AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The mother of Emerson Cole, an 11-year-old student at Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School who died in January 2023 after having an allergic reaction on campus, filed a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit against Amarillo Independent School District on Dec. 2.
The lawsuit against Amarillo ISD was filed in Amarillo Federal Court in July 2024, and alleged negligence on behalf of the district in Cole’s death. Cole died after an allergic reaction on campus in January 2023, and according to the lawsuit, allegedly did not receive care detailed in her on-file action plan, including the use of an EpiPen.
Previously | Family refiles lawsuit against Amarillo ISD for negligence after 2023 student death
After it was initially filed in the 108th District Court in Potter County, the lawsuit was then refiled in Amarillo Federal Court in July 2024 due to Cole’s status as a disabled student according to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which the family’s legal team said would bring the lawsuit into federal jurisdiction.
In April 2025, the court denied a motion from Amarillo ISD to dismiss the lawsuit, as well as a similar motion in the lawsuit related to the 2022 death of 14-year-old Jaxon Mendoza…