Stinson v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Educ.

365 F.Supp.3d 1233

Arvilla STINSON, AS NEXT FRIEND OF K.R., a minor, Plaintiff,

v.MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION; Tramene Maye, in his individual and official capacities; and Rafiq Vaughn, in his individual and official capacities, Defendants.

CASE NO. 2:15-CV-924-WKW

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Northern Division.

Signed February 5, 2019

Abigail Herrin Clarkson, Cameron Lee Hogan, Lloyd & Hogan, PC, Andrew Salser, Birmingham, AL, for Plaintiff.

John Warren Marsh, Emily Coody Marks, Ball, Ball, Matthews & Novak, P.A., James Robert Seale, Hill Hill Carter Franco Cole & Black, Vernetta Rochelle Perkins, Montgomery, AL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

W. Keith Watkins, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship.... In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.

Chief Justice Earl Warren penned those words in 1954. Brown v. Bd. of Educ. , 347 U.S. 483, 493, 74 S.Ct. 686, 98 L.Ed. 873 (1954). They remain true in 2019. So year after year, for those reasons and more, parents across Alabama send their children to public school.

When parents send their children to school, they essentially delegate some of their parental authority to teachers and school administrators. There is a Latin phrase for that concept: "in loco parentis ," which translates "in the place of a parent." Vernonia Sch. Dist. 47J v. Acton , 515 U.S. 646, 654–56, 115 S.Ct. 2386, 132 L.Ed.2d 564 (1995) ; Smith v. Smith , 922 So.2d 94, 98 (Ala. 2005) ; 1 William Blackstone, Com mentaries*453. But the power to act in the place of a parent comes with solemn responsibilities. Educators must educate students. They must also protect students.

At least that is how things should be. If the allegations in this case are true, Southlawn Middle School in Montgomery, Alabama, is a place where rape is not taken seriously.

K.R. was a student at Southlawn Middle when her fellow students allegedly gang-raped her. K.R.'s mother, Arvilla Stinson, filed this suit on K.R.'s behalf. According to Stinson's complaint, Assistant Principal Tramene Maye saw three boys drag K.R. into an abandoned building. The boys then raped K.R. But Maye ignored the incident and told K.R.'s stepsister to "go on about her business." When Principal Rafiq Vaughn learned about the rape later that day, he was allegedly more worried about bad press than he was about K.R. He also told K.R. to "love her body" and remarked that she looked like his girlfriend. K.R. eventually changed schools, but the three boys stayed at Southlawn Middle. They were never punished.

In her lawsuit, Stinson claims the Montgomery County Board of Education is liable under Title IX because it was deliberately indifferent to sexual harassment. Stinson also claims that Principal Vaughn and Assistant Principal Maye committed common-law torts. All three Defendants moved to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint (Doc. # 33) for failure to state a claim (Docs. # 34, 36).

For the reasons below, the Board's motion to dismiss Stinson's Title IX claim is due to be granted. Title IX imposes a "rigorous and hard to meet" standard, Hill v. Cundiff , 797 F.3d 948, 975 (11th Cir. 2015), and despite the appalling allegations in Stinson's complaint, that standard is not met here. That leaves Stinson with her tort claims against Principal Vaughn and Assistant Principal Maye. Because those claims are based entirely on Alabama common law, the court determines that Stinson should pursue them in state court. This case is therefore due to be dismissed.

I. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

The court has federal-question subject-matter jurisdiction over Stinson's Title IX claim. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343(a). The court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over her common-law claims. Id. § 1367(c). The parties do not contest personal jurisdiction. Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of a complaint. To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a complaint "must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ).¹ "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id.

In ruling on a motion to dismiss, a court must take the facts alleged in the complaint as true and construe them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Resnick v. AvMed, Inc. , 693 F.3d 1317, 1321–22 (11th Cir. 2012). But a court need not accept mere legal conclusions as true. Id. at 1325.

III. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

Southlawn Middle School is a public school in Montgomery, Alabama, under the control of the Montgomery County Board of Education. At all material times, Rafiq Vaughn was Southlawn Middle's principal, making him the highest-ranking on-campus official. Tramene Maye was the school's assistant principal.

One day after school, K.R. and her stepsister were walking off the Southlawn Middle campus when three boys grabbed K.R. and dragged her into an abandoned building. The court infers from the Second Amended Complaint that the boys were three of K.R.'s fellow Southlawn Middle students. (See Doc. # 33, at 11.) Stinson does not specify whether the abandoned building was on school property; she simply alleges it was "on the perimeter of the school property." (Doc. # 33, at 8.) But construing the allegations in the light most favorable to Stinson, the court assumes that the building was on campus — inside, not outside, the perimeter. K.R.'s age is not alleged.

K.R.'s stepsister told Assistant Principal Maye what the boys were doing to K.R., and Maye had witnessed the boys grab and drag K.R. According to Stinson, what Maye observed met the Board's definition of bullying and harassment. But Maye did not intervene. Nor did he report the incident to Principal Vaughn. Instead, Maye told K.R.'s stepsister to "go on about her business." (Doc. # 33, at 8.) Two of the boys then gang-raped K.R. while the third boy kept a lookout.

Stinson happened to be on campus at the time. She soon learned about K.R.'s rape and immediately went to discuss it with Principal Vaughn. But Vaughn showed "little concern for K.R." He "pleaded" with Stinson not to call the media. Vaughn also told K.R. that she needed to "love her body," and he remarked that K.R.'s adult figure was like his girlfriend's. (Doc. # 33, at 8–9.) Assistant Principal Maye was in the room when Stinson met with Vaughn.

Principal Vaughn called the police, who "deemed the rape ‘consensual sex’ and took no further action." (Doc. # 33, at 9.) But otherwise, Vaughn did not investigate or write a report about the rape. Nor did anyone else from Southlawn Middle or the Board investigate or write a report. K.R. did not receive notice of Title IX, of her right to file a grievance, or of any grievance procedures. The school did not discipline the boys. Instead, the boys continued to attend Southlawn Middle without repercussion.

K.R. became depressed and missed seven or eight days of school because of the rape. Yet no one from Southlawn Middle or the Board reached out to her or offered her counseling. One day during K.R.'s absence, Stinson went to Southlawn Middle to pick up K.R.'s schoolwork. While there, she spoke with Principal Vaughn. Vaughn told Stinson that students were saying the three boys had "run a train" on K.R.,² and he advised Stinson not to let K.R. return to Southlawn Middle. (Doc. # 33, at 10.) K.R. then transferred to a different public school in Montgomery. But word of the gang-rape traveled to her new school, and students "teased" K.R. about it. Because of the rape, K.R. takes medication and receives mental health treatment. Her grades have dropped. Her social life has declined.

The Board has no policy for addressing Title IX grievances about student-on-student sexual harassment. It does have a general policy for addressing bullying and harassment. That policy requires teachers and staff who witness harassment (including sexual harassment) to document the incident on a certain form and "promptly" notify the principal. (Doc. # 33, at 4, 17.) The principal must then investigate the incident and write a report. Verified acts of harassment must result in disciplinary or corrective action. (Doc. # 33, at 5.) The school may expel rapists.

According to the Second Amended Complaint, K.R.'s rape was not the first time that Principal Vaughn failed to investigate sexual harassment. The school year before K.R.'s rape, a Southlawn Middle teacher sexually harassed several students. Parents complained to Principal Vaughn. But because the teacher was Vaughn's former fraternity brother, Vaughn did not investigate the allegations or take any other action. Toward the end of the school year, though, the teacher was fired after police arrested him for indecent exposure.

IV. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Stinson sued in 2015 (Doc. # 1) and twice amended her complaint (Docs. # 21, 33). Her Second Amended Complaint (Doc. # 33) is now the operative pleading. It has three counts. Count One is against the Board for violating Title IX, 20 U.S.C. § 1681. It is based on Vaughn and the Board's response (or lack thereof) to K.R.'s rape. Count Two is a tort claim against Assistant Principal Maye, in his individual...