A.F. v. Kings Park Cent. Sch. Dist.

341 F.Supp.3d 188

A.F., BY His Father and Natural Guardian, Andrew J. FENTON, and K.P., by His Father and Natural Guardian, Thomas Phelan, Plaintiffs

v.KINGS PARK CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, Board of Education of the Kings Park Central School District, Timothy T. Eagen, Superintendent of the Kings Park Central School District, and Lino E. Bracco, Principal, Kings Park High School, Defendants.

17-CV-5467-ADS-GRB

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

Signed September 26, 2018

Alexander J. Smith, 6 North Street, Middleton, New York 10940, By: Alexander J. Smith, Esq., Attorney for the Plaintiffs

Sokoloff Stern LLP, 179 Westbury Avenue, Carle Place, New York 11514, By: Steven C. Stern, Esq. ; Alison Cullen, Esq., of counsel, Attorney for the Defendants

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION & ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

On September 19, 2017, the Plaintiff A.F., an infant, by his father and natural guardian Andrew J. Fenton, and the Plaintiff K.P., an infant, by his father and natural guardian Thomas Phelan (collectively, the "Plaintiffs") commenced this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action by filing a Complaint against the Defendants Kings Park Central School District; the Board of Education of the Kings Park Central School District; Timothy T. Eagen ("Eagen"), Superintendent of the Kings Park Central School District; and Lino E. Bracco ("Bracco"), Principal of Kings Park High School (collectively, the "Defendants"). The Plaintiffs seek compensatory damages, punitive damages, declaratory and injunctive relief, and attorney's fees and costs for the Defendants' alleged violations of their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

On December 8, 2017, the Defendants moved pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("FED. R. CIV. P." or "Rule") 12(b)(6) to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

The following factual allegations are drawn from the Plaintiffs' complaint, and for the purposes of the instant motion, are construed in favor of the Plaintiffs.

A. The Parties

At all relevant times, both A.F. and K.P. were minor children, residing in Suffolk County, New York, and were enrolled in the Kings Park Central School District. (Compl. ¶¶ 1-3.) Andrew Fenton is the father and natural guardian of A.F. and Thomas Phelan is the father and natural guardian of K.P. At all relevant times, both Andrew Fenton and Thomas Phelan were residents of Suffolk County, New York and are bringing this action on A.F.'s and K.P.'s behalf. (Compl. ¶¶ 1-3.)

The Kings Park Central School District is a public school district organized under the laws of New York State and located in Suffolk County, New York. (Compl ¶ 4.) The Board of Education of the Kings Park Central School District "is a duly constituted decision [ ] maker and policymaker of the Kings Park Central School District." (Compl. ¶ 5.) At all relevant times, Eagen was the Superintendent of the Kings Park Central School District and Bracco was the Principal of Kings Park High School. (Compl. ¶¶ 6, 7.)

B. The Underlying Incident

From 2015 through 2016, the Plaintiffs were both tenth grade students attending Kings Park High School. (Compl. ¶ 10.) On November 4, 2015, the infant Plaintiffs, along with approximately twenty (20) other Kings Park High School students, received a text message on their cellular phones containing a video of two minor students engaged in sexual activity. (Compl ¶ 12.) As set forth in the Complaint, "[n]either Plaintiff ever possessed the text message in school or on school property as both Plaintiffs deleted the message right after receiving it" and said text messages were received after school hours while at their respective residences. (Compl ¶ 12.) The parents of both Plaintiffs were notified via letters, A.F.'s letter dated November 9, 2015 and K.P.'s letter dated November 10, 2015, that the Plaintiffs were receiving one-day out of school suspensions. (Compl. ¶ 11, 12.) These letters were sent by Defendant Bracco and specified that the Plaintiffs' suspensions were for "inappropriate use of an electronic device." (Compl. ¶ 11.) The Plaintiffs served their one-day suspensions from school on November 10, 2015. (Compl ¶ 11.)

The Plaintiffs state that the Kings Park High School's disciplinary code contains a List of Infractions. (Compl. ¶ 21.) The List of Infractions includes Level II Infractions, including an infraction "for using cellular phones and other electronic devices (including texting) ‘during instructional time;’ " Level II Infractions do not allow for out-of-school suspensions. (Compl. ¶ 22.) In addition, the List of Infractions includes Level IV infractions for "[u]se of profanity ... on ... hand held devices’, ‘[s]elling, using transmitting or possessing obscene material’, [i]nappropriate texting and use of social media’ and ‘inappropriate use of cameras in electronic devices,’ [ ] infractions [that] involve some active or knowing conduct on the part of the student;" Level IV Infractions allow for out-of-school suspensions. (Compl. ¶ 23.) As drafted at the time of the suspensions in question, the List of Infractions "contain[ed] no reference to the ‘inappropriate use of an electronic device’, the term used in Bracco's November 9th and 10th letters." (Compl. ¶ 22.)

Following the Plaintiffs' suspensions, on November 18, 2015, a letter was sent from Superintendent Eagen to the students involved in the aforementioned text message incident. A.F.'s parents never received this letter and K.P.'s parents refused the offer contained in the letter. (Compl. ¶ 14, 15.) The November 18^th letter offered the following:

During the last month of your child's junior year at Kings Park High School, you may submit a letter to the Superintendent requesting a review of your child's discipline record. Upon review, if your child has no similar discipline incidents similar to the nature to the November 2015 incident, your child's record concerning this incident will be expunged. In other words, the November 2015 suspension will be removed from your child's permanent record.

(Compl. ¶ 14.) On December 9, 2015, the Plaintiffs sent letters appealing their suspensions to the Kings Park Board of Education. (Compl. ¶ 16.) The Kings Park Board of Education upheld the underlying suspensions and informed the Plaintiffs of such by a letter dated December 16, 2015. This letter included no reasons for the determination. (Compl. ¶ 17.)

On January 11, 2016, the Plaintiffs appealed the school board's determination to the New York State Education Department, in separately filed petitions. (Compl. ¶ 18.) On November 10, 2016, the New York State Commissioner of Education overturned the suspensions and ordered them expunged from the Plaintiffs' records. (Compl. ¶ 19.) The Commissioner of Education reasoned that the suspensions were improper as the Plaintiffs "did not solicit or request the video or engage in any other conduct with respect to the video at school or otherwise or in a way that endangered the health or safety of students or adversely affected the educative process." The Commissioner also determined that the Kings Park Central School District's disciplinary actions "bore no nexus to an ensuing school disruption" and "w[ere] arbitrary and capricious." (Compl. ¶ 19.)

C. The Relevant Procedural History

On September 19, 2017, the Plaintiffs filed the above-mentioned complaint in this Court. On December 8, 2017, the Defendants moved under Rule 12(b)(6) to dismiss the complaint, contending that the Plaintiffs' allegations, even if taken as true, fail to plausibly state a claim upon which relief can be granted. On December 28, 2017, the Plaintiffs filed an opposition to the Defendants' motion to dismiss. Thereafter, on January 9, 2018, the Defendants filed a reply in further support of their motion to dismiss. The above-mentioned motion to dismiss is fully briefed.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review: FED. R. CIV. P. 12(B)(6)

In considering a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must accept the factual allegations set forth in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the Plaintiffs. See, e.g., Trs of Upstate N.Y. Eng'rs Pension Fund v. Ivy Asset Mgmt., 843 F.3d 561, 566 (2d Cir. 2016) ; Walker v. Schult, 717 F.3d 119, 124 (2d Cir. 2013) ; Cleveland v. Caplaw Enters., 448 F.3d 518, 521 (2d Cir. 2006) ; Bolt Elec., Inc. v. City of N.Y., 53 F.3d 465, 469 (2d Cir. 1995) ; Reed v. Garden City Union Free Sch. Dist., 987 F.Supp.2d 260, 263 (E.D.N.Y. 2013).

Under the well-established Twombly standard, the Court may only dismiss a complaint if it does not contain enough allegations of fact to state a claim for relief that is "plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1974, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The Second Circuit has expounded that, after Twombly, the Court's inquiry under Rule 12(b)(6) is guided by two principles:

First, although a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint, that tenet is inapplicable to legal conclusions, and [t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice. Second, only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss and [d]etermining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief will ... be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.

Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 664, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1940, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ).

A complaint must include "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief," in order to survive a motion to dismiss. FED. R. CIV. P. 8(a)(2). Under Rule 8, a complaint is not required to allege "detailed factual allegations." Kendall v. Caliber Home Loans, Inc., 198 F.Supp.3d 168, 170 (E.D.N.Y. 2016) (quot...