Case Background
Trinity Valley School is a private, independent school in Fort Worth, Texas. Carrie Skains served as its Human Resources Director from 2012 until January 6, 2025. She was the school’s only HR employee and reported directly to the Head of School. Skains sued the school on December 30, 2024. Her First Amended Complaint, filed March 28, 2025, alleged sex discrimination, retaliation, and defamation. A four-day jury trial began September 1, 2026.
Cause
The school hired Adam Wojtelwicz as Chief Financial Officer in August 2022. According to the amended complaint, he questioned Skains in a loud, aggressive manner at a February 16, 2023, committee meeting. The school admitted that he questioned her about policies and that she cried. Skains reported the meeting to then-Head of School Blair Lowry that day.
Skains alleged that Wojtelwicz then shifted extra work to her, including tasks outside her prior duties. She cited index data reporting, the athletics stipend budget, athletics personnel contracts, payroll reconciliation, and general ledger code mapping. She filed EEOC charges on June 12 and September 10, 2024.
Separately, the school had received an April 2023 report about a former piano instructor. Parents said their child observed the instructor’s penis during a one-on-one lesson. The school placed him on leave, consulted counsel, contacted CPS, and fired him. After more parents came forward in 2024, the school hired T&M USA to investigate. On December 18, 2024, the Board emailed a summary of the findings to the school community. According to the complaint, the email arrived about 16 hours before a scheduled EEOC mediation. Skains alleged that it falsely portrayed her role in the school’s response.
Injury
Skains alleged that the added duties pushed her to work 60 hours or more each week without extra pay. She claimed the email humiliated her before parents, colleagues, and prospective employers. According to the complaint, some parents in a text thread said the leaders "should all be fired." Skains resigned on January 6, 2025. She claimed the school’s conduct forced her out. According to Plaintiff’s filings, she received treatment for depression and panic disorder beginning in May 2024.
Damages
Skains sought back pay, front pay, lost benefits, and damages for reputational harm and mental anguish. She also sought punitive and exemplary damages, attorneys’ fees, expert fees, costs, and interest. She claimed the loss of a school benefit that would have covered half the cost of her Ph.D. The parties stipulated that her annual pay at separation was $111,530.
Key Arguments and Proceedings
Legal Representation
Plaintiff(s): Carrie Skains
Counsel for Plaintiff(s): Walter L. Taylor | James Richard Long | Frank Hill [Terminated: 03/24/2025] | Stefanie M. Klein [Terminated: 03/24/2025] | Anne Michels [Terminated: 03/24/2025]
Defendant(s): Trinity Valley School
Counsel for Defendant(s): Laura Balhoff Englert | Stephen Fahey | Wade C Crosnoe
Mediator: Kenneth Jay Rubenstein
Claims
Skains brought sex discrimination and retaliation claims under Title VII and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code. She also sued for defamation under Texas common law. Her complaint further alleged a hostile work environment and constructive discharge.
On August 11, 2026, the Court granted the school’s summary judgment motion in part. It dismissed the discrimination and retaliation claims based on the Board email. The Court found the email was not a materially adverse employment action. It also dismissed her constructive discharge claims. The discrimination and retaliation claims based on the extra work survived, as did the defamation claim. Her hostile work environment theory was not submitted to the jury.
The defamation claim focused on two statements in the Board email. The first said four school leaders, including Skains, kept the incident largely to themselves. It said they did so out of concern for the instructor if the exposure was accidental. The Court instructed jurors that only this stated motive was in dispute. The second statement said the four leaders made no internal inquiries beyond reviewing the instructor’s file and laptop.
Defense
Trinity Valley School denied all wrongdoing. It contended that it assigned the work for legitimate operational reasons. These included the existing placement of payroll tasks in HR and temporary or project-based staffing needs. The school argued the assignments would have happened regardless of her complaints or EEOC charges.
On defamation, the school argued that the statements accurately summarized T&M’s findings. It pleaded truth, qualified privilege, fair report privilege, and lack of actual malice. It also cited the Texas Defamation Mitigation Act and charitable immunity caps. The parties later stipulated that Skains requested a retraction around March 17, 2026, and none was made. At trial, the school moved for judgment as a matter of law. The Court denied the motion.
Jury Verdict
The jury returned its verdict on September 4, 2026. It rejected the sex discrimination claims. Jurors found Skains did not prove the extra work was an adverse employment action.
However, the jury found retaliation under both Title VII and Chapter 21. It awarded $150,000 for past mental anguish and related harms. It added $110,000 in wages and benefits for February 2023 through January 2025. It awarded nothing for future mental anguish. Jurors rejected the school’s defense that Skains failed to mitigate her damages. They declined to award punitive damages on the retaliation claim.
On defamation, the jury found both statements defamatory and not substantially true. It found the school did not prove the email reached only people with an interest in the matter. Jurors also found the school knew or should have known the statements were false and potentially defamatory.
For each statement, the jury awarded $430,000 apiece for past and future reputational harm. It awarded the same for past and future mental anguish. It added $75,000 in lost earnings. It awarded nothing for lost earning capacity.
Each statement carried $1,795,000 in compensatory damages. The jury found malice by clear and convincing evidence. It awarded $3,150,000 in exemplary damages per statement. The total verdict reached $10,150,000.
Post-trial Motions
On September 11, 2026, Skains asked the Court to enter judgment on the full $10.15 million verdict. Because the jury found retaliation under both laws, she elected to recover under Chapter 21 to avoid double recovery. She also sought prejudgment interest at 6.75%. The school filed a response on September 22, 2026.
On September 30, 2026, Skains filed a reply with a revised proposed judgment. It applied the Texas cap on exemplary damages, reducing that award from $6.3 million to $1,050,000. The cap allows two times economic damages plus up to $750,000 in noneconomic damages. The revised total was $4,900,000, plus interest. That figure combines $260,000 for retaliation, $3.59 million in compensatory defamation damages, and the capped exemplary award. Attorneys’ fees were left for a later order. The motion for entry of judgment remained pending.
Court Documents:
Documents are available for purchase upon request at [email protected]
