Doe v. Round Valley Unified School District

873 F. Supp. 2d 1124, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79436, 2012 WL 2064382
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedJune 7, 2012
DocketNo. CV 12-08044-PCT-NVW
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 873 F. Supp. 2d 1124 (Doe v. Round Valley Unified School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. Round Valley Unified School District, 873 F. Supp. 2d 1124, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79436, 2012 WL 2064382 (D. Ariz. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

NEIL V. WAKE, District Judge.

Before the Court are Round Valley Unified School District’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 4) and the “Motion to Dismiss by John and Julie Allen” (Doc. 5). The Court heard oral argument on May 23, 2012. For the reasons stated below, the motions will be granted with prejudice as to Plaintiffs’ Title IX and § 1983 claims and this case will be remanded to Apache County Superior Court.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

To state a claim for relief under Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a), a plaintiff must make “ ‘a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’ ” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (citations omitted). This “short and plain statement” must also be “plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

“Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief ... [is] a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. at 1950. A claim is plausible if it contains “[f]actual allegations [sufficient] to raise a right to relief above the speculative level,” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, and to permit a reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the conduct alleged, Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949. “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. Rather, the plaintiff must at least “allege sufficient facts to state the elements of [the relevant] claim.” Johnson v. Riverside Healthcare Sys., LP, 534 F.3d 1116, 1122 (9th Cir.2008).

In evaluating a motion to dismiss, the Court accepts all of Plaintiffs’ plausible factual allegations as true and construes the pleadings in a light most favorable to them. Knievel v. ESPN, 393 F.3d 1068, 1072 (9th Cir.2005). The Court [1128]*1128generally does not look beyond the complaint, but the Court may take judicial notice of matters of public record, even if not alleged in the complaint. Lee v. City of L.A., 250 F.3d 668, 688-89 (9th Cir. 2001).

II. FACTS

In late 2010 or early 2011, Plaintiff Jane Doe met non-party Ranee Allen at Round Valley High School in Eager, Arizona. Ranee was a 17-year-old senior, a prominent student athlete, and the son of the school’s principal, Defendant John Allen. Jane Doe was a 14-year-old freshman. Ranee and Jane Doe began developing some sort of relationship.

On February 10, 2011, Ranee invited Jane Doe and another girl to go out with him for the evening. “Sometime during that evening,” Plaintiffs say, “Ranee sexually assaulted Jane Doe.” (Doc. 1 at 9 ¶ 23.) Over the next couple of days, Ranee continued interacting with Jane Doe, using “his age and stature as a High School senior and athlete to gain her trust and admiration.” (Id. ¶ 24.) On February 14, 2011, Jane Doe went to lunch with Ranee. “During lunch, Ranee drove Jane Doe to a secluded park and sexually assaulted her.” (Id. ¶ 25.) Finally, on February 19, 2011 (a Saturday), “Ranee provided Jane Doe alcoholic beverages and again sexually assaulted her.” (Id. ¶ 26.)

Jane Doe’s mother learned of her daughter’s relationship with Ranee by overhearing a conversation between other Round Valley High School students. Jane Doe then “confirmed [to her parents] ... that she had been a victim of sexual assault by Ranee.” (Id. ¶ 27.) On March 2, 2011, Jane Doe’s mother confronted John Allen about Ranee’s actions. Allen arranged a meeting at the school with Jane Doe, her mother, and Ranee. The complaint says nothing about whether this meeting actually happened, and if so, what was said. However, John Allen took no action against Ranee.

On March 30, 2011, Ranee was arrested and charged with ten counts of sexual misconduct against Jane Doe. The indictment against Ranee is in the record and subject to judicial notice as a public document. (Doc. 14-1.) Of those ten counts, three counts charge Ranee with “sexual contact involving the female breast” in violation of A.R.S. § 13-1404(A), which establishes that “[a] person commits sexual abuse by intentionally or knowingly engaging in sexual contact with ... any person who is under fifteen years of age if the sexual contact involves only the female breast.” This subsection contains no exception for consent. The remaining seven counts charge Ranee with “sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with [Jane Doe], a person thirteen or fourteen years of age or younger,” in violation of A.R.S. § 13-1405(A). That subsection declares, “A person commits sexual conduct with a minor by intentionally or knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with any person who is under eighteen years of age.” This subsection likewise contains no exception for consent.

Jane Doe’s parents learned from the indictment that Ranee was also being charged with sexual misconduct involving other girls, based on sexual contact that took place in December 2009 and May 2010. These encounters formed the basis of three additional counts of sexual misconduct in violation of A.R.S. § 13-1406(A), which states, “A person commits sexual assault by intentionally or knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with any person without consent of such person.” The indictment says nothing about the age of these other victims.

[1129]*1129Based on the indictment, Plaintiffs allege:

Upon information and belief, Defendant John Allen was aware of these incidents [from December 2009 and May 2010] and similar illegal and improper actions taken by his son, Ranee. However, Defendant John Allen failed to take reasonable measures to protect female students at Round Valley High School from a known sexual predator.
Instead, Defendant John Allen attempted to conceal these improper and illegal actions and shield his son from disciplinary or protective actions he would have taken against any other student in similar situation.

(Doc. 1 at 8 ¶¶ 19-20.)

III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiffs filed their complaint on February 17, 2012 in Apache County Superior Court. Although Plaintiffs have what appears to be a prima facie case of battery against Ranee Allen, they did not name Ranee as a defendant. They instead named Round Valley Unified School District and John Allen, along with Allen’s wife (for community liability purposes). Plaintiffs charged all defendants with:

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873 F. Supp. 2d 1124, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79436, 2012 WL 2064382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-round-valley-unified-school-district-azd-2012.