Jane Doe v. Kipp DC Supporting Corp.
Jane Doe v. Kipp DC Supporting Corp.
Opinion of the Court
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Jane Doe, a survivor of sexual abuse as a middle and high school student between 2004 and 2009, initiated this case on February 2, 2018. Doe brings claims against her abuser, Alan Coleman; the two educational institutions that employed Coleman between 2004 and 2009 and allegedly knew of the abuse, Kipp DC Supporting Corporation ("Kipp DC") and Capital City Public Charter School, Inc. ("Capital City"); and the founder and then-principal of Kipp DC, Susan Ettinger. Doe also brings claims against ten unnamed agents and employees of Kipp DC and Capital City. Defendants have separately moved to dismiss and all argue that Doe's claims are barred by the statute of limitations. While the Court is sympathetic to Doe's plight, and more generally to the difficulties encountered by victims of sexual assault in obtaining civil relief for their injuries, it finds that Doe's claims are time-barred under D.C. law. The Court accordingly grants the motions to dismiss. Because Doe's motion to amend her complaint fails to comply with its Local Rules, the Court denies the motion without prejudice.
II. BACKGROUND
Doe began attending Kipp DC in 2000 or 2001, and was a student at the school until 2005. See Compl. ¶¶ 1, 20, ECF No. 4. She first came into contact with Coleman during the 2004-2005 school year, when Coleman became her eighth-grade science and history teacher. Id. ¶¶ 21, 28. After gaining her trust and confidence, Coleman began sexually assaulting Doe a few months after they met, in approximately November 2004. See id. ¶ 26. Coleman would go on to continuously abuse Doe for the remainder of the 2004-2005 school year, subjecting her to frequent sexual assault and humiliation. See id. Doe alleges that Ettinger and *6Kipp DC eventually came to suspect that Coleman was having inappropriate relations with her. See id. ¶ 33. She further alleges that these suspicions led Kipp DC to discontinue Coleman's contract at the end of the 2004-2005 school year. Id. ¶ 29. Coleman subsequently found employment with Capital City starting in the 2005-2006 school year. Id. According to Doe, while Ettinger informed a Capital City board member of her suspicions, neither she, Kipp DC, nor Capital City undertook to investigate Coleman or in any other way take action to protect Doe and stop the abuse. See id. ¶ 33.
After being promoted to the ninth grade at the end of the 2004-2005 school year, Doe left Kipp DC and began attending another school. Id. ¶ 28. However, Coleman's abuse continued. See id. ¶ 29. Doe's mother learned of the abuse during the 2005-2006 school year and reported Coleman's behavior to Capital City. Id. ¶ 31. According to Doe, Capital City failed to take any disciplinary action against Coleman. Id. In 2007, Coleman manipulated Doe into moving into his house, where they slept in the same room and bed. See id. ¶ 51. As a result, the frequency of his assaults escalated. See id. ¶ 53. Doe turned eighteen in 2008. See id. ¶ 1. The relationship did not end until June 2009. Id. ¶ 26.
In February 2015, Doe began to realize the wrongfulness of Coleman's behavior. On February 20, 2015, she questioned Coleman on Facebook about whether their relationship had been wrongful and abusive. Id. ¶ 34. On February 25, 2015, she asked Coleman to resign from his teaching position at Capital City, where he was still employed. Id. After he failed to do so, Doe contacted Capital City herself. Id. While Capital City then proceeded to terminate Coleman, the school did not notify the authorities of his behavior. Id. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department was not alerted to Coleman's conduct until April 2016, when a former Kipp DC teacher who Doe also told of the abuse reached out to the police. See id. ¶ 35. Coleman subsequently pled guilty to sexual abuse of a minor in Maryland state court and to first-degree sexual abuse in D.C. Superior Court. See Docket, People v. Coleman , No. 130514C (Md. Mongtomery Cty. Cir. Ct.); Docket, United States v. Coleman , 2016 CF1 011951 (D.C. Sup. Ct.).
Doe filed her complaint in this case on February 2, 2018, bringing claims pursuant to
III. LEGAL STANDARD
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require that a complaint contain "a short and plain statement of the claim" in order to give the defendant fair notice of the claim and the grounds upon which it rests. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) ; accord Erickson v. Pardus ,
"The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense, FRCP 8(c), and need not be negatived by the language of the complaint." U.S. ex rel. Landis v. Tailwind Sports Corp. ,
IV. ANALYSIS
In their respective motions to dismiss, Defendants all argue that Doe's claims are barred by the statute of limitations. See Kipp Mem. Supp. Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 6 ; Capital City Mem. Supp. Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 13-1 ; Coleman Mem. Supp. Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 17. In her oppositions, Doe raises several arguments for why her claims are not time-barred, including application of the discovery rule, continuing violation of a duty to report, and equitable tolling. See Pl.'s Opp'n to Kipp Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 11.
A. Doe's Title IX, § 1983, and IIED Claims Are Time-Barred
First, the Defendants argue that the applicable statute of limitations has passed on Doe's Title IX, § 1983, and IIED claims. See Kipp Mem. Supp. at 6-11; Capital City Mem. Supp. at 6-7; Coleman Mem. Supp. at 5-6. Doe retorts that the discovery rule tolled the statute of limitations until she realized the wrongfulness of her relationship with Coleman, and therefore that all three claims are timely. See, e.g. , Pl.'s Kipp Opp'n at 3-6, 8-9. The Court disagrees and finds that, as a matter of law, the discovery rule is not applicable to this case. As a result, the statute of limitations began running on Doe's claims when she turned eighteen and her claims are untimely.
1. The Discovery Rule Does Not Apply
Doe argues that her case "falls squarely with the discovery rule decisions in the District of Columbia," Pl.'s Kipp Opp'n at 4, because she alleges that she did not realize she was abused until February 2015. The Court disagrees. Because past D.C. Court of Appeals decisions and legislative history consistently suggest that the discovery rule should not be extended to situations where a victim of sexual abuse recalls that abuse but does not appreciate its wrongfulness, the Court declines to extend the discovery rule to Doe's claims.
As an initial matter, Doe's IIED claim is pursuant to D.C. law, and thus subject to D.C. tolling rules. As the School Defendants acknowledge, neither Title IX nor § 1983 provide for specific statutes of limitations. See Kipp Mem. Supp. at 3-4; Capital City Mem. Supp. at 6-7. Instead, "the appropriate statute of limitations for a § 1983 claim 'is that which the State provides for personal-injury torts.' " Morris v. Carter Global Lee, Inc. ,
Under D.C. law, a claim will generally "accrue[ ] for purposes of the statute of limitations at the time the injury actually occurs." Colbert v. Georgetown Univ. ,
Here, Doe argues that the discovery rule applies to her claims because she did not realize her relationship with Coleman had been abusive until February 2015. Pl.'s Kipp Opp'n at 4-6. Doe relies primarily on Farris , in conjunction with past discovery rule cases. See
The Court of Appeals in Farris noted that the case was different from the court's past discovery rule decisions, which had involved plaintiffs who alleged that they were not aware of their injuries. See
First, the D.C. Court of Appeals in Farris , while not ruling on the issue, gave some indication of its thoughts as to the applicability of the discovery rule when a sexual abuse victim recalls the facts of the abuse but does not understand its wrongfulness until much later. The court noted in a footnote to its opinion that there was
Some apparent softness in the plaintiffs' allegations in regards to whether the repression of their memories was total or partial, and as to whether that repression extended to the fact that they were abused (rather than only to the plaintiffs' understanding of the wrongfulness of the abuse and of its effect upon their alleged problems as adults).
Farris ,
*10Farris 's limited ruling, combined with the court's admonition that most other courts had declined to further extend the discovery rule, strongly suggest that the Court of Appeals would not have applied the discovery rule in Doe's circumstances, when she does not allege that she repressed the fact of the abuse, only that she did not recognize its wrongfulness.
The past discovery rule cases Doe cites in her opposition are easily distinguishable from Farris . Cases where D.C. courts have applied the discovery rule typically involve situations where "sophisticated professionals may take advantage of lay clients without the clients ever being aware of the wrong." KCI Techs. ,
Finally, the legislative history behind the 2009 IntraFamily Offenses Act, which amended the statute of limitations applicable to claims relating to sexual abuse of a minor, further suggests that the discovery rule should not apply to Doe's situation. The IntraFamily Offenses Act amended
In its report to the D.C. Council on the bill amending the statute, the council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary explained that it had determined the seven-year period to be fair in light of "the law in other jurisdictions" and "[g]iven the nature of the behavior and its effects." Comm. On Pub. Safety and the Judiciary, Report on Bill 17-55, the "IntraFamily Offenses Act of 2008" at 5 (D.C. 2008), http://lims.dccouncil.us/Download/18480/B17-0055-CommitteeReport1.pdf. The committee also explained that the alternative three-year period was intended to essentially codify the discovery rule announced in Farris , by "leav[ing] unchanged the current law in the District of Columbia that gives a plaintiff three years from when he or she knew or should have known of ... [the] abuse."
To be sure, the discovery rule is a judge-made tool and the committee's interpretation *11of Farris is not law. Nonetheless, the discovery rule, "guided by considerations of basic fairness," relies on the notion that "the legislature should not be presumed to have intended to deny a plaintiff who did not know ... of her injury at the time that it occurred[ ] her day in court." Farris ,
2. Doe's Claims are Time-Barred
The parties dispute which statute of limitations applies to Doe's claims. Because the discovery rule does not toll Doe's claims until she realized the wrongfulness of her abuse in 2015, the Court finds that the claims are time-barred regardless of which statutory provision applies.
As discussed in Part IV.A.1. above, Title IX and § 1983 do not provide for specific statutes of limitations. Instead, "the appropriate statute of limitations for a § 1983 claim 'is that which the State provides for personal-injury torts,' " Morris ,
The Court need not decide which statutory provision applies because either way, Doe's Title IX and § 1983 constitutional claims are time-barred.
*12The same reasoning applies as to Doe's IIED claim. The Kipp Defendants argue that Doe's IIED claim is intertwined with her assault and battery claims, and thus subject to a one-year limitations period under
B. Doe's Negligence Per Se and Gross Negligence Claims are Time-Barred
Next, Doe brought two negligence per se claims against the School Defendants, premised respectively on violations of
1. Mandatory Reporting Requirements Did Not Extend the Limitations Period
Doe contends that the negligence per se and gross negligence claims are timely because of the School Defendants' continuing failure to comply with mandatory reporting requirements under
*13First, as the Kipp Defendants argue in their reply, see Kipp Reply at 8-9, and Capital City in its motion, see Capital City Mem. Supp. at 12,
Second, while Doe does not cite any law in her opposition, she appears to be invoking the continuing tort doctrine when she argues that her negligence claims arising from the School Defendants' failure to comply with their duty to report under § 4-1321.02(a) are not time-barred. The School Defendants both argue that the continuing tort doctrine should not apply. See Kipp Reply at 8 n.5; Capital City Reply at 5, ECF No. 20. The Court finds that Doe was on notice of her claims in 2009 at the latest and thus that the continuing tort doctrine does not toll the statute of limitations.
Under D.C. law, "a plaintiff establishes a continuing tort by showing '(1) a continuous and repetitious wrong, (2) with damages flowing from the act as a whole rather than from each individual act, and (3) at least one injurious act within the limitation period.' " Whelan v. Abell ,
Doe argues that the School Defendants had a "continuous duty to report ... Coleman's abuse" under D.C. Code 4-1321.02(a), that they "never fulfilled that duty"-or alternatively that the duty terminated in 2016 when Coleman was arrested-and consequently that the statute of limitations on her negligence per se and gross negligence claims premised on § 4-1321.02(a) began to run in 2016 at the earliest. Pl.'s Kipp Opp'n at 7. The Court finds this argument unavailing. As an initial matter, the D.C. Court of Appeals has *14emphasized that the continuous tort doctrine is intended to apply to situations where a tort causes continuing and cumulative harm. Here, it is unclear what harm to Doe the School Defendants' failure to report Coleman caused once the abuse ended, between 2009 and 2016. More importantly, as the Defendants point out and as discussed above in Part IV.A.1., Doe was on notice of her claims at the time of the abuse because her negligence claims "accrue[d] for purposes of the statute of limitations at the time the injury actually occur[ed]." Colbert ,
2. Doe's Negligence Per Se and Gross Negligence Claims are Time-Barred
Absent any tolling of the limitations period, the Court finds that Doe's negligence per se and gross negligence claims are time-barred. The School Defendants argue that Doe's negligence claims are all subject to the catch-all three-year statute of limitations under § 12-301(8). See Kipp Mem. Supp. at 4; Capital City Mem. Supp. at 7. Doe does not challenge the applicability of § 12-301(8) to the negligence per se claims, and makes no arguments as to gross negligence. See Pl.'s Kipp Opp'n at 6-8. As discussed above in Part IV.A.2., although Doe was on notice of her claims at the time of the abuse, the statute of limitations did not begin to run until Doe's eighteenth birthday because the abuse occurred when she was a minor. See
C. Doe's Assault and Battery Claims Are Time-Barred
Finally, all Defendants move to dismiss Doe's assault and battery claims as barred by a one-year statute of limitations.
*15See Kipp Mem. Supp. at 11; Capital City Mem. Supp. at 7; Coleman Mem. Supp. at 5. Doe does not challenge the applicability of the one-year statute of limitations; rather, she argues that the limitations period should be tolled pursuant to the discovery rule or to equitable tolling. As discussed above in Part IV.A.1., the Court finds that the discovery rule does not apply to Doe's claims. Because the Court finds that equitable tolling also does not apply, it dismisses the assault and battery claims as untimely.
As a general rule, "District of Columbia law does not recognize an equitable tolling exception to the statute of limitations." Nattah v. Bush ,
D. The Court Denies Doe's Motion to Amend the Complaint
In her opposition to Capital City's motion to dismiss, Doe moves in the alternative to amend the complaint, noting that "[t]he court should freely give leave [to amend a pleading] when justice so requires." Pl.'s Capital City Opp'n at 14 (second alteration in original) (quoting Fed R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2) ). The Court denies the motion for failure to comply with the Local Rules. Under Local Rules 7(i) and 15.1, "a motion for leave to file an amended pleading shall be accompanied by an original of the proposed pleading as amended." D.D.C. R. 7(i), 15.1. Courts in this circuit have routinely denied motions for leave to amend that fail to comply with these Local Rules. See, e.g., Brown v. Potomac Elec. Power Co. ,
V. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motions to dismiss (ECF Nos. 6, 13, 17) are GRANTED , Plaintiff's motion to amend (ECF No. 18 ) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE , and this case is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE . An order consistent with this Memorandum Opinion is separately and contemporaneously issued.
On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the Court accepts as true the factual allegations in the complaint and construes them liberally in the Plaintiff's favor. See, e.g., United States v. Philip Morris, Inc. ,
The Court takes judicial notice of the docket for Coleman's related criminal cases. See, e.g., Al-Aulaqi v. Panetta ,
In her opposition to Coleman's motion to dismiss, Doe appears to argue that Coleman should also be liable on her Title IX, § 1983, and gross negligence claims. See Pl.'s Opp'n Coleman Mot. Dismiss at 4-7, 9, ECF No. 19. In her oppositions to the Kipp Defendants' and Capital City's motions to dismiss, Doe similarly appears to argue that Kipp DC and Capital City should be liable on her gross negligence claim. See Pl.'s Opp'n to Kipp Mot. Dismiss at 7-8, ECF No. 11 ; Pl's Opp'n to Capital City Mot. Dismiss at 8, ECF No. 18. Because it dismisses all claims as time-barred, the Court does not address these issues.
Doe brings substantially the same arguments regarding the applicability of the statute of limitations defense in her three oppositions. See generally Pl.'s Kipp Opp'n; Pl.'s Capital City Opp'n; Pl.'s Coleman Opp'n.
The Court notes that, Defendants' arguments notwithstanding, the plain language of § 12-301(11) strongly suggests that the statutory provision applies to Doe's claims. The provision applies to claims that "aris[e] out of sexual abuse that occurred while the victim was a minor,"
The Kipp Defendants point out in their reply that Doe's complaint does not indicate her gross negligence claim to be premised on a duty to report, but rather on the duty to supervise. See Kipp Reply at 12, ECF No. 16. They argue that "a plaintiff cannot add new allegations to a complaint in an opposition to a motion to dismiss" and that the Court should accordingly reject Doe's continuing duty argument as to her gross negligence claim.
The Kipp Defendants separately argue in their reply that § 4-1321.02(a) also did not create a duty for Kipp DC or Ettinger to report Doe's abuse. See Kipp Reply at 9-11. They note that before 2007, the statute only imposed an obligation to report suspected abuse by parents, guardians, or caretakers, and that following a 2007 amendment the revised section only imposes a duty to report suspected abuse of a child "known to [the reporter] in his or her professional or official capacity."
The Court also notes that the Iowa Court of Appeals addressed a mandatory reporting statute under similar circumstances in S.O. ex rel. J.O. Sr. v. Carlisle School Dist. ,
As with Doe's claims discussed above in Part IV.A.2, even if the negligence claims fell under the umbrella of § 12-301(11), the limitations period would only extend to seven years past Doe's eighteenth birthday, or late 2015. Even under that statutory provision, Doe's claims are still time-barred.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jane DOE v. KIPP DC SUPPORTING CORP.
- Cited By
- 17 cases
- Status
- Published