Records: Durham attorneys settle lawsuit against bus driver who pleaded guilty in student rape case

After a three-hour mediation earlier this month, a civil lawsuit against a former school bus driver who pleaded guilty to statutory rape in 2016 has been settled.

It's unclear how much Durham School Services will pay for Alexander Rodriguez's conduct in March 2015, but a recent filing in Hamilton County Circuit Court says attorneys worked out an agreement during a mediation on Dec. 12.

Durham, the private company that provides much of the county's school transportation, employed Rodriguez until Chattanooga officers charged him with driving a 15-year-old girl to a motel and raping her on March 4, 2015.

Alexander Rodriguez

Rodriguez, 36, pleaded guilty to aggravated statutory rape, a Class D felony, in July 2016 and received four years probation. Probation letters said he began driving for a different private transportation company in February 2017.

Durham has been litigating the claim since the minor's family accused the company of improperly hiring Rodriguez in a $10 million March 2016 lawsuit.

Catherine White, an attorney for the minor's family, said attorneys will submit the settlement to Judge L. Marie Williams once Durham finishes drawing up the papers.

The amount likely will be confidential, White said.

During the case, White argued Rodriguez wasn't eligible for hire in 2013 based on Durham's own company standards.

Court records show Rodriguez pleaded guilty to two felonies in New Jersey on June 23, 2004: Distributing, dispensing or possessing a controlled substance in a school zone and unlawful possession of a weapon (handgun).

Durham's attorneys, however, countered that Rodriguez's convictions were nearly a decade old and tried to dismiss the case by arguing he was technically outside the company's scope of employment when the alleged rape occured.

Williams never ruled on that motion, records show. Before the mediation in December, attorneys were scheduled to go to trial in early spring, White said Thursday.

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.