Campbell v. Hooksett School District

2008 DNH 027
District Court, D. New Hampshire·Decided January 31, 2008·No. CV-07-275-JL·Published

Opinion

Campbell v. Hooksett School District CV-07-275-JL 1/31/08 P UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Elizabeth Juanita Campbell

v. Civil No. 07-cv-275-JL Opinion No.: 2008 DNH 027

Hooksett School District, et al.1

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Before the Court is a complaint (document no. 1), and addenda thereto (document nos. 5, 7-9, 11-23),2 filed by

2In addition to the Hooksett School District ("HSD"), Elizabeth Campbell names the following defendants to this action: Hooksett Police Department ("HPD"), Town of Hooksett official David Jodoin, Hooksett Memorial School ("HMS") Principal Carol Soucy, New Hampshire Department of Education ("DOE"), DOE Investigator Joanne Esau, HMS Assistant Principal Stephen Harrises, HPD Prosecutor Kimberly Chabot, HPD Officer Lynda Warhall, HSD Special Education Director Marjorie Polak, DOE Hearings Officer Peter Foley, DOE Special Assistant to the Commissioner Sarah Browning, DOE Commissioner Lionel Tracy, Department of Health and Human Services ("DHHS"), D H H S D i v i s i o n of Children, Youth, and Families ("DCYF"), DCYF Licensing and Credentialing official Judith Fillion, Jeanne Kincaid, attorney for the HSD, DHHS' Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services officials Michael Fitts and Laura Ripley, Pheasantwood nursing home employees Janet Dedo, Mary McGuire, Debbie Maguire and Roberta White, New Hampshire Board of Nursing official Norman Patenaude, DOE investigator Michael Kelleher, DOE official Mary Heath, DHHS Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas, Attorney Peter Wright, Sun Healthcare, and Drummond, Woodsum & MacMahon.

2I will consider the complaint and all the addenda jointly, and referred to hereinafter as the complaint. In addition, all

Elizabeth Campbell, seeking relief for alleged violations of her state and federal rights by the defendants.

Also before the Court is Campbell's Motion for Summary Judgment and Permanent Injunction (document no. 4), which has been construed as a motion for a temporary restraining order and referred to me for consideration. This matter is before me for preliminary review to determine, among other things, whether or not the complaint states any claim upon which relief might be granted. See United States District Court District of New Hampshire Local Rule ("LR") 4.3(d)(1)(B). I. Standard of Review Under this Court's local rules, when a plaintiff commences an action pro se and in forma pauperis, the magistrate judge is directed to conduct a preliminary review. LR 4.3(d)(1). In conducting the preliminary review, the Court construes pro se pleadings liberally, however inartfully pleaded. See Erickson v. Pardus, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S. C t . 2197, 2200 (2007) (following Estelle v. Gamble. 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976) and Haines v. Kerner. 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972) to construe pro se pleadings

of the documents attached to Campbell's narrative pleadings will be considered to be part of the pleadings. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(c) (requiring that written instruments attached to a pleading be construed as part of the pleading "for all purposes").

liberally in favor of the pro se party). "The policy behind affording pro se plaintiffs liberal interpretation is that if they present sufficient facts, the court may intuit the correct cause of action, even if it was imperfectly pled." See Castro v. United States. 540 U.S. 375, 381 (2003) (noting that courts may construe pro se pleadings so as to avoid inappropriately stringent rules and unnecessary dismissals of claims); Ahmed v . Rosenblatt, 118 F.3d 886, 890 (1st Cir. 1997). All of the factual assertions made by a pro se plaintiff and inferences reasonably drawn therefrom must be accepted as true. See id. This review ensures that pro se pleadings are given fair and meaningful consideration.

The purpose of this preliminary review is to discern the true nature of the claims presented. If the claims set forth are frivolous, a court may dismiss the complaint. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327-28 (1989) (frivolous claims include "claims of infringement of a legal interest which clearly does not exist" and "claims describing fantastic or delusional scenarios"); see also Purvis v. Ponte 929 F.2d 822, 826 (1st Cir. 1991) (permitting sua sponte dismissal where complaint is facially frivolous and plaintiff is given notice and an

opportunity to amend his complaint prior to dismissal); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d). A judge reviewing a complaint filed by an individual proceeding in forma pauperis has "not only the authority to dismiss a claim based on an indisputably meritless legal theory, but also the unusual power to pierce the veil of the complaint's factual allegations and dismiss those claims whose factual contentions are clearly baseless." Neitzke. 490 U.S. at 327. With this standard in mind, I find the facts as follows. II. Background3 Elizabeth Campbell lives in Hooksett, New Hampshire, with her minor son, J.P.E.H. Although, at the time of filing.

3In a separate action filed in this Court, Campbell v.

Hooksett Sch. Dist., Civ. No. 07-276-SM, plaintiff asserts claims relating to the provision of her son's special education. On December 18, 2007, I issued an Order directing service of some of the claims therein and a Report and Recommendation discussing all of the claims raised and recommending that certain claims be dismissed and plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction be denied. My Report and Recommendation was approved on January 14, 2008. Plaintiff has filed motions in both cases to consolidate these matters. While some of the facts and allegations overlap in the two cases, I will presume that the claims that were addressed in my December 18, 200 7 Report and Recommendation are not repeated in this action. Accordingly, to the extent that a generous construction of Campbell's complaint might allow me to find that this case raises some claims identical to those in Campbell's other case, I will not so construe the claims set forth. Any allegations relating to claims that were addressed in my December 18, 2007 Report and Recommendation will not be addressed here. The factual findings made in my December 18, 2007 Report and Recommendation are explicitly incorporated here.

J.P.E.H. was enrolled in private school, the allegations contained in the complaint stem from J.P.E.H.'s attendance at the Hooksett Memorial School ("HMS"). During the several years J.P.E.H. attended HMS, Campbell was embroiled in disagreement with HSD and HMS employees as to how to assess and address J.P.E.H.'s educational needs. The matters were not resolved amicably, and while the chronology of events is not entirely clear from the filings, it appears that, ultimately, J.P.E.H. was deemed not to be in need of special education services. Campbell appealed this finding to the New Hampshire Department of Education ("DOE"), but, ultimately, the DOE hearing officer, Peter Foley, upheld the decision. Campbell subsequently enrolled her child in private school. She now asserts a number of claims based on or stemming from her dispute with the HSD about J.P.E.H.'s special education needs that were not addressed in my December 18, 2007 Report and Recommendation. Below are the facts relevant to the specific claim alleged.

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