CS EX REL. SCOTT v. Missouri

670 F. Supp. 2d 972, 2009 WL 2928878
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedSeptember 8, 2009
DocketCase No. 4:09CV149 HEA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 670 F. Supp. 2d 972 (CS EX REL. SCOTT v. Missouri) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
CS EX REL. SCOTT v. Missouri, 670 F. Supp. 2d 972, 2009 WL 2928878 (E.D. Mo. 2009).

Opinion

670 F.Supp.2d 972 (2009)

C.S., by and through his parents and next friend, Raymond and Sheila SCOTT, Plaintiff,
v.
State of MISSOURI, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 4:09CV149 HEA.

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, Eastern Division.

September 8, 2009.

*975 Anne M. Hillyer, Jonathan P. Beck, Law Offices of Thomas E. Kennedy, III, LC, St. Louis, MO, for Plaintiff.

Christopher J. Quinn, Attorney General of Missouri, Ernest G. Trakas, Mickes Goldman, LLC, Peter G. Yelkovac, Tueth and Keeney, St. Louis, MO, for Defendants.

OPINION, MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

HENRY EDWARD AUTREY, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendants State of Missouri, Missouri State Board of Education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, State Schools for the Severely Handicapped's, Motion to Dismiss, [Doc. No. 10]. Plaintiff opposes the motion. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is granted in part and denied in part.

Plaintiff, by and through his parents and next friend, Raymond and Sheila Scott, filed this Complaint against Defendants State of Missouri, Missouri State Board of Education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, State Schools for the Severely Handicapped, and Jefferson R-7 School District seeking injunctive and monetary relief under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. ("IDEA"), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States *976 Constitution. Defendants, State of Missouri, Missouri State Board of Education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and State Schools for the Severely Handicapped, collectively herein referred to as "State Defendants," have moved to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ. Rule 12(b)(1), for failure to state a claim, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ. Rule 12(b)(6), or in the alternative to make more definite and certain under Fed.R.Civ. Rule 12(e).

Facts and Background

Plaintiff's Complaint alleges the following facts[1]: Plaintiff is a severely handicapped individual who has been diagnosed with Lissencephaly, Schissencephaly, Hypotonic quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, Cortical Visual Impairment, intractable epilepsy, among other conditions. Plaintiff has attended Mapaville State School for the Severely Handicapped,[2] ("Mapaville"), since the Autumn of 2005.

Mapaville is one of several State Schools for the Severely Handicapped ("State Schools"). The State Schools are operated by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education ("DESE"), the state agency responsible for accreditation and management of public schools in Missouri, including Mapaville. The Missouri State Board of Education ("State Board") is responsible for supervising instruction in all public schools in Missouri. Jefferson R-7 School District is a public school district.

The Complaint further alleges that during the time Plaintiff was a student at Mapaville, he was neglected on a regular basis to sit without interaction. His Individualized Education Programs, ("IEPs") were not implemented in material and significant part. Mapaville has materially failed to implement necessary and critical components of Plaintiff's educational program, as he has been subjected to oral and physical abuse and neglect at school. Further, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants collectively have failed Plaintiff and have violated their obligations to him through a persistent pattern of profound incompetence, willful neglect, gross misjudgment, and reckless indifference to his rights.

Plaintiff alleges Mapaville's inadequacies are systemic. Staff are unsupervised and unaccountable for their failures to effectuate IEP goals or otherwise treat the students with human dignity. Mapaville's chronic inadequate supervision, staff apathy, lack of training, underskilled service providers, undertrained teachers and aids and untended classrooms have resulted in a trivial and meaningless education for Plaintiff. Plaintiff contends these inadequacies, along with Defendants' failure to develop and implement Plaintiff's IEPs, have denied Plaintiff a free appropriate public education.

Plaintiff sought relief through the administrative process provided by the State of Missouri. After conducting a hearing, the Chief Hearing Officer issued an Order finding, inter alia, that the State Defendants failed to provide Plaintiff with a FAPE during the 2007-08 school year, that Plaintiffs teacher was not properly qualified, that Plaintiff's aides engaged in *977 "grossly inappropriate" behavior, and that Plaintiff's parents were "justified" in removing Plaintiff from the State School, however, the Order denied Plaintiff's request for audio/video surveillance at Mapaville, but did require certain other compensatory services be provided for Plaintiff.

Plaintiff seeks the following relief: Reversal of the Due Process Order; a declaration that the Order was erroneous; a declaration that Plaintiff was denied a free appropriate public education during the statutory time period; Order the DESE to install audio/video monitoring of all classrooms and hallways at the State School for the Severely Handicapped, including Mapaville; an injunction against DESE from operating State Schools for the Severely Handicapped and an order that Plaintiff be placed back in his school district; an order that DESE pay for compensatory educational services; reimbursement of reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred; and actual damages.

Legal Standard

When ruling on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the Court must accept as true all factual allegations in the complaint and view them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6); Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007). An action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted if it does not plead "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). To avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim, the complaint must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Erickson, 551 U.S. at 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197. Although the specific facts are not necessary, Plaintiff must allege facts sufficient to give fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests. Id.

Rule 12(b)(1) requires dismissal if the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). A district court has subject matter jurisdiction in civil actions arising under the laws of the United States. 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
670 F. Supp. 2d 972, 2009 WL 2928878, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cs-ex-rel-scott-v-missouri-moed-2009.