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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Case No.: ________________________

H. SCOTT SHORE,

Plaintiff,

vs. 

THE HEBREW DAY SCHOOL OF 

BROWARD COUNTY, A PRIVATE 

SCHOOL, INC., d/b/a THE DAVID 

POSNACK JEWISH DAY SCHOOL,

Defendant.

__________________________________/

Complaint – Jury Trial Demanded

Plaintiff, H. Scott Shore, sues Defendant, The Hebrew Day School of Broward County, 

and alleges as follows:

Introduction

1. This is a disability discrimination and retaliation action brought by Mr. Shore, 

who as an adolescent was diagnosed with a learning disorder, but who time and again overcame 

those challenges to achieve an Ivy League education and a distinguished career. After teaching 

with Defendant for over a decade, he requested an accommodation to assist with increasing 

technology demands in the classroom. His request was ignored and he was forced to file a 

complaint with the EEOC. Six weeks later, the School fired him under the guise of performance 

issues. He sues under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. He seeks 

injunctive relief, damages, attorney’s fees and litigation expenses.

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Jurisdiction, Venue, Parties and Conditions Precedent

2. This Court has jurisdiction over Mr. Shore’s claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331

and 42 U.S.C. 12117. This Court has jurisdiction to grant declaratory and further relief pursuant 

to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202.

3. Venue is proper in the Southern District of Florida pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391

because the events and omissions giving rise to the claims occurred in Broward County, Florida, 

where Mr. Shore was employed.

4. Mr. Shore at all times material was an “employee” as envisioned by 42 U.S.C. § 

12111(4) and a “qualified individual” as envisioned by 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8).

5. Defendant is a Florida non-profit corporation with its principal place of business 

in Broward County, Florida. It is an “employer” as envisioned by 42 U.S.C. § 12111(5)(a), and a 

“covered entity” as envisioned by 42 U.S.C. § 12111(2).

6. Mr. Shore timely filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission and this action is filed within 90 days of his receipt of the notice of 

rights to sue. All conditions precedent to the maintenance of this action have been performed or 

waived.

General Allegations

7. As an adolescent Mr. Shore was diagnosed with dyslexia and attention deficit 

disorder. Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects areas of the brain that process language. 

These mental impairments substantially limit various life activities for Mr. Shore, including his 

ability to read, process, organize and sequence information.

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8. Mr. Shore attended grade school at McGlannan School in Miami, a school that 

provides one-on-one learning opportunities for children with dyslexia and other learning 

disabilities.

9. After finishing high school, Mr. Shore attended Harvard University, graduating 

with honors and receiving a bachelor’s degree in history.

10. After leaving Harvard, Mr. Shore was awarded a Rotary International fellowship

to study abroad and attended the University of Sussex in England, where he received a master’s 

degree in international relations.

11. Mr. Shore then went on to study at Columbia Business School in Manhattan, 

where he received a master of business administration degree.

12. Mr. Shore’s professional career includes roles at: Bain & Company as a senior 

consultant; Booz Allen Hamilton as a managing principal; the Overseas Private Investment 

Corporation as vice president of policy, and; Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. as an investment banking 

analyst. He also taught as a professor at Babson College and Bentley University.

13. In 2007, Mr. Shore left New England and moved to Florida where he began 

teaching at the Hebrew Day School of Broward County.

14. Until a few years ago, Mr. Shore was a full-time instructor and taught classes such 

as AP History, AP European History, AP Government, AP Economics, World History and 

International Relations.

15. Mr. Shore established the School’s forensics program to include Speech and 

Debate, Mock Trial, and Moot Bein Din programs, where he served as a coach and mentor to 

scores of students.

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16. In or around 2017, after the school began implementing new software applications 

in the classroom, Mr. Shore met with the School’s principal (Gayle Green) and head of learning 

resources (Ashira Drury) and requested an accommodation. He explained that, as a result of his 

dyslexia and ADD, the new software applications were erecting barriers for him that he had 

traditionally overcome in the past. The sequencing of tasks and processing of information in an 

increasingly electronic format, he explained, was proving challenging for him. He asked whether 

a student teacher’s assistant could help or whether any IT training or assistance resources could 

be made available to him. Ms. Drury recommended that the school’s IT department be involved 

in creating a structured plan to address Mr. Shore’s needs. She also agreed that a student assistant 

could be part of a helpful solution. Ms. Green dismissed the issue and told Mr. Shore he should 

just contact the School’s IT department whenever issues arise.

17. Around the same time, the School pushed Mr. Shore to a part-time role and took 

away his forensics program responsibilities.

18. Meanwhile, through bi-annual performance evaluations, Ms. Green began 

critiquing Mr. Shore’s technological proficiency. According to the School’s handbook, teacher 

performance is measured by “8 Domains of Excellent Teaching at Posnack School.” One of the 

eight domains is “Technology,” which purports to measure, among other things, whether a 

teacher: Uses technology to individualize instruction; Includes the use of technology in weekly 

lesson plans, for instruction, and to manage student data; Encourages students’ use of technology 

for homework, classwork, presentations, and projects; Uses technology to incorporate creativity 

into lessons and to increase the level of student engagement, and; Brings a variety of interactive 

technology options into the classroom.

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19. During meetings to discuss these critical performance reviews, Mr. Shore 

repeated his requests for assistance with technology expectations on account of his disability, to 

no avail.

20. In May 2019 Mr. Shore met with head of school Dr. Richard Cuenca and 

conveyed his displeasure with being pushed to a part-time role and his frustration with Gayle 

Green, who he believed had been targeting him and subjecting him to a hostile work 

environment. Dr. Cuenca was sympathetic and said that by marginalizing Mr. Shore, the school 

had squandered opportunities to expand creative and critical thinking for students in the 

classroom. He proposed for Mr. Shore an academic dean or dean of studies position with the 

School, stating that such a role would be well suited for Mr. Shore’s background and experience. 

Dr. Cuenca envisioned this as a full-time position, but stated that he would need to work out the 

details and promised to follow-up once he did. Mr. Shore conveyed a sense of relief and left the 

meeting feeling optimistic about his future with the School.

21. His optimism was short-lived. After that meeting, Ms. Green broke the news to 

Mr. Shore that his teaching contract would not be renewed as there apparently were no teaching 

opportunities for him. 

22. Meanwhile, the School had advertised for a full-time high school social studies 

position. Confused about the mixed signals, Mr. Shore applied for the position but was rejected.

Many of the classes that he had taught for over a decade were now being taught by less qualified 

individuals.

23. For the 2019-20 academic year, the School ultimately offered Mr. Shore a parttime role teaching Judaism 101 and AP Microeconomics.

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24. For the 2019-20 academic year, Ms. Green left her role as principal and assumed 

the position of in-house counsel. She was replaced by Brooke Rosenkrantz.

25. In December 2019 Mr. Shore met with Ms. Rosenkrantz for a performance 

review. Ms. Drury from learning resources also attended the meeting. Mr. Shore’s struggles with 

technology applications in the classroom were again raised, and he again reiterated that he had 

asked for assistance on account of his struggles with dyslexia, but his requests had been ignored 

by Ms. Green.

26. Following the meeting, Mr. Shore sought assistance from Niva Albourkrek, who 

worked in the School’s IT department. Ms. Albourkrek then conveyed his request for assistance 

to Ms. Green, who penned a “CYA” email in which she feigned ignorance of the entire ordeal:

As in-house counsel for the school, Niva shared your email to her with me, in 

which you request assistance with technology. . . . Based on information and 

belief, you have not previously advised the school of these conditions in your 12 

years of employment and thus, this is the first time that the school has learned of 

these conditions and the first time you have requested accommodations for these 

conditions.

27. By February 2020, after the school still had not provided to Mr. Shore any 

accommodation, he filed a complaint with the EEOC.

28. Two days after the School learned of his EEOC complaint, Ms. Rosenkrantz 

conducted a classroom observation, during which she joined and observed Mr. Shore’s AP 

Economics class. The observation was conducted on a Friday afternoon, with approximately ten 

minutes left of class time remaining, when students had just finished two days of AP economics 

testing. Ms. Rosenkrantz warned Mr. Shore that he was not using class time effectively and 

stated that he was not meeting instructional expectations.

29. Mr. Shore filed a second charge of discrimination with the EEOC following Ms. 

Rosenkrantz’s retaliatory classroom observation.

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30. Meanwhile, Ms. Green had finally scheduled a meeting to discuss Mr. Shore’s 

accommodation request. Moments before the March 2020 meeting was scheduled to take place,

she relayed to Mr. Shore that an attorney from the School’s Board of Trustees, Sharon Kaplan, 

would be participating. Ms. Kaplan took the lead during the conference and turned what should 

have been a standard meeting about an accommodation request into a combative crossexamination.

31. On Thursday April 2 Ms. Green sent an email notifying Mr. Shore that the School 

had finally agreed to provide assistive technology to help with Mr. Shore’s struggles with 

dyslexia.

32. Just four days later—while Mr. Shore was teaching remotely due to the COVID19 pandemic restrictions—Ms. Rosenkrantz advised that the School would not extend to him a

teaching contract for the upcoming school year. The decision, she claimed, was based on Mr. 

Shore’s “performance this year” as well as “several complaints” received from parents and 

students.

Count I – Failure To Accommodate Under The ADA

33. Mr. Shore realleges and incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, 

paragraphs 1-31 of this Complaint.

34. Mr. Shore is a qualified individual with a disability under the ADA.

35. The School violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to provide 

Mr. Shore with reasonable accommodations in the work place. The School also failed to engage 

in the interactive process required by the ADA to provide an accommodation.

36. The discriminatory actions of the School hindered Mr. Shore’s ability to perform 

his job as a teacher, which led to negative performance evaluations, a demotion to part-time 

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status, being passed over for promotional opportunities, and eventually his termination, as more 

fully described above.

37. The School’s actions have caused and continue to cause Mr. Shore to suffer 

damages, including damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, 

and other non-pecuniary losses in an amount to be established at trial.

38. Because of the School’s flagrant disregard of Mr. Shore’s federally protected 

rights against disability discrimination, Mr. Shore is entitled to recover punitive damages to 

punish the School for its behavior.

39. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, H. Scott Shore, respectfully demands judgment against 

Defendant, any and all available relief under the ADA including, but not limited to back pay, 

reinstatement or front pay, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, prejudgment 

interest and such other relief as this Court deems just and proper.

Count II – Disability Discrimination Under The ADA

40. Mr. Shore realleges and incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, 

paragraphs 1-31 of this Complaint.

41. After learning of Mr. Shore’s disability, the School through its agents and 

employees began discriminating against Mr. Shore, to include negative performance evaluations, 

a demotion to part-time status, and eventually his termination, as more fully described above.

42. The School violated the ADA by intentionally discriminating against Mr. Shore 

on the basis of his disability, and/or his perceived disability, and/or for having a record of such 

disability.

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43. The School’s actions have caused and continue to cause Mr. Shore to suffer 

damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses in an amount to be established at trial.

44. Because of the School’s flagrant disregard of Mr. Shore’s federally protected 

rights against disability discrimination, Mr. Shore is entitled to recover punitive damages to 

punish the School for its behavior.

45. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, H. Scott Shore, respectfully demands judgment against 

Defendant, any and all available relief under the ADA including, but not limited to back pay, 

reinstatement or front pay, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, prejudgment 

interest and such other relief as this Court deems just and proper.

Count III – Retaliation Under The ADA

46. Mr. Shore realleges and incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, 

paragraphs 1-31 of this Complaint.

47. Mr. Shore engaged in protected activity when he requested a reasonable 

accommodation and when he opposed the School’s discriminatory treatment and unlawful 

employment practices.

48. The School intentionally retaliated against Mr. Shore because of his request for an 

accommodation and/or because of his opposition to the School’s unlawful employment practices.

49. The School’s actions have caused and continue to cause Mr. Shore to suffer 

damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses in an amount to be established at trial.

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50. Because of the School’s flagrant disregard of Mr. Shore’s federally protected 

rights against disability discrimination, Mr. Shore is entitled to recover punitive damages to 

punish the School for its behavior. 

51. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, H. Scott Shore, respectfully demands judgment against 

Defendant, any and all available relief under the ADA including, but not limited to back pay, 

reinstatement or front pay, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, prejudgment 

interest and such other relief as this Court deems just and proper.

Jury Trial Demand

Plaintiff demands trial by jury on all issues so triable.

 Dated this 24th day of June, 2020. 

Respectfully submitted,

Brenton Legal P.A. 

Counsel for Plaintiff

1070 E. Indiantown Rd., Suite 400 

Jupiter, FL 33477 

Phone: 954-639-4644 

By:

Ryan C. Brenton 

Florida Bar No.: 107675 

rcb@brentonlegal.com

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