It is not the first time former Royal Heights Principal Larry Masters and Ms. Besendorfer have been in the same room since he filed his lawsuit against her in Jasper County Circuit Court. She was there when Masters' attorney deposed earlier witnesses, but this will be the first time Ms. Besendorfer has had to answer questions under oath.
The deposition is scheduled to begin 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the law offices of Blanchard, Robertson, Mitchell, and Carter in Joplin. It will continue the following day if the questioning is not finished.
In addition to Ms. Besendorfer, Masters, and their lawyers, thanks to a ruling by Judge David Dally, the Joplin R-8 Board of Education's attorney John Nicholas will also be in attendance. One reason for his presence will be to make sure that any secrets from Board of Education closed sessions will not be revealed. Dally approved Nicholas' emergency motion that no information in the depositions could come from closed sessions, opening up the legal prospect that if Ms. Besendorfer did lie about Masters, it was OK as long as it was done with the school board behind closed doors. Nicholas' notion was made before a deposition scheduled for R-8 board member Jim Kimbrough. Nicholas is also allowed to attend all depositions in this case.
In his lawsuit, Masters, who had been Royal Heights principal since 2004, had already been offered a contract for the 2010-2011 school year when Ms. Besendorfer stepped in.
"Defendant intentionally interfered in Plaintiff's expectancy by making false representations about Plaintiff to the Joplin Schools Board of Education. Said representations included, but were not limited to, accusations that Plaintiff had violated the regulations governing administration of the MAP test."
Because of those "misrepresentations," the petition says, "The Board of Education voted on or about April 15, 2010, to rescind its motion to offer the contract of employment to the plaintiff."
The lawsuit lists no defendant other than Ms. Besendorfer. "There was no justification for (her) actions," the petition says.
"As a result of Defendant's actions, Plaintiff has suffered damages, including lost wages, mental and emotional distress."
Besendorfer's actions are referred to as "willful, wanton, and made with the knowledge that they would cause damage to Plaintiff."
Masters' attorney, Raymond Lampert of Springfield, is asking that Masters receive "lost wages, mental and emotional damage, punitive damages, the costs of this action, and to grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper."
In her response to Masters' lawsuit, filed Feb. 27 in Jasper County Circuit Court, Besendorfer's attorney, Karl Blanchard, lists a number of defenses against Masters' claims including sovereign immunity, the public duty doctrine, and the all-purpose somebody else did it.
To the best knowledge and belief of defendant any decision by the Joplin School Board to rescind its offer to rehire plaintiff as a principal was based upon facts and information gathered and presented by individuals other than the defendant and that said facts and information justified the rescinsion of his contract.
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"Today, thanks to school administrators and board members who had a dream, and to the people of the world who made that dream come true, school bells will ring again in Joplin."
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