Frudden v. Pilling

CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 16, 2014
Docket61932
StatusUnpublished

This text of Frudden v. Pilling (Frudden v. Pilling) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frudden v. Pilling, (Neb. 2014).

Opinion

sued WCSD; Roy Gomm's principal, respondent KayAnn Pilling; and other defendants in federal court. The Fruddens alleged multiple claims, including First Amendment violations, violations of NRS Chapter 241, breach of a special relationship, negligent misrepresentation, and failure to comply with Nevada's education laws. The federal district court dismissed the Fruddens' First Amendment and tort claims with prejudice and declined to take jurisdiction over their other state law claims. Frudden v. Pilling, 842 F. Supp. 2d 1265, 1270-71, 1282 (D. Nev. 2012), reu'd, 742 F.3d 1199, 1208 (9th Cir. 2014). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the dismissal of the Fruddens' First Amendment claims. Frudden v. Pilling, 742 F.3d 1199, 1208 (9th Cir. 2014). The Fruddens then filed the present lawsuit in the state district court, originally naming only WCSD and Pilling as defendants. The Fruddens argued that the PFA's Uniform Committee violated NRS Chapter 241's open meeting requirements when preparing Roy Gomm's uniform policy and that WCSD and Pilling violated multiple Nevada education statutes by enforcing the uniform policy. Instead of filing an answer, WCSD and Pilling filed a motion for summary judgment against the Fruddens' claims. After WCSD's and Pilling's motion was briefed, but before it was decided, the Fruddens filed an amended complaint in which they restated their allegations against Pilling and WCSD and added the PFA as a defendant. The amended complaint sought (1) a declaration that the uniform policy was void and (2)

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 2 (0) 1907A cen compensatory and punitive damages.' The district court granted WCSD and Filling's motion for summary judgment. The district court found that the PFA was not a public body under NRS 241.015 and thus was not subject to NRS Chapter 241's open meeting requirements. The district court also found that the Fruddens did not have an implied private right of action for the alleged violations of Nevada's education statutes. 2

1 To the extent that the Fruddens sought declaratory relief under the theory that the uniform policy was void for a lack of authority, their claim is without merit because they failed to demonstrate that any Nevada law or WCSD policy prohibited Pilling from enforcing a uniform policy at Roy Gomm that WCSD did not impose. See, e.g., NRS 392.415 (permitting a school district's board of trustees to establish a uniform policy without limiting a principal's authority to enforce a school's uniform policy). Nor have they demonstrated that enforcement of a school uniform policy that was not created by WCSD was outside Filling's express or implied authority as principal of Roy Gomm. See, e.g., Ronnow v. City of Las Vegas, 57 Nev. 332, 342-43, 65 P.2d 133, 136 (1937) (providing that a municipal entity has both express and implied powers).

2 The district court did not err in making this determination. The Fruddens failed to demonstrate that the pertinent statutes, legislative history, policies, and/or the underlying purposes of the legislative schemes afford them an implied private right of action under NRS 386.365, NRS 388.070, NRS 392.415, NRS 392.457, NRS 392.4575, NRS 392.463, NRS 392.4644, WCSD Board Policy 5039, or WCSD OSP-P002. See Baldonado v. Wynn Las Vegas, LLC, 124 Nev. 951, 958-59, 194 P.3d 96, 100-01 (2008); see also Cort v. Ash, 422 U.S. 66, 78 (1975). Nor have the Fruddens shown that NRS 126.036, which codifies the fundamental right to raise one's child, allows them to challenge Roy Gomm's policies. See Blau v. Fort Thomas Pub. Sch. Dist., 401 F.3d 381,395-97 (6th Cir. 2005) (holding that the fundamental right to raise one's child does not include a right to control the application of a public school's policies to one's child who attends the school).

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 3 (0) 1947A cep Nine days after the district court granted WCSD's and Pilling's motion for summary judgment, the Fruddens obtained a clerk's entry of default against the PFA for the PFA's failure to respond to the Fruddens' amended complaint. NRCP 55(a). WCSD, Pilling, and the PFA then filed a motion to vacate the entry of default. The Fruddens filed motions to vacate and revise the district court's summary judgment order. The district court denied the Fruddens' motions and granted WCSD, Pilling, and the PFA's motion. The district court explained that its original summary judgment order applied to the Fruddens' claims against the PFA. In doing so, the district court set aside the entry of default against the PFA "because [the Fruddens] did not inquire about [VVCSD's, Pilling's, and the PFA's] intent to proceed or respond and did not satisfy the notice requirements as required under NRCP 55(b)(2)." The Fruddens now appeal, challenging the district court's orders granting summary judgment and vacating the entry of default. As we explain below, we conclude that the district court (1) erred in finding that the PFA was not a "public body" under NRS 241.015(3)(a) before July 1, 2011; (2) did not err in finding that the PFA was not a "public body" under NRS 241.015(3)(a) after the 2011 amendment to this statute took effect on July 1, 2011; and (3) correctly vacated the clerk's entry of default against the PFA but did so for the wrong reason. 3

3 We have considered the parties' remaining arguments, including those regarding whether the district court erred by (1) not addressing the Fruddens' breach of fiduciary duty claim and (2) sua sponte granting summary judgment to the PFA. These contentions are without merit.

SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 4 (0) 194M The PFA could have been a public body under NRS 241.015

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Frudden v. Pilling, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frudden-v-pilling-nev-2014.