CALGARY - The family of a girl expelled from Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School amid allegations she had sex with her boyfriend in the washroom during a dance has won their lawsuit against the prestigious institution.

In a ruling released Friday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice A.D. Macleod said the 2006 expulsion of Julia Oram was "a miscarriage of justice" and awarded the girl, who was 16 at the time, $40,000 in damages for mental distress. Her parents have also been awarded $17,490 for tuition lost.

Oram was at a school dance on Dec. 11, 2006, at the Calgary Golf and Country Club when she became ill.

The lawsuit, launched in May 2007 seeking $300,000 in damages, said Oram's boyfriend, Phil LaPage, helped her to the washroom to assist Oram, who was drunk.

A member of the Country Club, who did not testify at the trial, informed a chaperone a couple in the washroom were "going at it."

After a meeting with officials, the teen's parents were told she would not be welcome back at the school.

In the ruling, Macleod said no one took the time to consider Oram's side of the story.

"It was clear to me that Phil was in the ladies' washroom at Julia's request because she felt ill due to her alcohol intake.

"In my view, no fair-minded person who had heard the evidence I heard could have concluded that expulsion was fair," he said in the ruling.

"I conclude that the defendants were motivated to take rapid action to protect STS' reputation."

William Jones, Head of School of StrathconaTweedsmuir School, said in a statement that the school is reviewing expulsion policies.

"We respect the judge's ruling and have already begun the process of reviewing our policies and practices regarding student discipline and expulsion," he said in a statement. "Moving forward, we will continue to uphold high standards of conduct for our students."

katie.schneider@sunmedia.ca