Taylor v. Derry Twp. Sch. Dist.

1

DR. KENNETH TAYLOR, Plaintiff v. DERRY TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT; DONNA CRONIN, in her individual and official capacity; LINDSAY DREW, in her individual and official capacity; MARIA MEMMI, in her individual and official capacity; TERRY SINGER, in his individual and official capacity; TRICIA STEINER, in her individual and official capacity; DAVID OBENSTINE, in his individual capacity; JOHN/JANE DOE 1-10, fictitious individuals; and ABC ENTITIES 1-10, fictitious entities, Defendants

Civil Action No. 1:20-CV-1363

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania

January 7, 2022

MEMORANDUM

Christopher C. Conner United States District Judge Middle District of Pennsylvania

Plaintiff Dr. Kenneth Taylor filed this action against his former employer, the Derry Township School District (“the District”); six members of the Derry Township School District Board (“School Board”) of Directors Donna Cronin, Lindsay Drew, Maria Memmi, Kathy Sicher, Terry Singer, and Tricia Steiner (collectively “Defendant Directors”); and one private citizen, David Obenstine. Taylor alleges the defendants deprived him of his constitutional procedural due process rights and tortiously damaged his reputation. The District, Defendant Directors and Obenstine each move to partially dismiss Taylor's amended complaint pursuant Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). We will grant in part and deny in part the District's motion, grant in part and deny in part the Defendant Directors' motion, and deny Obenstine's motion.

I. Factual Background & Procedural History

Taylor served as the head girls' varsity lacrosse coach for Hershey High School in the District from January 2013 to June 24, 2019. (See Doc. 35 ¶¶ 1, 21). The instant lawsuit arises from the events surrounding the School Board's decision to part ways with Taylor after the 2018-2019 lacrosse season.

Taylor's first six years as head coach were a time of significant success for the girls' varsity lacrosse team. The team won the conference and district championships in 2018 and was runner-up in the 2014, 2015, and 2017 conference championships. (See id. ¶ 20). The team also placed numerous players on various conference, regional, and national all-star lists. (See id.) The conference named Taylor coach of the year in 2017 and 2018. (See id.)

In January of 2019, an unnamed member of the School Board informed Hershey High School's athletic director a non-specific accusation had surfaced regarding Taylor being “sexually inappropriate” with a female lacrosse player. (See id. ¶ 54). The accusation did not originate with the unnamed school director but was supposedly brought to their attention by a second school director who heard the accusation from the player's parent. (See id.) Taylor alleges the accusation was false and fabricated by another school director-Cronin-as a means of displacing Taylor as head coach. (See id. ¶ 28). Cronin purportedly coveted the head coach position for herself, (see id. ¶¶ 35-37), was a persistent critic of Taylor's coaching, (see id. ¶¶ 42, 51-52), and had a history of using her position on the School Board to interfere with the girls' lacrosse program and to undermine Taylor's authority, (see id. ¶¶ 30-49, 85).

In the wake of the accusation, the athletic director, after conducting an inconclusive investigation and consulting with the superintendent, asked Taylor for his resignation. (See Id. ¶¶ 58-62). Taylor denied the accusation but chose to resign anyway on February 18, 2019, to allow the team to move forward. (See id. ¶ 62). However, after Taylor's resignation, the lacrosse players and their parents inundated the athletic director with statements of support for Taylor and complaints about his “forced” resignation. (See id. ¶¶ 63-65). The athletic director held a meeting with Taylor on February 22, 2019, during which the athletic director accepted Taylor's recission of the resignation and reinstated Taylor. (See id. ¶ 66). At the meeting, the athletic director explained Cronin had misled him and directed him to remove Taylor. (See id.)

Cronin's alleged campaign to remove Taylor did not end with Taylor's reinstatement. Taylor claims Cronin conspired with her fellow school director, Drew, and a parent of a lacrosse player, Obenstine, to malign Taylor for the purpose of terminating his tenure as the girls' varsity lacrosse coach. (See id. ¶¶ 28-29, 57). To this end, Cronin began soliciting negative information about Taylor. (See Id. ¶ 68). The complaint alleges that when individuals denied they possessed any such information, Cronin falsely accused Taylor of inappropriate conduct, demanding the individuals to confirm the accusations. (See id. ¶¶ 68, 70). Drew purportedly solicited false and denigrating information, and he falsely accused Taylor of inappropriate conduct with a female player in a conversation with a community resident in a way that carried with it the implication of criminality. (See Id. ¶¶ 67, 70). Obenstine allegedly added to the campaign by angrily expressing “unfounded” concerns about the safety of the players at a meeting with parents and sent a series of emails to the athletic director and Taylor accusing the District of covering up Taylor's inappropriate conduct. (See id. ¶¶ 74-75).

Despite the ongoing controversy, the girls' varsity lacrosse team ended the 2018-2019 season on May 15, 2019, with a 17-3 record and won their second consecutive conference championship. (See id. ¶ 81). The athletic director gave Taylor his end-of-the-year evaluation on June 19, 2019. (See id. ¶ 82). The evaluation was extremely positive. (See id.)

On June 24, 2019, the School Board held a meeting to vote, inter alia, on the retention of coaches for the upcoming year. (See id. ¶ 83). At the meeting, Cronin initiated a motion to disapprove the retention of Taylor.^[1] (See id. ¶ 84). The motion passed six to three with Defendant Directors voting in favor of the motion. (See Id. ¶¶ 27, 85). The only justifications the School Board gave at the meeting were nonspecific accusations of emotional abuse and inappropriate conduct. (See id. ¶ 87). The School Board did not give Taylor notice of the precise facts underlying the accusations against him. (See Id. ¶¶ 86, 88). Nor did the District or School Board afford Taylor a hearing on the accusations. (See id.) Taylor submitted a right-to-know request to the District shortly after the vote asking for specifics of the accusations. (See id. ¶ 89). The District declined the request by email on August 8, 2019. (See id. ¶ 91).

Taylor remained popular with the players and their parents, even after the School Board's vote. (See id. ¶ 92). When the District began searching for a new girls' varsity lacrosse coach for the 2020 season at the end of the summer, Taylor reapplied for his old position at the request of the athletic director. (See id. ¶¶ 9395). The athletic director interviewed Taylor for the position on September 24, 2019 and recommended the School Board rehire him. (See id. ¶ 96). The School Board rejected that recommendation on October 7, 2019. (See id. ¶ 97). The vote was once again six to three, with Defendant Directors all voting against the rehiring of Taylor. (See id. ¶¶ 97-98).

Taylor avers Cronin, Drew, and Obenstine made a series of false accusations against him to the other school directors for the purpose of ensuring that he was not rehired. (See id. ¶¶ 100-104, 133). According to the amended complaint, Cronin made unspecified inflammatory accusations against Taylor, (see id. ¶ 103); Drew falsely accused Taylor of bullying players, emotionally abusing players to the point of self-harm, engaging in sexually inappropriate conduct, and possibly shoving a player, (see id. ¶ 101); and Obenstine repeated Drew's accusations and accused Taylor of being abusive, (see id. ¶¶ 102, 133). Similarly, Drew and Cronin also continued to make negative statements about Taylor and recruited individuals to buttress their false accusations. (See Id. ¶ 104).

Taylor filed the present lawsuit against the District; the Defendant Directors, each in their official and individual capacities; and Obenstine, in his individual capacity, on August 3, 2020.^[2] Taylor filed an amended complaint on December 8, 2020. The District, Defendant Directors, and Obenstine all move to dismiss Taylor's amended complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim for which relief may be granted. The motions are fully briefed and ripe for disposition.

II. Legal Standard

Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for the dismissal of complaints that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6). When ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court must “accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief.” Phillips v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 233 (3d Cir. 2008) (quoting Pinker v. Roche Holdings, Ltd., 292 F.3d 361, 374 n.7 (3d Cir. 2002)).

Federal notice and pleading rules require the complaint to provide “the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Phillips, 515 F.3d at 232 (alteration in original) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). To test the sufficiency of the complaint, the court conducts a three-step inquiry. See Santiago v. Warminster Township, 629 F.3d 121, 130-31 (3d Cir. 2010). In the first step, “the court must ‘tak[e] note of the elements a plaintiff must plead to state a claim.'” Id. at 130 (alteration in original) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 675 (2009)). Next, the factual and legal...