday's court hearing.

Mills-Fitzpatrick works as a special education teacher in Modesto and is head coach of the dance program at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Beatty said previously. Mills-Fitzpatrick spent five seasons as a cheerleader with the San Francisco 49ers and two seasons as a cheerleader with the San Jose SaberCats arena football team, according to the University of the Pacific's Web site.

Cynthia McGuinn, the lawyer representing Sneath, did not appear in court Tuesday and did not return calls for comment.