660 F.Supp.3d 1167
Kennadie Grace WILCOX, Plaintiff,
v.
ANDALUSIA CITY SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Defendants.
CASE NO. 2:19-cv-650-RAH
United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Northern Division
Signed March 8, 2023
Brandy Murphy Lee, Lee Law Firm, LLC, Birmingham, AL, Susan Nettles
Katherine Hortberg Watkins, Mark S. Boardman, Boardman, Carr, Petelos, Watkins & Ogle, P.C., Chelsea, AL, for Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
R. AUSTIN HUFFAKER, JR., UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Kennadie Grace Wilcox brings this action against Defendants Andalusia City Schools Board of Education (the Board), Dr. Daniel Shakespeare in his individual capacity, and Ted Watson in his individual capacity. She brings claims under 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. (Title IX), 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and Alabama state law. Her claims relate to an alleged sexual relationship between her and her high school teacher, Anthony Clark, and alleged sexual harassment perpetrated by Dr. Shakespeare. Now pending before the Court are the Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 62), Motion to Strike Portions of Declaration of Plaintiff (Doc. 73), and Motion to Strike Portions of Declaration of Kimberly Wilcox (Doc. 74). The motions are fully briefed and ripe for review.
II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE
The Court has original subject matter jurisdiction over Wilcox's federal claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and supplemental jurisdiction over her state law claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a). Personal jurisdiction and venue are uncontested, and the Court concludes that venue properly lies in the Middle District of Alabama. See 28 U.S.C. § 1391.
III. LEGAL STANDARD
To succeed on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate "that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a). The court views the evidence, and all reasonable inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Jean-Baptiste v. Gutierrez, 627 F.3d 816, 820 (11th Cir. 2010).
The party moving for summary judgment "always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). This responsibility includes identifying the portions of the record illustrating the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact. Id. Or a movant who does not have a trial burden of production can assert, without citing the record, that the nonmoving party "cannot produce admissible evidence to support" a material fact. FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c)(1)(B); see also FED. R. CIV. P. 56 advisory committee's note to 2010 amendment ("Subdivision (c)(1)(B) recognizes that a party need not always point to specific record materials.... [A] party who does not have the trial burden of production may rely on a showing that a party who does have the trial burden cannot produce admissible evidence to carry its burden as to the fact."). If the movant meets its burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to establish—with evidence beyond the pleadings—that a genuine dispute material to each of its claims for relief exists. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. A genuine dispute of material fact exists when the nonmoving party produces evidence allowing a reasonable fact finder to return a verdict in its favor. Waddell v.
IV. BACKGROUND
The facts, stated in the light most favorable to Wilcox, are as follows:
Wilcox is a former high school student of Andalusia High School (AHS) in Andalusia, Alabama. At all relevant times, Dr. Shakespeare was the principal at AHS, and Watson was the superintendent of the Andalusia City Schools system. When Wilcox was an 18-year-old senior at AHS, she allegedly had a months-long sexual relationship with Anthony Clark, an AHS teacher and coach. The parties agree this relationship was illegal under Alabama law, even if consensual,1 and also violated AHS policy. At the same time, Wilcox also was allegedly subjected to verbal sexual harassment and unwanted touching by Dr. Shakespeare. Unable to cope emotionally, she attempted suicide approximately one month before graduation. Except for a brief period of time one morning, Wilcox did not return to AHS after her suicide attempt, although she did graduate and receive her diploma. This lawsuit relates to her allegations of a sexual relationship with Clark, Dr. Shakespeare's sexual harassment of her, and the Defendants' failure to prevent these incidents and respond to them.
In April 2016, Clark applied for an open basketball coach position at AHS. Clark's resume indicated he was currently working at Boaz High School and had previously worked at Douglas High School, UMS-Wright Preparatory School (UMS-Wright), Pleasant Home School, and Beauregard High School. Clark was interviewed by a team comprising Watson, Dr. Shakespeare, and others, although the record does not reveal the identities of the others.2 Watson conducted background checks on applicants prior to interviewing them. Watson ultimately recommended that the Board hire Clark for the position, and on April 27, 2016, the Board voted to hire Clark effective August 2, 2016.3 Prior to making his recommendation, Watson did not contact Clark's current or former employers, nor did he contact any board members of the school systems where Clark previously had worked.
The day after the Board voted to hire Clark, Watson received an anonymous email alleging that Clark had solicited and received oral sex from a ninth-grade student during the 2000-2001 school year when Clark was a coach at Pleasant Home School. Around the same time, AHS's Title IX investigator, Sonja Hines, received an anonymous Facebook message alleging that Clark had engaged in a sexual relationship with and had impregnated a student teacher at UMS-Wright.4 Hines then relayed this information to Watson.
Watson traveled to Boaz to question Clark about the allegations in the email and Facebook message. Clark denied the allegations that he had sexual contact with a ninth grader at Pleasant Home, but he admitted he had a sexual relationship with an adult graduate student assistant at UMS-Wright and had a baby with her.
In approximately May 2016, Watson told one of the Board members, Dr. McCalman, about the allegations against Clark in the email and Facebook message, but Watson did not tell the entire Board. According to Watson, Dr. McCalman was concerned about the allegations. Nonetheless, Clark began his employment as a coach and teacher at AHS in August 2016.
According to Wilcox, she began having a sexual relationship with Clark in January 2018, the second semester of her senior year, which continued through April 2018. Wilcox and Clark allegedly had sex on school grounds both during and after school hours, and they also had sex at Clark's house on at least one occasion.
Board policy defines sexual harassment as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other inappropriate verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature." (Doc. 68-6 at 13.) Board policy also requires all employees "to promptly report any occurrence of alleged sexual harassment" by reporting complaints to the Superintendent or designee in writing and signed by the complainant, stating the act(s), the date(s), and the name(s) of witnesses. (Id. at 14.) Additionally, Alabama's mandatory reporting statute requires all school teachers and officials to report any suspected child abuse. See ALA. CODE § 26-14-3.
In addition to telling several friends about her relationship with Clark, Wilcox says she also told a teacher, Cavelle Jones, and a coach, Harrison Mims, about the relationship, but neither Jones nor Mims reported it.
According to Wilcox, Dr. Shakespeare also knew about her sexual relationship with Clark while it was ongoing, but he did not report it or otherwise respond to it. She claims Dr. Shakespeare told her he knew about her relationship with Clark, although she says she denied the existence of the relationship to him.5 Dr. Shakespeare also allegedly told her she should not be with a white man when she could be with Dr. Shakespeare. Clark is white, and Dr. Shakespeare is African-American. Moreover, Wilcox asserts in a declaration that Dr. Shakespeare acknowledged "several times" the sexual relationship between her and Clark, and also that Dr. Shakespeare told her that several staff members had told him about her "fucking Coach Clark."6 (Doc. 68-2 at 8.) Dr. Shakespeare
According to Wilcox, Dr. Shakespeare subjected her to verbal sexual harassment, unwanted touching, and stalking from January 2018 through April 2018. She claims Dr. Shakespeare had made inappropriate comments to her throughout her high school career, but his comments escalated in the second semester of senior year after he learned about her sexual relationship with Clark. Specifically, she says Dr. Shakespeare repeatedly requested sex from her over this...
