WELLSBURG – Two more lawsuits, including one potential class action, have been filed regarding hidden cameras found at Brooke High School.
Former Brooke High Principal Eric James, who faces felony criminal charges in a criminal investigation, is a defendant in the cases, as is the Brooke County Board of Education.
James, 53, is being held at Northern Regional Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond, officials said. He had been Brooke High’s principal since June 2023, following prior education positions in Ohio and West Virginia.
The first lawsuit was filed late Thursday, just hours after news of the situation broke. Two more were filed Friday.
In the potential class action, the parents of a Brooke High seek damages and court-ordered relief for female students who used facilities where hidden recording devices allegedly were placed. It was filed by attorneys at Fitzsimmons Law in Wheeling.
“As a lawyer, this case raises serious questions about institutional responsibility and the safeguards that should exist to protect students in the most private areas of a public school,” Clayton Fitzsimmons told The West Virginia Record. “As a father of three daughters, I understand on a personal level what that means to parents. When parents send their children to school, they are entitled to expect that their children’s safety and privacy will be protected. That obligation is absolute.
“No child should ever have to wonder whether she was secretly watched or recorded while changing clothes at school, and no parent should ever be put in the position of having to ask that question.”
The lawsuit alleges James, while serving as principal, installed multiple concealed video-recording devices in the girls’ physical education locker room, girls’ varsity athletic locker room and dance team dressing room. Law enforcement recovered at least four devices from the areas, according to the filing. James was preliminarily charged with felony counts involving electronic interception and the placement of electronic surveillance equipment.
The filing says the recovered devices have been submitted to a state forensic laboratory. Investigators were examining how long the devices had operated, which students may have been recorded, whether audio was captured and whether footage was copied, transmitted or distributed.
The parents, identified as Jane Doe and John Doe to protect the identity of their minor daughter, contend their daughter regularly used one or more of the facilities during the alleged surveillance period and was recorded while partially or fully undressed.
The proposed class would include West Virginia female students who used a private student facility at Brooke High School where a hidden device was installed or operating. The filing says the class period and the precise locations could change as the forensic review and litigation proceed.
The complaint accuses the school board of negligence; negligent hiring, retention, supervision and training; negligent infliction of emotional distress; invasion of privacy; sex discrimination under the West Virginia Human Rights Act; and vicarious liability. It alleges the board failed to establish adequate inspection, oversight and access-control safeguards for private student facilities.
The lawsuit also asserts claims against James for invasion of privacy, alleged violations of the state’s wiretapping and electronic-surveillance laws, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiffs requested a jury trial, class certification, compensatory and statutory damages, attorney fees and court costs as well as punitive damages from James.
In the other lawsuit filed Friday, a John Marshall High School student and her parents make similar claims.
The JMHS student, identified as Jane Doe No. 2, says she used the locker room September 1 while participating in a game as a student-athlete at Brooke High School. The complaint alleges James had installed hidden cameras in the locker room and changing areas, adding she was recorded while changing, showering or using restroom facilities.
The complaint says it is unknown whether the alleged videos or images were downloaded or shared with anyone else. It also alleges James may have watched live footage while the student was in the locker room.
The lawsuit alleges the school board knew or should have known that cameras had been installed and failed to detect, prevent, remove or warn students about the devices. It also claims the board failed to properly hire, supervise and retain James.
The complaint seeks relief under state statutes involving student rights, invasion of privacy, nonconsensual disclosure of intimate images and sexual abuse by a person in a position of trust. It also alleges common law invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, negligent hiring, negligent supervision, negligent retention, premises liability and a violation of the West Virginia Constitution’s due process clause.
She seeks compensatory damages, interest, court costs, attorney fees and other relief. She is being represented by Teresa Toriseva and Josh Miller of Toriseva Law in Wheeling. They filed the first case on behalf of another Jane Doe plaintiff Thursday.
The potential class action has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jason A. Cuomo, and the Jane Doe 2 case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Joseph E. Barki.
Brooke Circuit Court case numbers 26-C-84 (Fitzsimmons) and 26-C-85 (Toriseva)
