B-CC principal testifies he made up quote in email central to racism defamation case

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Principal Shelton Mooney testified Wednesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court that although he made up a partial quote in a 2023 email sent to the school community, the words expressed the sentiments of students who witnessed an incident resulting in accusations of racism against a teacher.   

Mooney testified in the Rockville court during a jury trial for a defamation lawsuit filed by the teacher, Daniel Engler, who claims Mooney’s email harmed his reputation and career.  

Engler, who taught at the Bethesda school for 18 years, and his attorney David Wachen filed a defamation complaint in August 2023 concerning the February 2023 incident against Mooney and the Montgomery County school board, seeking more than $75,000 in damages, according to the complaint. Engler now teaches at Walt Whitman High in Bethesda...

 https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/07/17/bcc-quote-email-racism-defamation/

B-CC High teacher’s lawsuit alleging false accusations of racism to continue

A Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School teacher’s lawsuit alleging he was falsely accused of racism is moving forward after a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge denied a motion to dismiss the case against B-CC Principal Shelton Mooney and the county school board.  

Now B-CC teacher Daniel Engler and his attorneys say they are seeking more information from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) centered on a community letter Mooney sent that characterized an interaction between Engler and two students as a hate-bias incident...

  B-CC High teacher’s lawsuit alleging false accusations of racism to continue | MoCo360

Breaking: BCC High School Teacher sues BCC Principal and Board of Education for Defamation @mcps @mocoboe

The BCC student newspaper The Tattler first reported about the potential for this lawsuit to be filed in March of this year.

The Complaint has now been filed and is shown below. 

Note item #133 in the Complaint states:

133. As a result, and in retaliation for the newspaper’s critical coverage of Mooney’s mishandling of numerous issues over the past academic year, on or about June 1, 2023, Mooney relieved the newspaper’s faculty advisor of her position. 

Also see #171 - 178 titled Administrative Proceedings which discusses the MCPS internal administrative processes.  

 

The full text of the Complaint as filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court on August 21, 2023, is shown below and at the Scribd link.

Daniel Engler Complaint Against Shelton Mooney and Montgomery County BOE by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd