Suit: Teacher kicked, called student ugly

SPRING VALLEY, Calif., July 23 (UPI) -- A former student at a Spring Valley, Calif., school has filed a lawsuit alleging a teacher kicked her in the buttocks and called her "ugly."

Jade Ray, who was a freshman at Mount Miguel High School until she left the school after the incident, claims in her suit that she was attempting to join the school choir in handing out singing grams on St. Valentine's Day when teacher Heather Hargett was outraged by her questioning the $15 price tag of the T-shirts worn by her fellow choir members, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed in San Diego Superior Court, alleges Hargett told Ray she had to leave the class if she could not afford the T-shirt. When Ray questioned whether she was serious, the teacher kicked her in the buttocks and called her "ugly" and a "brat," the suit claims.

John Gomez, Ray's attorney, said the lawsuit is seeking more than $75,000 for the pain and humiliation suffered by his client.