Bad grade? No grounds to sue, judge rules

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ROCKVILLE — When Max Bramson, then a junior at the Bullis School, received a “D” in Honors Biology, school officials said they “hoped he would grow from this experience.”

Personal growth also might be all Bramson’s parents can win after a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge Thursday dismissed their lawsuit alleging Bullis did not do enough to help their son after he failed the class.

Robert and Valerie Bramson claimed the Potomac private school breached its contract by not aiding Max during and after the 2011-2012 school year, causing him to receive multiple rejection letters from colleges and universities.

“Although Max was in need of academic assistance, Bullis continued to accept tuition payments – well over $125,000 – and failed to take any steps to assist him … thereby jeopardizing his college career,” the Bramsons stated in a lawsuit filed last year in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Lawyers for the school countered there were only three documents that could have led to the litigation — Max Bramson’s enrollment agreement, the student handbook, and the school’s rules and regulations — and the Bramsons did not demonstrate violations of any.

“There are simply no facts to support a breach of contract claim,” said Mark D. Palmer, of Bacon, Thornton & Palmer LLP in Greenbelt.

Michael S. Hollander, a lawyer for the Bramsons, said the lawsuit was not about dissatisfaction with a grade but figuring out Bullis’ duties and obligations to Max Bramson.

“All we have now is an agreement for $30,000 to $35,000 saying that Max can attend Bullis,” said Hollander, an associate with Bailey & Ehrenberg PLLC in Washington, D.C. “We need to fill in the gaps.”

Tuition and fees for a junior at Bullis during the 2013-14 school year totaled $35,255, according to the school’s website.

Hollander said the school violated oral agreements in advertisements for the school that promoted “an extraordinary educational experience” in a “nurturing environment.”

But Judge David A. Boynton said no written documents were violated and ruled the Bramsons had not “identified any expressed term that was breached.”

Hollander said Thursday afternoon he expected to file an appeal of the ruling.

The Bramsons enrolled Max in Bullis for his freshman year of high school in 2009 to “put him in a better position for college,” according to the complaint, filed in June.

The younger Bramson struggled with biology during the second and third trimesters of his junior year and took the final a day after an uncle passed away, the complaint states. He received a final grade for the class of 69 percent, the complaint states.