NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News judge has rejected motions to dismiss the verdict of the 2025 lawsuit that awarded $10 million to Abby Zwerner, the teacher shot by a student at Richneck Elementary School in January 2023.
A jury found Ebony Parker, the school's former assistant principal, grossly negligent in November in not doing more to prevent the shooting once she learned of the student having a gun.
Watch the moment Zwerner finds out she won her lawsuit
Parker's attorneys argued that Zwerner's injury — the gunshot that went through her hand and pierced her chest, puncturing a lung — falls under worker's compensation rather than a civil lawsuit, with claims that workplace violence is an "actual risk" of teaching.
Her attorneys filed three motions — a motion to dismiss, a motion to set aside the verdict, and a motion for a new trial.
Richneck Shooting
Everything we've learned in Abby Zwerner's $40M Richneck shooting lawsuit
The judge denied all three motions. This final order officially removes this case from the docket, according to court documents.
