Gilliam v. USD 244 School District

397 F. Supp. 2d 1282, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25603, 2005 WL 2807056
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedOctober 27, 2005
Docket05-2038-JWL
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 397 F. Supp. 2d 1282 (Gilliam v. USD 244 School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gilliam v. USD 244 School District, 397 F. Supp. 2d 1282, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25603, 2005 WL 2807056 (D. Kan. 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LUNGSTRUM, District Judge.

This lawsuit arises from alleged teacher-on-student harassment of plaintiff Rebecca Mae Gilliam while she was a high school student in Burlington, Kansas. The defendants include the teacher who allegedly harassed her, the school district, and school administrators. Plaintiff asserts a claim under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq., a substantive due process claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and state law tort claims. This matter is currently before the court on the defendants’ motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted (Docs. 32, 43 & 49). The court will construe these as motions for judgment on the pleadings because they were filed after defendants filed their answers to plaintiffs complaint. For the reasons explained below, the court will grant these motions in part and deny them in part. Specifically, the court will dismiss plaintiffs § 1983 individual capacity claims on the grounds that the individual defendants are entitled to qualified immunity on this claim. The court will also dismiss plaintiffs negligent infliction of emotional distress claim against defendant Joel Vannocker. The court will otherwise deny defendants’ motions with respect to plaintiffs § 1983 official capacity claims and plaintiffs state law claims against the other defendants.

*1285 FACTS

According to the allegations in plaintiffs’ complaint, plaintiff was a high school student in Burlington, Kansas, when she was subjected to inappropriate conduct by her English teacher, defendant Joel Vannocker. She asserts claims against the school district, the school district superintendent Dale V. Rawson, and the high school principal Jim Kuhn for failing to prevent or stop the harassment.

Plaintiffs complaint alleges that during her junior and senior years in high school, defendant Vannocker made comments to one or more of his classes to the effect that he suffers from depression, has attempted suicide, has put a gun in his mouth and knows what a gun barrel tastes like, and that if he acts strangely he has not taken his Prozac. During plaintiffs junior year, she complained to a teacher that she felt a male teacher was staring at her, inappropriately putting his arm around her, and improperly touching her by leaning over her desk. That teacher reported plaintiffs complaint to defendant Kuhn. No discipline was imposed on or recommended for defendant Vannocker as a result of the above-described actions. During plaintiffs senior year, defendant Vannocker’s actions continued. He made repeated comments to plaintiff that she is “beautiful” and “more mature than the other students.” He gave plaintiff more attention than the other students, extended privileges to her, and gave her chocolate candy bars and heart-shaped candies.

In February of 2004, he placed a classified Valentine’s Day advertisement in the Burlington High School newspaper. The ad was addressed to “Rebecca Gilliam” from a “Secret Admirer.” It stated, “you make my heart sing.” Soon after the newspaper was distributed, plaintiff was in the school administrative offices making copies for a teacher. Defendant Vannocker approached her from behind, leaned into her pressing his torso into her back, and whispered in her ear, “you know you do make my heart sing.” Plaintiff felt physically threatened by his actions.

On another occasion, defendant Van-nocker provided plaintiff with a packet of research materials for her senior paper, yet he did not provide any other students with research materials for their senior papers. Included in the materials that defendant Vannocker provided to plaintiff was a four-page advertisement for a male erection enhancement drug, Cialis. This advertisement did not relate to plaintiffs research project in any way.

On February 24, 2004, defendant Van-nocker approached plaintiff in her study group class and told her that he wanted her to come to his classroom after school. Plaintiff was concerned by the angry or strange look on his face when he made this request, so she went to his classroom before school was dismissed. She asked him if everything was all right, and suggested to him that he looked mad. He explained that he was not mad, but that he just wanted to give her something. He handed her three typewritten poems folded up with a handwritten note clipped to the outside of the poems. This handwritten card was labeled to “Rebecca” on one side and said, “These pieces were inspired by you — if you would prefer not to read thern^ — just give them back to me. They are personal so please don’t share them if you do read them. Please don’t be ‘frightened’ by them. Many things inspire me, you are one of them.”

Plaintiff returned to her classroom, read the handwritten note and opened the poems, and became extremely upset. After school was dismissed, she walked to her car, read the remaining two poems, and felt nauseous like she needed to throw up. Plaintiff began suffering extreme mental, emotional, and physical injuries, *1286 including nausea, insomnia, nightmares, vomiting, and difficulty eating. The next day, she told her father about the poems, the note, and defendant Vannocker’s other unwelcome actions. Her father notified school officials of the poems and the note. Plaintiff filed a police report and protective order request against defendant Vannocker. Plaintiff alleges that she has suffered damages from the harassment in the form of inability to sleep, nightmares, crying, embarrassment, confusion, fatigue, pain, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, depression, and suicidal thoughts. She also has been diagnosed with medical and psychological disorders arising from the harassment.

Based on these allegations, plaintiff asserts five claims: (I) violation of Title IX against the school district; (II) violation of § 1983 against the individual defendants; (III) negligent infliction of emotional distress against all defendants; (IV-VI) negligent hiring, supervision, and retention against the school district and against defendants Rawson and Kuhn; and (VII) violation of the Kansas Tort Claims Act (KTCA) against the school district.

The individual defendants ask the court to dismiss plaintiffs § 1983 individual capacity claims against them on the grounds of qualified immunity and her official capacity claims on the grounds that they are redundant of her claim against the school district. The defendants further contend that, because they are entitled to qualified immunity on plaintiffs § 1983 claim, they are also entitled to what they refer to as “adoptive immunity” under K.S.A. § 75-6104(i) on her state law claims. Defendant Vannocker urges the court, if the court dismisses plaintiffs § 1983 claims, to decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs negligent infliction of emotional distress claim against him or, alternatively, to dismiss that claim on the grounds that the allegations in her complaint are insufficient to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
397 F. Supp. 2d 1282, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25603, 2005 WL 2807056, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilliam-v-usd-244-school-district-ksd-2005.