Robinson v. St. Tammany Parish Public School System
Robinson v. St. Tammany Parish Public School System
Opinion of the Court
ORDER AND REASONS
This case is about whether a school system unconstitutionally and tortiously adjudicated allegations that one of its students misbehaved during a field trip. Before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment
I. Background
A. Factual Background
Plaintiff Janet Robinson is the mother of A.R., who was a minor during the time at issue in the case. On January 28, 2011, A.R. was one of several students who rode a St. Tammany Parish school bus on a field trip.
Defendant Kevin Darouse served as the Board’s supervisor of administration, which among other things means that he investigates allegations of student misconduct and makes determinations as to the student’s culpability.
At the conclusion of the hearing on February 16, 2011, A.R. was transferred to another school for about three months.
B. Procedural Background
Plaintiff filed this suit on Febxmary 3, 2012, alleging that Defendants deprived her of her rights under the Fourteenth and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Defendants filed the pending motion for summary judgment on July 16, 2013, seeking dismissal of all remaining claims.
II. Parties’ Arguments
A. Defendants’ Arguments in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment
1. Darouse is Immune from Suit.
Defendants contend first that Darouse enjoys qualified immunity from these proceedings because he was exercising his function as a disciplinary hearing officer for the Board.
2. Defendants Did Not Deny A.R. Substantive or Procedural Due Process.
Defendants next argue that the undisputed facts establish that they did not deprive A.R. of substantive due process because “[a] student’s transfer to an alternative education program does not deny access to public education and therefore does not violate a Fourteenth Amendment interest.”
3.Robinson Cannot Establish Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.
Defendants attack this state-law claim by arguing that Darouse’s conduct was not extreme or outrageous, because the “only contact Darouse had with A.R. was during a disciplinary hearing,” where he allowed A.R. and her counsel to present evidence related to the disciplinary charges against her.
4. Robinson’s Negligence Cause of Action has Prescribed.
Defendants next argue that Robinson’s claim against the Board for its failure to train employees and supexvise students has prescribed. Noting that Louisiana sets a one-year limitation on delictual actions, they assert that Robinson filed this matter on February 3, 2012, more than one year after the school field trip during which A.R.’s alleged misconduct occurred.
5. Robinson Cannot Establish That Defendants Defamed A.R.
Finally, Defendants argue that Robinson cannot establish the required elements of her defamation claim because none of Darouse’s statements were false and defamatory; he instead truthfully told Robinson, A.R., and their lawyers “what others had alleged that A.R. had done on a school bus on January 28, 2011.”
B. Plaintiff’s Arguments in Opposition
1. Darouse is Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity.
Robinson argues that Darouse cannot be entitled to qualified immunity because a reasonable person in his position “would have known — and should have known— that he was in stark violation of clearly established law.”
2.Defendant’s Denial of A.R.’s Right to Appeal Darouse’s Findings Violated her Due Process Rights.
Robinson next contends that Defendants’ violated her due process rights because Defendants did not satisfy the “minimal requirements of the Due Process Clause” that apply in her situation because the “egregious nature of the accusations brought against her, placed her good name, her reputation, her honor and her integrity at stake.”
3. There Remain Disputed Issues of Material Facts Regarding Robinson’s Claim of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.
Robinson argues that Darouse’s accusations against Plaintiff were reprehensible and therefore extreme and outrageous.
4. Robinson’s Negligence Claim is Not Prescribed Because She Claims it as an Alternative to her Other Claims.
Robinson argues that her claim of negligence against the Board for its alleged failure to train or supervise school employees “will only arise in the event that this Court affirms defendants’ findings of fact.”
5. Robinson’s Defamation Claim
Robinson argues that Darouse acted negligently in failing to try to determine “the truth or falsity of the statements that he aggressively cultivated from certain
Robinson also contends that Darouse’s communications were not privileged because he “never subjected his designated chaperones ... to the kind of intense interrogation that he subjected the alleged student witnesses to.”
C. Defendants’ Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment
Defendants note that Robinson “has produced absolutely no evidence to show that there is a genuine issue of material fact.”
III. Standard Applied in Motions for Summary Judgment
A court must enter summary judgment when a party seeking it has established that “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of identifying evidence that establishes the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.
Finally, the Local Rules of the Eastern District of Louisiana provide that any opposition to a summary judgment motion “must include a separate and concise statement of the material facts which the opponent contends present a genuine issue.”
IV. Law and Analysis
As an initial matter, the Court notes that Plaintiffs’ opposition to the motion for summary judgment lacks the “separate and concise statement of the material facts which the opponent contends present a genuine issue” required by Local Rule 56.2. Instead, Robinson proposes her own “Statement of Uncontested Facts.”
Defendants contend that the undisputed facts establish their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law because (1) Darouse, as a government official, is immune from suit, (2) Plaintiffs cannot establish violations of due process under federal or state law, and (3) Plaintiffs’ state-law claims are either unsupported by the undisputed record or prescribed under Louisiana law.
A. Darouse’s Entitlement to Immunity
Plaintiffs accuse Darouse of violating their rights to due process, protected by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, section 2 of the Louisiana Constitution, in two ways.
Public officials are presumptively immune from suits by plaintiffs alleging deprivation of constitutional rights, and “the burden is on the plaintiff to prove that a government official is not entitled to qualified immunity.”
1. Darouse’s Immunity from Plaintiffs’ Procedural Due Process Claim
Plaintiffs assert that Darouse violated their rights to procedural due process because he denied Plaintiffs “a meaningful opportunity to be heard regarding the false allegations that were brought against A.R. by the St. Tammany Public School System.”
'The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits a state actor from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process.” As the United States Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit have made clear, a state that provides public education cannot discipline a student by depriving him of access to that education “absent fundamentally fair procedures to determine whether the misconduct has occurred.”
In Harris ex rel. Harris, for example, school officials disciplined an eighth-grader by suspending him and then transferring him to an alternative school.
In Goss, the Supreme Court held that a school suspension of 10 days violated students protected interest in a public education because the school failed to provide a notice or hearing before or after the suspension.
requiring effective notice and informal hearing permitting the student to give his version of the events will provide a meaningful hedge against erroneous action. At least the disciplinarian will be alerted to the existence of disputes about facts and arguments about cause and effect. [The disciplinarian] may then determine himself to summon the accuser, permit cross-examination, and allow the student to present his own witnesses. In more difficult cases, he may permit counsel. In any event, his discretion will be more informed and we think the risk of error substantially reduced.78
Moreover, in Harris ex rel. Harris, discussed above, the Fifth Circuit explained that whether the student actually committed the alleged misconduct was irrelevant to the due-process inquiry.
Here, the Court is mindful of the potential damage that accusations, true or otherwise, can inflict on a child. However, as the Fifth Circuit made clear in Harris ex rel. Harris, this Court cannot consider
2. Darouse’s Immunity from Plaintiffs’ Substantive Due Process Claim
Plaintiffs also allege that Darouse violated their substantive due process rights by acting “arbitrarily, oppressively, and egregiously” by “never affording] Plaintiff or her minor child, A.R., an opportunity to view any of the statements upon which he purportedly based his ultimate ruling.”
As the Fifth Circuit has explained, “[t]he conceptual essence of ‘substantive’ due process is the notion that the Due Process Clause ... bars outright ‘certain government actions regardless of the fairness of the procedures used to implement them.’”
As set forth above, A.R. was not deprived of her right to a public education. However, Plaintiffs allege that Darouse deprived A.R. of her right to be free from “arbitrary and oppressive exercises of government power.”
To the extent that Plaintiffs claim that Darouse acted arbitrarily by refusing to provide a list of A.R.’s accusers and their allegations, the Fifth Circuit rejected a similar argument in Keough v. Tate Coun
Moreover, Plaintiffs have provided no evidentiary basis for their claim that Darouse did not give them “any indication” as to who her accusers were or what they had alleged. In contrast, Defendants have submitted an affidavit by Darouse, along with what appear to be notes of the February 16, 2011, hearing, that contradict Plaintiffs’ claim. In particular, the notes reflect that Darouse told Plaintiffs that “students reported to the school what happened; that there were [sic] inappropriate behavior on the back of the bus.”
The Court acknowledges that Defendants do not identify the source of the notes attached to their motion, specify exactly what the notes purport to be, or explain when the notes were actually compiled or created. However, it is apparent from the content and date of the attachment that the notes are a transcription of what transpired at the hearing on February 16, 2011. Moreover, Plaintiffs have not disputed the authenticity or admissibility of the notes, and when a party fails to object to the admission of evidence, its admission will be reviewed only for plain error.
Even without considering the notes from the hearing, the Court finds that its conclusion that Defendants gave some indication as to who A.R.’s accusers were and the nature of their allegations against her would be the same. Plaintiffs have failed to provide any evidence to dispute the claim in Darouse’s affidavit that A.R. “was given notice of what she was accused of doing, given an opportunity to respond with counsel present and with her mother present.”
B. Plaintiffs’ Due Process Claim Related to Denial of a Hearing Before the Board
To the extent that Plaintiffs allege that the Board is liable for constitutional violations committed by Darouse,
Section 17:416(0(4) grants parents of a pupil who has been subjected to an expulsion hearing under section 17:416(0(1) the right to seek review by the school board. It is undisputed that A.R. was not expelled. However, that does not necessarily mean that A.R. was not under threat of expulsion pursuant to a hearing under section 17:416(0(1). Even if the February 16, 2011, hearing was an “expulsion hearing” under section 17:416(0(1), the Court cannot find any support for Plaintiffs’ proposition that the review process provided in section 17:416(0(4) applies where the student was not actually expelled. On the other hand, the Fourth Circuit of the Louisiana Court of Appeal held in Bonner v. Lincoln Parish School Board that a student who faced expulsion at a section 17:416(C)(1) hearing but ultimately was merely suspended had no right to appeal under section 17:416(C)(4).
Accordingly, the Court finds that even if A.R. was threatened with expulsion, she was not entitled to seek Board review of her ultimate punishment because she was only transferred to another school. Therefore, even assuming Plaintiffs could raise a due process claim based upon the Board’s alleged violation of section 17:416(0(4), the undisputed facts establish that as a matter of law the Board did not violate the provision. The Board is entitled to summary judgment as to this claim.
C. Plaintiffs’ Claims Under Louisiana Law
Plaintiffs assert three state law claims against Defendants. First, they accuse Darouse of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Second, they accuse the Board of negligent failure to train its employees and/or supervise students. Finally, Plaintiffs allege that both Darouse and the Board defamed A.R.
1. Plaintiffs’ Claim Against Darouse for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
The Louisiana Supreme Court recognized the “the viability in Louisiana
Moreover, to succeed on an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant’s conduct “must be so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”
In White, for example, the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected a jury’s verdict that “a churchgoing woman in her late forties” suffered intentional infliction of emotional distress when a work supervisor lashed out at her and two co-workers in a profanity-laced tirade that lasted for about one minute.
Here, it is undisputed that Darouse conducted a disciplinary hearing based upon student allegations, advised A.R. of those allegations, read statements of student witnesses, allowed A.R., her mother and counsel an opportunity to respond, and then determined that A.R. should be transferred to another school for about three months. It cannot be said that Darouse’s conduct exceeded “all possible bounds of decency.” He simply investigated the allegations that others made
Confronted with Defendants’ argument that none of these actions may legally constitute “extreme and outrageous” behavior, Plaintiffs merely respond that “the conduct of defendant accusing her of such a reprehensible act is extreme and outrageous.”
2. Plaintiffs’ Negligence Cause of Action Against the Board
Defendants contend that Robinson’s negligence claim derives solely from the incident of January 28, 2011, and that, therefore, Louisiana law bars Robinson’s negligence claim from being raised any time after January 28, 2012. They argue that because Robinson did not file this action until February 3, 2012, her negligence claim is prescribed.
Louisiana Civil Code article 3492 subjects delictual actions, such as Robinson’s negligence claim, to a one-year liberative prescription. “[F]or prescription to begin to run under Article 3492, it must be shown that the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known that he or she has suffered harm due to a tortious act of the defendant, unless one of the contra non valentem exceptions applies to delay further the commencement or to suspend the running of prescription.”
Robinson’s Complaint states that if A.R. in fact committed the misconduct as alleged, “then Plaintiffs asserts that [the Board] failed to adequately train the two teachers who acted as chaperones and monitors for the trip, as they failed to adequately supervise the students.”
3. Plaintiffs’ Defamation Cause of Action Against Both Defendants
There are four elements to a defamation claim under Louisiana law: “(1) a false and defamatory statement concerning
Louisiana Revised Statute section 17:439 provides that “no person shall have a cause of action against any school employee based on any statement made or action taken by the school employee.” For the statute to apply, the statement must have been made “within the course and scope of the school employee’s duties as defined by the school board in which the school employee is employed and was within the specific guidelines for school employee behavior as established by that school board.”
Plaintiffs do not dispute that Darouse made the allegedly defamatory statements only at the February 16, 2011, disciplinary hearing. Neither do Plaintiffs dispute that Darouse is a school employee who conducted the hearing within the course and scope of his duties as a Board employee or that he made his statement within the specific and relevant Board guidelines. Therefore, Darouse cannot be liable for defamation because he made his statement within the scope of his duties as a disciplinary hearing officer, and he is therefore entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
V Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment
. Rec. Doc. 32.
. The following facts are undisputed. Moreover, as discussed more fully below, Plaintiffs have failed to provide a statement of disputed facts as required by Local Rule 56.2, and the Court therefore must take Defendants’ statement of undisputed facts as true for the purposes of this motion.
. Rec. Doc. 32-2 at ¶¶ 4, 17.
. Id. at ¶¶ 4, 5.
. Id. at ¶ 2.
. Id. at ¶ 3.
. Id. at ¶ 7.
. Id. at ¶¶ 12-14.
. Id. at ¶ 13.
. Id. at ¶¶ 6-7.
. Id. at1HI9.
. Rec. Doc. 1 at ¶¶ 12-14.
. Id. at ¶¶
. Rec. Doc. 19 atp. 19.
. Rec. Doc. 32.
. Rec. Doc. 36.
. Rec. Doc. 40.
. Rec. Doc. 32-1 at pp. 2-5 (citing Wood v. Strickland, 420 U.S. 308, 326, 95 S.Ct. 992, ‘43 L.Ed.2d 214 (1975)).
. Id. atp. 4.
. Id. at p. 4.
. Id. at p. 6 (citing Harris ex rel. Harris v. Pontotoc Cnty. Sch. Dist., 635 F.3d 685, 690 (5th Cir. 2011)).
. Id. at p. 9.
. Id.
. Id. atp. 10.
. Id. at p. 11 (citation omitted).
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. atp. 12.
. Id. at p. 14.
. Id. (citing Credit v. Richland Parish Sch. Bd„ 46-163 (La.App. 2 Cir. 5/23/12); 92 So.3d 1175).
. Id. atp. 15.
. Rec. Doc. 36 atp. 4.
. Id.
. id.
. Id.
. Id. atp. 5.
. Id.
. Id. atp. 6.
. Id. atp. 7.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at p. 9.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at pp. 10-11.
. Id. atp. 11.
. Rec. Doc. 40 at p. 2.
. Id. at p. 4.
. Id. at p. 4.
. Id. atp. 5.
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994).
. Delta & Pine Land Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co., 530 F.3d 395, 398 (5th Cir. 2008).
. Id. at 398-99.
. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. See id. at 322-23, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. See id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
. Donaghey v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration Co., 974 F.2d 646, 649 (5th Cir. 1992) ("The nonmovant cannot satisfy this burden merely by denying the allegations in the opponent’s pleadings but can do so by tendering depositions, affidavits, and other competent evidence to buttress its claim.") (citing Int'l Shortstop, Inc. v. Rally’s, 939 F.2d 1257, 1263 (5th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1059, 112 S.Ct. 936, 117 L.Ed.2d 107 (1992)).
. Little, 37 F.3d at 1075. (emphasis in original).
. LR 56.2.
. Id.
. See Rec. Doc. 36-1.
. Rec. Doc. 32-2.
. The Louisiana Supreme Court has explained that the Louisiana and federal due process clauses are "nearly identical in language," and it has expressly found "the two clauses to be coextensive and to provide the same due process protection.” Louisiana v. Smith, 614 So.2d 778, 780 (La.App. 2 Cir. 1993). Accordingly, the analysis as to whether Defendants have violated Plaintiffs’ due
. See Rec. Doc. 1 at ¶¶ 16-17, 21-24.
. Wyatt v. Fletcher, 718 F.3d 496, 502 (5th Cir. 2013) (citation omitted).
. Id at 502-03.
. Rec. Doc. 1 at ¶ 17.
. Harris ex rel. Harris v. Pontotoc Cnty. Sch. Fist., 635 F.3d 685, 690 (5th Cir. 2011) (citing Goss v. Lopez 419 U.S. 565, 574, 95 S.Ct. 729, 42 L.Ed.2d 725 (1975)).
. Id.
. Id. at 688-89.
. Id. at 690.
. Rec. Doc. 36 at pp. 4-5 (citing Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565, 95 S.Ct. 729, 736, 42 L.Ed.2d 725 (1975)).
. Id. at p. 5 (citing Goss, 95 S.Ct. at 736).
. Goss, 95 S.Ct. at 741.
. Id. at 738.
. Id. at 740.
. Id. at 741.
. 635 F.3d at 691.
. Id.
. Id. at 692.
. See generally, Rec. Doc. Nos. 32-2 (affidavit of Darouse), 32-3 (notes from February 16, 2011 hearing).
. Rec. Doc. 1 at ¶¶ 22, 24.
. Rec. Doc. 36 at p. 4.
. Brennan v. Stewart, 834 F.2d 1248, 1255 (5th Cir. 1988) (quoting Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 331, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986)).
. Conroe Creosoting Co. v. Montgomery Cnty., 249 F.3d 337, 341 (5th Cir. 2001) (quoting Cnty. of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 846, 118 S.Ct. 1708, 140 L.Ed.2d 1043 (1998)).
. Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
. Id.
. Rec. Doc. 1 at ¶ 24.
. 748 F.2d 1077, 1080 (5th Cir. 1984) (rejecting plaintiff's contention that "because of the long-term effect of the ten-day suspension, they should have received ... a witness list and summary of witness' testimony prior to the suspension”).
. Id. at 1080.
. Id. at 1082.
.Rec. Doc. 32-3.
. Id.
. Id.
. See Peaches Entm’t Corp. v. Entm’t Repertoire Assocs., 62 F.3d 690, 694 (5th Cir. 1995) (citations omitted).
. See Rec. Doc. 32-2 at ¶ 16.
. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1).
. See Rec. Doc. 1 at ¶¶ 17 (alleging denial of procedural due process through Darouse’s conduct), 22-23 (substantive due process through Darouse’s conduct), 28 (alleging violation of Louisiana constitution for same reasons).
. Rec. Doc. 1. at ¶¶ 13-14, 20.
. Rec. Doc. 36 at pp. 5-6.
.See 685 So.2d 432, 435 (La.App. 2 Cir. 1996) (citing La.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 17:416(A)(3)(c), (C)(4) ("James’s suspension was reduced to five days and the previous recommendation for expulsion was dropped. Thus, James did not have a right to further appeal the decision to the entire school board.”)).
. White v. Monsanto Co., 585 So.2d 1205, 1209 (La. 1991).
. Id.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at 1210.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. at 1207.
. Id.
. Id. at 1210-11.
. Id. at 1211.
. Rec. Doc. 36.
. Rec. Doc. 32-1.
. Harvey v. Dixie Graphics, Inc., 593 So.2d 351, 354 (La. 1992).
. Id. (citations omitted).
. Id. (citations omitted).
.Rec. Doc. 1 at ¶ 35.
. Kennedy v. Sheriff of East Baton Rouge, 2005-1418, p. 4 (La.7/10/06); 935 So.2d 669, 674.
. La.Rev.Stat. § 17:439(A).
. Id. at§ 17:439(C).
. Credit v. Richland Parish Sch. Bd., 2011-1003, p. 8 (La.3/13/12); 85 So.3d 669, 675-76.
. Rec. Doc. 32.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Janet ROBINSON v. ST. TAMMANY PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published