Doe v. Board of Trustees of Sublette County School

Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided March 13, 2024·No. 23-8001·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT March 13, 2024

Christopher M. Wolpert

Clerk of Court

JANE DOE, an individual; MARY DOE, an individual; JAMES DOE, an individual,

Plaintiffs - Appellants,

v. No. 23-8001 (D.C. No. 2:21-CV-00106-ABJ)

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF SUBLETTE (D. Wyo.) COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 9; SUPERINTENDENT STEVE LOYD, of Sublette County School District No. 9, in his individual capacity; STEVE LOYD, Title IX Coordinator, in his individual capacity; MR. JEFF MAKELKY, Principal, of Big Piney High School, in his individual capacity and JOHN SMITHS, 1- 5,

Defendants - Appellees.

ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

Before ROSSMAN, KELLY, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

I. INTRODUCTION

Jane, James, and Mary Doe filed a complaint asserting claims under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 to 1688, and 42 U.S.C.

*

This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.

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§ 1983. The Does’ claims were asserted against, inter alia, the Board of Trustees of Sublette County School District No. 9, Superintendent Steve Loyd, and Principal Jeff Makelky (hereinafter referred to collectively as “the Board”). The Board sought summary judgment on at least the following two grounds: (1) the Does’ complaint was filed outside of the applicable statute of limitations and (2) the claims set out in the amended complaint failed on the merits. The district court ruled in favor of the Board on both grounds and entered judgment accordingly. The Does appeal, asserting the district court erred in ruling their claims untimely and without merit. This court holds Varnell v. Dora Consol. Sch. Dist., 756 F.3d 1208 (10th Cir. 2014) compels the conclusion that the Does’ claims are untimely. Thus, exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms the district court’s judgment.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background1 This case arises out of the alleged sexual harassment and assault of Jane Doe by Aaron Makelky.2 During much of the relevant period, Jane was a student and Aaron a teacher at Big Piney High School. The relationship between Jane and Aaron

1 Because we resolve this appeal on timeliness grounds alone, this court sets out a significantly limited overview of the background facts. Any genuine factual disputes are viewed in the manner most favorable to the Does, the non-moving parties. McKissick v. Yuen, 618 F.3d 1177, 1184 (10th Cir. 2010). Notably, although the parties dispute the legal implications of the facts relevant to the issue of timeliness, they do not meaningfully dispute the relevant background facts.

2 Aaron Makelky is the son of defendant Jeff Makelky. [Dist. Ct. Order at 10]

To avoid confusion, this opinion uses first names when referring to the Makelkys. The same protocol is used as to the plaintiffs Jane, James, and Mary Doe.

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started in the fall of 2014, when Jane was placed in Aaron’s tenth-grade history class. In the middle of the school year, Jane’s sophomore year, Aaron taught a lesson encouraging students to do their best. Jane was struggling academically and this lesson resonated with her. Jane’s grades improved and she started confiding in Aaron. Jane also began occasionally babysitting for Aaron’s family. Because Jane did not have a driver’s license, Aaron would pick her up from her house.

During the summer of 2015, Jane began exercising in the school weight room.

There were usually other students in the weight room during Jane’s workouts and her father, James, would often join her. Aaron and other teachers were responsible for overseeing the weight room. Jane continued to work out in the weight room during her junior and senior years. There were times Aaron hugged her or kissed Jane’s forehead while she was in the weight room.

By the fall of 2015, Jane was a regular babysitter for Aaron’s family and, as a result, became increasingly close to them. Aaron began referring to Jane as his adopted daughter. In April 2016, Aaron’s wife did Jane’s hair and makeup for the prom. Shortly thereafter, when Jane received a poor test score, Aaron left an encouraging letter in her locker. As Jane grew closer to Aaron’s family, Aaron gave her advice and resources regarding confrontations she was having with her family over religion.

Jane participated in Junior Legislature during her junior and senior years.

Aaron was the advisor for this after-school activity. On a Junior Legislature trip, Jane used profanity. In response, Aaron allegedly required that Jane engage in physical

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activity as punishment. According to Jane, Aaron made her turn around so her back was facing him and her male teammates while she completed the physical activity.

During the summer between her junior and senior years, Jane lived in Boise, Idaho, with her biological mother. Jane remained in contact with Aaron through social media while she was in Boise. Jane returned to Wyoming before the start of her senior year. She was struggling with family conflict and her faith. Jane did not want to attend church with James and her stepmother, Mary and, therefore, felt she needed to move out of the family home. Jane moved in with a local family and went through a period of limited communication with James and Mary. By the winter of 2016, James and Mary moved out of state.

On February 1, 2017, Jane had a conflict with her advisory period teacher, Brent Hibbert. Hibbert mentioned Jane’s parents in front of other students. Jane felt Hibbert unnecessarily interfered in her business, angrily left the classroom, and reported the incident to Principal Jeff Makelky. Hibbert was acquainted with Jane’s parents and a member of their church. The next day, Jeff allowed Jane to transfer out of Hibbert’s advisory class without James’s or Mary’s permission. According to Jeff, parental consent was not required when a student transferred between advisory periods because it is not a “for credit class.” Hibbert called Mary after the incident. He told Mary that Jane became angry when he advised her to speak with her parents and had been allowed to transfer to another advisory class. Mary told Hibbert she would call Jeff to discuss the incident. Shortly thereafter, James called Jeff to discuss Jane.

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James called Jeff because he was concerned that Jane transferred from Hibbert’s class without his consent. The participants described the conversation as tense. At one point, Jeff indicated he thought James was an absentee parent. James claims he told Jeff he needed to speak with him about a potentially inappropriate relationship between a student and a teacher. James did not, however, recall if he provided details about the nature of Aaron and Jane’s relationship and never made a follow-up appointment with Jeff to discuss the issue further. According to Jeff, nothing about the conversation led him to believe James was concerned about sexual harassment or an inappropriate relationship between Jane and Aaron.

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