Texas Daycare Faces $1 Million Lawsuit Over Alleged 'Child Fight Club' Involving Four-Year-Old Boys

A Fort Worth couple allege in a lawsuit that their four-year-old son was made to brawl with another boy at his Montessori daycare while the substitute teacher supervising them allegedly encouraged the children to fight.

Heather and Richard Harris filed suit in Tarrant County District Court on 4 September 2026 against Arka Risinger Educators LLC, which trades as Arka Montessori Academy of Risinger, seeking more than £737,000 ($1 million) in compensation and exemplary damages.

The claim asserts causes of action for negligence, gross negligence and premises liability over an incident on 27 April, and the family's lawyer has described what the classroom became as a 'child fight club'. None of the allegations has been tested in court, and the daycare has not responded to requests for comment.

What the Lawsuit Alleges Happened

The account in the complaint begins with a routine end-of-day reshuffle. The boy, identified in court documents only as U.H., was moved into a combined classroom at about 4:30pm as teachers began leaving for the day, according to FOX 4 in Dallas-Fort Worth, which reported on the filing.

The complaint alleges another four-year-old struck him first. That boy's mother, Chynia Johnson, was working as a substitute teacher that day. According to FOX 4's account of the filing, the other child hit U.H. in the back while the classroom's teacher, Jacqueline De Luna, had her back turned near the doorway, and De Luna separated the boys before Johnson took over coverage of the room.

What the family says followed is the basis of the case. Rather than keeping the children apart, the complaint alleges, Johnson encouraged them to hit each other, then grabbed, shook and dragged U.H. before he fell heavily onto the classroom floor.

The filing says he was thrown down 'like a human ragdoll'. It further alleges that De Luna returned to the room, saw part of what was happening and did not step in. Neither woman has been charged with any offence.

The complaint sets out the parents' case in blunt terms. 'What happened to U.H. was preventable,' it states, arguing that parents have the right to expect their children will not be yelled at, grabbed, yanked, dragged, thrown on the floor and forced to fight other children while at daycare, as reported by Chron.

The Surveillance Footage the Family Requested

The family says they were given a different account at pickup. When the boy's mother arrived, she found him crying with visible injuries, and staff told her the two children had got into a fight that employees had stepped in to break up.

She asked to see more. The mother requested a review of the facility's surveillance footage, and the family's attorney, Russell Button, has said the video showed something considerably different from the account staff had given. Photographs taken immediately after the incident and included in the case show bruising forming on the boy's arm.

The injuries described in the filing go beyond those marks. The complaint alleges bruising and scratches to his arms, pain to his backside, post-traumatic headaches and lasting emotional anxiety that has made attending daycare difficult. Those are the family's claims and have not been independently established.

Button has framed the case as a warning to other families. 'Other parents need to know about this,' he told FOX 4, adding that the daycare needs to be held accountable. It is his characterisation, not a finding, that the classroom became a child fight club.

State Investigation and Facility Safety Record

A separate investigation reached its own conclusions. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission's Child-Care Licensing Division cited the facility for prohibited disciplinary methods including grabbing, pulling, yelling and physical restraint, and for failing to ensure that caregivers protected the children in their care, according to reporting on the state findings.

Coverage of the investigation has also referred to a citation for failing to demonstrate competency, good judgment and self-control.

The facility has other citations on its record. FOX 4 reported that it had received 16 safety citations since opening in January 2024, including incidents in which children were allegedly left unattended outside or alone in classrooms. An inspection on 20 August reportedly found no deficiencies.

Two things have changed since April. Johnson is no longer employed at the daycare, according to the reporting, and as of 18 September 2026 no criminal charges had been reported against her or anyone else in connection with the incident. Arka Montessori Academy did not respond to requests for comment from either FOX 4 or Chron.

Texas childcare providers have faced comparable claims before. Parents in Denton County sued Parker-Chase Preschool in Carrollton, its parent company and a former teacher after their three-year-old son was allegedly abused in March 2023.

The teacher, Nyomi Reyes, later pleaded guilty to injury to a child, and the parents, Vanessa Ippolito and Joseph Musselman, sought more than £737,000 ($1 million) in a suit filed in August 2024. The two cases are unconnected.

The lawsuit will now proceed as the parties litigate the Harris family's negligence and other claims.