Doe v. Vigo Cnty.

905 F.3d 1038
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedOctober 3, 2018
DocketNo. 17-3155
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 905 F.3d 1038 (Doe v. Vigo Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. Vigo Cnty., 905 F.3d 1038 (7th Cir. 2018).

Opinion

Wood, Chief Judge.

Jane Doe seeks to hold Vigo County, Indiana, liable for the sexual misconduct of its employee, David Gray. Gray allegedly confined and sexually assaulted Doe while she volunteered at the park where he worked. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Vigo County, finding that it was neither vicariously liable for Gray's wrongs nor directly liable for permitting them to occur. We too conclude that the law does not permit Doe to pursue this action against the County.

I

Gray worked as a maintenance specialist for the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department. That job required him to perform various maintenance and groundskeeping duties at one of the county's parks. Notably for the present case, his tasks included cleaning restrooms and directing *1041volunteers. At least some of those volunteers were completing court-mandated community service, and Gray was responsible for signing off on their time-logs. Gray performed his job with a high degree of autonomy, especially in the off-season when supervisors might visit the park only once every two to three weeks. Gray also worked independently of the other maintenance specialist assigned to his park.

Doe volunteered at the park where Gray worked to complete her court-ordered community service. She alleges that Gray brought her to the park's restroom area and told her that the facility required cleaning. After locking the door behind them, Gray allegedly forced Doe to perform oral sex and digitally penetrated her vagina. Gray ultimately was charged with rape, criminal confinement, and official misconduct; he pleaded guilty to the latter two offenses.

The record lists a handful of prior incidents of misconduct by employees of Vigo County over the past two decades. Some of these episodes involved sexual misconduct; as far as we can tell, however, none of them resulted in coerced sexual activity, nor does the record suggest that employee misconduct met with impunity. We detail them below when we discuss Doe's direct claim against the County. The record also reflects two prior incidents involving Gray himself. The first was a vague comment made by a park visitor, perhaps motivated by a belief that Gray had attempted to pick up his wife; Vigo County was unable to substantiate the allegation. The second involved inappropriate comments that Gray had made to a coworker. That time Gray received a written reprimand, which caused him to correct his behavior (at least at that time).

Doe sued both Gray and Vigo County for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and various state-law theories that fell within the court's supplemental jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1367. Her complaint accused Gray of violating her rights under the Fourth and Eighth Amendments to the Constitution (made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment), and it asserted that Vigo County had a custom or policy that violated her constitutional rights. She also contended that Gray committed a number of state torts, and that Vigo County was both directly liable under state law for its own negligent retention and supervision of Gray and vicariously liable for Gray's torts as his employer.

Gray failed to appear, and the clerk of the district court entered a default against him. See FED. R. CIV. P. 55(a). The court, apparently awaiting the outcome of this appeal, has not yet granted a default judgment. It granted summary judgment in favor of Vigo County with respect to all claims against it. "[F]inding no just reason for delay," the court entered "partial final judgment in favor of" the county. See FED. R. CIV. P. 54(b). Doe appealed the judgment in favor of the County.

II

Before reaching the merits of Doe's case, we consider the propriety of considering her appeal at this time. In most circumstances, courts of appeals have jurisdiction only over appeals from final judgments of the district court. A final judgment is defined as one that resolves "all claims against all parties." Chessie Logistics Co. v. Krinos Holdings, Inc. , 867 F.3d 852, 856 (7th Cir. 2017) (quoting Dale v. Lappin , 376 F.3d 652, 654 (7th Cir. 2004) ); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Rule 54(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure recognizes a partial exception to the completeness rule, however, authorizing the district court to enter final judgment with respect to fewer than all claims or parties "if the court expressly determines that there is no just reason for delay."

*1042In the current case, the district court did not invoke Rule 54(b) by number, but it did state that there was "no just reason for delay" in entering "partial final judgment" for Vigo County. That satisfies the express determination requirement of Rule 54(b). United States v. Ettrick Wood Prods. , 916 F.2d 1211, 1217 (7th Cir. 1990). Moreover, while we strongly prefer the district court to explain its decision to enter judgment under Rule 54(b), its failure to do so here does not require a remand, because the record reveals that the court properly exercised its discretion. Id . at 1218. Granting summary judgment for Vigo County unambiguously disposed of all claims against it, and that judgment was final. Nat'l Metalcrafters v. McNeil , 784 F.2d 817, 821 (7th Cir. 1986). Any benefit from delaying Doe's appeal, either with respect to judicial economy or any other factor, is difficult to imagine. Gray has defaulted. Vigo County has defended this suit on legal grounds that do not depend on the veracity of Doe's accusations or the extent of her still-to-be-determined damages. Therefore, this appeal will not "create needless duplication of effort[s] to resolve the parties' entire dispute." VDF FutureCeuticals, Inc. v. Stiefel Labs., Inc. , 792 F.3d 842, 845 (7th Cir. 2015). In fact, to forbid appeal until the district court assesses damages and enters final judgment against Gray would simply serve to invite Doe and Vigo County to duplicate their present efforts at a later date. Id .

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Bluebook (online)
905 F.3d 1038, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-vigo-cnty-ca7-2018.