Caldwell v. Univ. of N.M. Bd. of Regents

679 F.Supp.3d 1087

Joseph CALDWELL, Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO BOARD OF REGENTS; Nasha Torrez; Lobo Development Corporation; ACC OP (UNM SOUTH) LLC and Eddie Nuñez, Defendants.

No. CIV 20-0003 JB/JFR

United States District Court, D. New Mexico

Filed June 28, 2023

Justine Fox-Young, Justine Fox-Young, P.C., Albuquerque, New Mexico -- and -- Paul J. Kennedy, Kennedy, Hernandez & Harrison, P.C., Albuquerque, New Mexico, Attorneys for the Plaintiff.

Patrick J. Hart, Office of University Counsel, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico -- and -- Alfred A. Park, Geoffrey D. White, Park & Associates, LLC, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Attorneys for Defendants University of New Mexico Board of Regents, Nasha Torrez, and Eddie Nuñez.

Agnes F. Padilla, Butt Thornton & Baehr PC, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Attorneys for Defendant ACC OP (UNM SOUTH) LLC.

MEMORANDUM OPINION¹

JAMES O. BROWNING, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Defendant Nasha Torrez's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, filed April 29, 2020 (Doc. 43) ("Motion"). The Court held a hearing on the Motion on March 26, 2021. See Clerk's Minutes, filed March 26, 2021 (Doc. 61). The primary issues are: (i) whether Plaintiff Joseph Caldwell has alleged facts sufficient to state a due process interest in (a) his continued enrollment at Defendant University of New Mexico ("UNM"); (b) playing basketball for UNM; (c) his reputation; (d) his future professional basketball career; and (e) his housing and meals; (ii) whether UNM's actions comported with procedural due process under the Constitution of the United States of America when Defendant Nasha Torrez, UNM's Dean of Students, banned Caldwell from campus while UNM classes were not in session; (iii) whether Caldwell states properly a claim against Torrez for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, because Caldwell's procedural due process rights were clearly established; (iv) whether Torrez violated Caldwell's right to substantive due process, because Torrez' actions -- banning Caldwell temporarily from campus, while UNM classes were not in session -- shock the judicial conscience; and (v) whether the Court should grant Caldwell leave to amend his First Amended Complaint for Injunctive Relief and Damages, filed January 31, 2020 (Doc. 10) ("First Amended Complaint") rather than granting the Motion. The Court concludes that: (i) Caldwell alleges sufficiently that he has a due process property interest in his continued education at UNM, and that Torrez interfered with this interest by temporarily banning Caldwell from certain campus property, including on-campus classes and his housing; (ii) Caldwell does not allege sufficiently that he has a due process interest in (a) playing basketball for UNM; (b) his reputation; (c) his future professional basketball career; or (d) his housing and meals; (iii) UNM's actions comported with procedural due process when Torrez banned temporarily Caldwell from campus, because, although the campus ban is more than a de minimis taking of Caldwell's interest in his continued education, the ban took place while UNM's classes were not in session, none of UNM's hearing procedures placed Caldwell at risk of erroneous deprivation, and UNM has a legitimate interest in maintaining a safe learning environment and preserving its limited administrative resources; (iv) Caldwell did not allege adequately a claim against Torrez for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, because Caldwell's procedural due process rights were not clearly established; (v) Torrez did not violate Caldwell's substantive due process rights, because banning temporarily Caldwell from campus does not shock the judicial conscience; and (vi) it is futile to allow Caldwell to amend the First Amended Complaint, because Caldwell's rights were not clearly established at the time of the campus ban, and more allegations detailing Caldwell's status as basketball player would not change the Court's analysis. See Caldwell v. Univ. of N.M. Bd. of Regents, 510 F. Supp. 3d 982, 982 (D.N.M. 2020) (Browning, J.) ("Caldwell") (reaching similar conclusions for Defendant Eddie Nuñez, UNM's athletic director, relating to the same incident).² Accordingly, the Court will grant Torrez' request for judgment on the pleadings, because Caldwell does not state a claim against Torrez upon which relief can be granted.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Court takes the facts from Caldwell's First Amended Complaint. The same standards for evaluating a rule 12(b)(6) motion apply to a motion for a judgment on the pleadings. See Atl. Richfield Co. v. Farm Credit Bank of Wichita, 226 F.3d 1138, 1160 (10th Cir. 2000) ("A motion for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c) is treated as a motion to dismiss under rule 12(b)(6)."). Thus, the Court accepts "'all facts pleaded by the non-moving party as true and grants all reasonable inferences from the pleadings' in that party's favor." Sanders v. Mountain Am. Fed. Credit Union, 689 F.3d 1138, 1141 (10th Cir. 2012) (quoting Park Univ. Enters. Inc. v. Am. Cas. Co., 442 F.3d 1239, 1244 (10th Cir. 2006)).

Caldwell enrolled at UNM in January 2019. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 11, at 3. In January, 2019, Caldwell moved into the Lobo Village development,³ and his lease agreement had an end date of July 31, 2020. See First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 12-13, at 3. In April, 2019, Caldwell agreed to play as a point guard with the UNM Men's Basketball program. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 16, at 3. UNM's fall 2019 finals period ended on December 13, 2019. See 2019-2020 Academic Calendar, filed June 29, 2020 (Doc. 48-2). See also UNM Academic Calendar, UNM Events, https://unmevents.unm.edu/site/academic/?view=grid&search=y (last visited May 19, 2022).⁴ UNM classes were not in session from December 15, 2019, to January 21, 2020. See 2019-2020 Academic Calendar. UNM's official winter break is from December 23, 2019, to January 21, 2020. See 2019-2020 Academic Calendar.

On December 16, 2019, "the Albuquerque Police Department took a report of allegations of battery against" Caldwell. First Amended Complaint ¶ 17, at 3. The person who accused Caldwell of battery is not a UNM student. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 18, at 4. On December 19, 2019, UNM's Dean of Students ("DOS") Office emailed Caldwell ("December 19 Email"), informing him that, based on the recent allegations, he was: (i) "hereby interim banned from all of UNM Campus, except for UNM Hospitals and Clinics for the purpose of seeking medical care and except for [his] in-person courses for Spring 2020 semester"; (ii) banned from Lobo Village and all on-campus housing facilities; (iii) banned from the Johnson Gym, except for attendance of a class for which he was registered, and banned from any other portion of campus without express permission from the DOS; (iv) permitted to register for or attend only online courses, except for a class for which he was already registered; and (v) informed that failure to comply with the campus ban and the Code of Conduct charges would result in criminal charges for trespass that could lead to possible expulsion. First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 19-21, at 4. The DOS also informed Caldwell in the December 19 Email that he would not be able to contact anyone at the DOS from December 21, 2019, through January 1, 2020, because UNM would be closed. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 19, at 4. The December 19 Email stated that the recent allegations were "under the jurisdiction of the Office of Equal Opportunity." First Amended Complaint ¶ 20, at 4.

On December 19, 2019, Caldwell attended a meeting chaired by Nuñez ("December 19 Meeting"). See First Amended Complaint ¶ 22, at 5. Several other people from the UNM athletic department and from UNM administration were present at the December 19 Meeting. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 22, at 5. Nuñez ran the December 19 Meeting and "informed [Caldwell] that he was banned from campus indefinitely" and that he was also banned from playing or practicing with the basketball team. First Amended Complaint ¶ 23, at 5.

That same day, Caldwell received an eviction notice from Defendant Lobo Development Corporation, stating that he had to move out within three days or face eviction proceedings. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 25, at 5. The eviction notice stated that Caldwell was "[b]anned from the University of New Mexico, Residence Life and Student Housing, and American Campus Communities." First Amended Complaint ¶ 26, at 5. The eviction notice explained that Caldwell had violated his lease agreement, because of his "unlawful action causing serious physical harm to another person." First Amended Complaint ¶ 26, at 5.

On December 20, 2019, Caldwell met with the UNM Office of Equal Opportunity ("OEO"), where he denied the allegations against him. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 29, at 5. Sometime after his meeting with the OEO, Caldwell met with Torrez, who reiterated that Caldwell was suspended, and that she would decide whether to extend his suspension. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 30, at 5. Torrez told Caldwell that the campus ban would remain in place until January 2, 2020, the end of the holiday break, and that Caldwell had no opportunity to appeal the ban. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 31, at 6.

On December 30, 2019, Greg Golden, UNM Assistant Dean of Students, emailed Caldwell. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 35, at 6. In the email, Golden informed Caldwell that if he wanted to discuss UNM's campus ban, Caldwell would have to reach out to Kelly Davis, a UNM Student Conduct Officer in the DOS Office, who had "promulgated the 'ban letter.'" First Amended Complaint ¶ 35, at 6.

On January 10, 2020, Caldwell and his counsel had a meeting with Torrez. See First Amended Complaint ¶ 40, at 7. At the meeting, Torrez told Caldwell that a Student Conduct Officer, an employee in Torrez' office, "had imposed the ban and that [Torrez] was entirely uninvolved in that process." First Amended Complaint ¶ 41, at 7....