From Curtis v. Hawaii Mission Academy, decided Friday by the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals (Judges Keith Hiraoka, Sonja McCullen, and Kimberly Guidry), I think correctly:
The underlying facts of this case are largely undisputed. Jean-Marcel Clouzet (Mr. Clouzet) taught Bible Studies at Hawaiian Mission Academy, a parochial school affiliated with the Hawai'i Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists (the Conference). In February 2022, Mr. Clouzet invited his wife (Mrs. Clouzet) to speak to the Bible Studies class about marriage and relationships.
During the discussion, a student asked a question related to white privilege. According to Kallie's deposition, Mrs. Clouzet stated she herself benefited from white privilege and pointed Kallie out, saying she had it too. Kallie identifies as non-white/Hispanic. {Kallie was eighteen years old at the time of the incident.}
The next day, Kallie's Father emailed the principal of Hawaiian Mission Academy, Joe Lee (Principal Lee), expressing that he found the incident "to be beyond offensive." He reminded Principal Lee they were assured "that those type of race views had no place at" Hawaiian Mission Academy. Kallie's Father stated that "nothing short of [Mr. Clouzet's] near immediate resignation or termination from [Hawaiian Mission Academy] would be a satisfactory resolution."
By February 17, 2022, eight days after the incident, Mr. Clouzet had been fired…. The Curtis Family brought a civil action seeking in excess of $5,778,000.00 in damages arising from the incident….
