Doe v. St. John's Episcopal Parish Day School, Inc.

997 F. Supp. 2d 1279, 87 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1296, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17982, 2014 WL 585767
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedFebruary 12, 2014
DocketCase No. 8:13-cv-2467-T-27EAJ
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 997 F. Supp. 2d 1279 (Doe v. St. John's Episcopal Parish Day School, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. St. John's Episcopal Parish Day School, Inc., 997 F. Supp. 2d 1279, 87 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1296, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17982, 2014 WL 585767 (M.D. Fla. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES D. WHITTEMORE, District Judge.

BEFORE THE COURT are three motions to dismiss the Complaint: (1) Defendant, Jon Caridad’s, Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint (Dkt. 5); (2) Defendant, Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, Inc.’s, Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint (Dkt. 8); and (3) Defendants St. John’s Episcopal Parish Day School, Inc.’s and St. John’s Church’s Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. 6). Plaintiff has responded to each in opposition (Dkts. 7, 11, 15). Upon consideration, the Motions (Dkts. 5, 6, 8) are GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. Introduction

Plaintiff alleges that he was sexually and physically abused by Defendants Jon Cari-dad and James Biggers at various times between 1971 and 1975 (Dkt. 1 at ¶¶25, 30). During that time, Caridad was a priest at St. John’s Church (the “Church”) and a teacher at St. John’s Episcopal Parish Day School (the “School”), which was [1283]*1283operated by the Church (id. at ¶ 3).1 Big-gers was also employed by the Church and the School, serving as Choir Master at the Church and a teacher at the School (id at ¶ 6). Both the Church and the School were allegedly organizations of Defendant Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, Inc. (the “Diocese”), a religious entity, which allegedly maintained operational authority and control over its churches, congregations, and schools (id. at ¶¶ 10-12).2 The abuse is alleged to have occurred while Plaintiff was a congregant of the Church and a student at the School (id. at ¶ 19, 20). Plaintiff also alleges that his memory of the abuse was “extinguished because of the trauma and the resulting traumatic amnesia or repressed memory syndrome,” and Plaintiff therefore had no memory of the abuse until it resurfaced in 2011 (id. at ¶ 38).

Counts I and II of the Complaint assert claims of battery, abuse, and sexual battery against Caridad and Biggers. Counts III through VI are claims for vicarious liability under a theory of respondeat superior (Count III), negligent supervision and retention (Count IV), negligence (Count V), and breach of fiduciary duty (Count VI) brought against the Church, the School, and the Diocese.

Caridad, the Church, the School, and the Diocese move to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted. All four argue that the claims are barred by the statute of limitations. Plaintiff contends that based on the delayed discovery doctrine, the cause of action did not accrue for statutes of limitations purposes until Plaintiff recalled the alleged abuse. In addition, the Church, the School, and the Diocese argue that the Complaint suffers from other deficiencies warranting dismissal for failure to state a claim. Caridad argues that the claims are barred by the First Amendment and that Plaintiff may not bring this lawsuit anonymously.

II. Standard

A complaint should contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). This Rule does not require detailed factual allegations, but it demands more than an unadorned, conclusory accusation of harm. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The complaint must “plead all facts establishing an entitlement to relief with more than ‘labels and conclusions’ or a ‘formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.’ ” Resnick v. AvMed, Inc., 693 F.3d 1317, 1324 (11th Cir.2012) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “The complaint must contain enough facts to make a claim for relief plausible on its face.” Resnick, 693 F.3d at 1324-25. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). This plausibility standard “asks for more than a sheer pos[1284]*1284sibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1987 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

Although it is axiomatic that the Court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in the complaint, this tenet is “inapplicable to legal conclusions.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. All reasonable inferences must be drawn in the plaintiffs favor. St George v. Pinellas Cnty., 285 F.3d 1334, 1337 (11th Cir.2002).

Dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) “on statute of limitations grounds is appropriate only if it is apparent from the face of the complaint that the claim is time-barred.” Tello v. Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., 410 F.3d 1275, 1288 (11th Cir.2005) (quoting La Grasta v. First Union Secs., Inc., 358 F.3d 840, 845 (11th Cir.2004)).

III. Discussion

1. Statute of Limitations

Plaintiff filed this action on September 24, 2013 alleging that he was sexually abused by Defendants Caridad and Big-gers while they were employed by the School and/or the Church and while Plaintiff was a student, congregant, and altar boy, but that he “had no memory of any act of abuse he suffered until 2011.” (Dkt. 1 at ¶¶ 9-39). According to the allegations in the Complaint, “[t]he events giving rise to this complaint occurred between 1971-75,” nearly four decades ago. (Id. at ¶ 9). As such, Defendants contend that the statute of limitations applicable to the claims against the Church, School, and Diocese have long expired.3 Plaintiff asserts that the delayed discovery doctrine, as adopted by the Florida Supreme Court in Hearndon v. Graham, 767 So.2d 1179 (Fla.2000), operates to save his claims.

Defendants recognize that the delayed discovery doctrine saves Plaintiffs intentional tort claims (battery, abuse, and sexual abuse) against Caridad and Biggers. However, they contend that the Florida Supreme Court limited its holding in Heamdon to intentional tort claims against the perpetrator of the abuse and therefore, the doctrine is not applicable to Plaintiffs non-intentional tort claims against the Church Defendants (Counts III—VI).4 This proposition is supported by the Third District Court of Appeal’s decision in Cisko v. Diocese of Steubenville, 123 So.3d 83 (Fla.

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997 F. Supp. 2d 1279, 87 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1296, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17982, 2014 WL 585767, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-st-johns-episcopal-parish-day-school-inc-flmd-2014.