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Four McCathern attorneys selected to D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas 2016 List

Four McCathern attorneys represent the excellence of McCathern’s diverse practice areas and are deservedly recognized for D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas 2016 honor. Congratulations to McCathern Dallas Partners Arnold Shokouhi, Jennette DePonte, Carl Evans, and Of Counsel attorney, Luis Bartolomei, on being selected to D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas 2016 list. An elite group of top-notch lawyers […]

Girl injured by rope around her neck on school trip

WACO, TX — Authorities want to know how a 12-year-old girl ended up with a severe rope burn around her neck during an overnight campout with her sixth-grade classmates. But the child and her mother believe they already know. The girl is black and attends a mostly white private school near a flourishing part of downtown. They believe she was the victim […]

2016 One Mission Buzz Off for Kids with Cancer

McCATHERN PARTICIPATES IN THE ONE MISSION “BUZZ OFF” FOR KIDS WITH CANCER FOR 3RD YEAR IN A ROW In the United States, cancer is the #1 disease-related cause of death of children; more than asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and pediatric AIDS combined. Each year in the U.S. around 12,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with […]

Levi McCathern represents bullied black student

White students dragged a 12-year-old black girl by the neck with a rope, lawsuit claims Charles Pulliam-Moore 6/22/16 11:27am Live Oak Classical School in Waco, Tex., is facing a $3 million lawsuit from the family of one of its only black students after a 12-year-old girl returned from a class trip with lacerations around her neck. […]

Ten McCathern Attorneys Named 2016 “Rising Stars”

Ten attorneys from McCathern law firm have been selected to the 2016 Texas Rising Stars list of up-and-coming lawyers. This list is extremely exclusive, recognizing no more than 2.5% of Texas attorneys. Law firm McCathern, PLLC is pleased to announce that ten Texas lawyers from the firm’s Dallas and Houston offices have been named to […]

Regulators: Financiers Used Insurer for Personal Gain

Oklahoma insurance regulators allege in a new lawsuit that two New York financiers took control of a local insurer using $30 million in counterfeit or worthless assets and then used the insurer to enrich themselves and their associates. The insurer, Red Rock Insurance Co., is being liquidated by regulators, who allege the scheme led to […]

McCathern, PLLC Wins Prestigious 2015 Litigator Award

PRESS RELEASE McCathern, PLLC Wins Prestigious 2015 Litigator Award McCathern, PLLC named 2015 Litigator Award Winner. Having been conferred this prestigious National Award, the firm ranks among the Top 1% of all lawyers for: Burn Injury, Wrongful Death, Catastrophic Injury and Business Torts & Fraud Litigation. BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON: JAN. 14, 2016 McCathern, PLLC, a trial law firm located in […]

California Case Update: Perry v. Bakewell Hawthorne LLC

A new case came down this week from the California Second District Court of Appeals. In it, the Court strictly interprets the law on designation of experts and timely disclosure. In Perry v. Bakewell Hawthorne LLC, defendants served a demand to exchange expert witnesses, to which plaintiff objected as untimely. The defendants proceeded to exchange […]

Law Firm McCathern, PLLC Promotes Two Texas Attorneys to Partners

Published on PRWEB / October 5, 2015 Dallas-based law firm McCathern, PLLC named two new partners to the firm’s Dallas and Houston offices. Jesse Hoffman and Andrew “Andy” Green have been promoted by the firm, which was recognized among the 2015 Best Law Firms by US News Best Lawyers. McCathern has offices in Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles with […]

McCathern, PLLC Announces New Practice Area Leader for Bankruptcy Section

Published on PRWEB / September 25, 2015 Dallas, Texas – McCathern, a full-service law firm with offices in Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles, announced today that it is has named Eric M. Van Horn as Practice Area Leader for the firm’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring, & Creditors’ Rights section. Attorneys in McCathern’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring, & Creditors’ Rights section represent clients in all aspects […]

PROSPER ISD PARENTS QUESTION DISTRICT RESPONSE TO BUS DRIVER ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING STUDENTS

December 15, 2025

Author: Rebecca Lopez with WFAA Watch the interview here. PROSPER, Texas — Parents of two young girls who say they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by a Prosper ISD school bus driver are speaking out about what they describe as serious failures by the district — including delayed notification to families and promised safety changes they say were never fully implemented. The parents asked that they not be identified to protect their children, who were just elementary school age at the time of the abuse. In a lawsuit filed in 2023, the girls — identified only as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 — allege former bus driver Frank Paniagua assaulted them repeatedly during the 2021–2022 school year. According to the lawsuit, Paniagua would wait until other students exited the bus, then assault the girls, sometimes holding one child back so he could take her to the rear of the bus. Attorneys say the abuse occurred over several months and was captured on bus surveillance video. How the abuse was discovered The girls’ mother said the abuse came to light after their grandmother noticed troubling comments about gift cards offered by the bus driver. When the mother later questioned the girls again, they disclosed what had been happening. Prosper ISD police reviewed surveillance video from the bus in May 2022. Paniagua was arrested two days later and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and indecency with a child. Paniagua later died after jumping from the second floor of the Collin County Jail while awaiting trial. Concerns about delayed notifications Attorneys for the family say more than 100 days passed after Paniagua’s arrest before Prosper ISD publicly acknowledged the allegations — a delay parents say may have prevented other potential victims from being identified. At a packed school board meeting, Prosper ISD parent Morgan Grahovec, a child psychologist whose daughter attended the same school as the victims, told trustees that delays in notifying parents can have serious consequences. “Children who are victims of abuse need to be identified and interviewed as soon as possible because memory fades over time,” Grahovec said. “The longer you wait, it’s harder to get a child to report abuse accurately.” Parents at those meetings called for Superintendent Holly Ferguson’s resignation, arguing district leaders should have acted sooner and communicated more transparently. Ferguson did not step down, instead promising changes to safety protocols. District response and former statement In an earlier written statement to WFAA, Prosper ISD said it took appropriate action once allegations surfaced: “We are horrified that an employee violated the trust of our families and students, as Prosper ISD’s foremost priority is to protect our students’ safety and well-being at all times. We strongly condemn the actions of any adult who would cause mental or physical harm to a child, and we do not tolerate such behavior.” The district has declined additional comment, citing pending litigation. Disputed claims about safety changes Prosper ISD previously told parents it would implement additional safeguards, including increased supervision during bus drop-offs, a volunteer “bus buddy” program, and improved monitoring of bus surveillance video. But the parents and their attorneys say those changes were not consistently put in place. Attorney Levi McCathern says the district does not regularly review bus surveillance footage — even though video captured the alleged abuse in this case. “You would think the first thing you would do after this happens is change your monitoring program,” McCathern said. “They don’t monitor them at all.” McCathern and co-counsel Kristin Hecker say the lawsuit is aimed at forcing policy changes rather than seeking financial gain. Questions about oversight and leadership The case has also raised broader concerns about district leadership and oversight. Prosper ISD’s school board president later resigned in an unrelated child abuse case, further shaking confidence among some parents. Families have also questioned the independence of the district’s internal review, noting that the law firm hired to investigate the district’s response is also defending Prosper ISD in the lawsuit. “All we want is an independent investigation,” McCathern said. Parents push for accountability and change The parents say their children remain enrolled in Prosper ISD, but they continue to press for reforms they believe could prevent similar abuse. “We want justice for our kids,” the girls’ mother said. “But we also want changes to happen at the district so that this doesn’t happen to other children.”

Author: McCathern Law