Nicole Cole had planned for this past May to be a celebratory month as her son was set to graduate from college.
But in a lawsuit filed Nov. 8, the Spotsylvania County School Board member said the latter part of the month was filled with emotional distress stemming from a misdemeanor assault and battery charge filed by fellow school board member Lisa Phelps.
Cole filed the lawsuit in Spotsylvania Circuit Court, suing Phelps and board member April Gillespie for $1 million for what she alleges was malicious prosecution.
She is also claiming defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, statutory business conspiracy and common law civil conspiracy. Her Fredericksburg-based attorney, Joseph Kirchgessner requested a jury trial.
Cole said some people think that, because the charge was dismissed by Judge Gene Woolard in July, the case was “no big deal, she didn’t do it, life goes on,” but it caused unseen harm to her mental state and reputation.
“This stuff affects people’s lives,” she said.
Phelps and Gillespie said on Thursday they had yet to receive the lawsuit. Spotsylvania County Public Schools Superintendent Clint Mitchell said the papers were served at the administrative office, and he called both defendants to alert them.
Phelps declined comment because she had yet to read Cole’s claims.
Gillespie, who testified against Cole, stands by her testimony and said she is examining if the school board’s insurance will cover any legal expenses related to the case.
She said that Cole gets upset when something is out of her control and, in her opinion, that is the impetus for the lawsuit.
“Lisa filed the charge, and I was the witness,” Gillespie told the Free Press. “[Cole] couldn’t change the outcome so now she is seeking retribution. She’s just trying to say that we’re lying, and I think she’s worried that it may have damaged her reputation.
“I’m the type of person, I don’t even worry about my own reputation. I don’t worry about what it makes somebody look like. It’s either truth or it’s not … it’s right or it’s wrong. That incident did happen.”
The alleged incident took place May 20 during a closed session portion of the school board meeting. According to the lawsuit, the board members were to discuss disciplinary actions against Phelps for alleged code of ethics violations.
Phelps wanted the discussion to be held publicly.
“It was really bad that night,” Gillespie said. “Everybody was in each other’s face. Everybody was yelling. Everybody was screaming and Nicole did that to Lisa, and that’s when it kind of blew up.”
Phelps alleged that Cole extended her leg to intentionally trip her and also slammed the door on her arm. Cole says the allegations are fabricated and that four other witnesses who were in the room at the time testified during Cole’s trial that they never saw Phelps stumble.
Cole’s lawsuit states that Phelps continuously entered and exited closed session and would leave the door open to make her point about the discussion taking place in front of the public. Cole shut the door behind her to keep the session private.
After several re-entries by Phelps, Cole stood near the door “to facilitate closing the door whenever Phelps wished to come and go from the closed session,” the lawsuit states.
During one of the re-entries, Phelps went to walk past Cole and walked into her foot, which is when Phelps alleged Cole intentionally tripped her.
The lawsuit goes on to state that Phelps returned to the door and leaned against it so Cole could not shut it.
“During this time, Gillespie was in the corner of the closed session room instigating Phelps’ actions and was sometimes filming the interactions on her cellular phone,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit continues to state that Cole moved into the doorway to get assistance from a deputy and other safety personnel “due to the erratic behavior and actions of Phelps, causing Cole concern for her safety.”
“She said I was instigating by recording,” Gillespie said. “I actually didn’t think to get my phone out until after we had left the room, and we were already sitting out at the dais getting ready to come back into open session, because that’s when the police officers began to approach. They came and stood in the doorway at the request of Nicole Cole. She requested that they have us removed from closed session.”
When the case went to trial, Phelps served as the prosecutor. Cole’s lawyer, Charles King, called Spotsylvania Deputy Franklin Fleming, School Board Attorney Micah Schwartz, then-Interim Superintendent Kelly Guempel and school board member Carol Medawar to testify along with Cole.
Gillespie was the only witness to support Phelps’ claim. Gillespie also testified that she encouraged Phelps to file the charge the following morning; they went to the magistrate’s office together. Gillespie expressed concern to Phelps that the contentiousness with Cole could escalate if a charge was not filed.
Judge Woolard dismissed the case, saying that the only thing that should be important for a school board is the education of the students.
Cole said that even before the trial took place, she knew she would file a lawsuit.
“I’m not the type of person to sit around and let people get away with [stuff] and not hold them accountable and at least try to make it so there are consequences, so they rethink what they do the next time,” Cole said. “This was malicious. They intentionally lied and made up this fictitious story to just have the story be out there … that I’m violent, that Nicole Cole, a Black female has been charged with assault and battery.”
Cole, who plans to run for state delegate as a Democrat in the 66th District in 2025, said in the lawsuit that she must spend $100,000 to repair her image.
She also said the allegations caused her to spend money on legal fees and ongoing mental health treatment, citing insomnia, anxiety, depression and a lack of focus. She said a guilty verdict could’ve severely impacted her financial consulting business, and that just having her name associated with an assault and battery charge damages her reputation.
Her lawsuit notes that she serves on the board of directors of a local non-profit organization and was made to explain her fitness to remain on the board after the charge was filed.
Since the trial, Cole continues to be at odds with Phelps and Gillespie, although Gillespie said the disagreements aren’t as confrontational as the one back in May.
“This was an attack against my integrity,” Cole said. “I am tired of them attacking me and my family over and over again and basically getting away with it, because no one is holding them accountable for the things that they’re doing and the things they’ve already done to me and my family since I started on this board.”
