I.H. ex rel. Hunter v. Oakland School for the Arts

234 F. Supp. 3d 987, 2017 WL 565069, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20177
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedFebruary 13, 2017
DocketCase No. 16-cv-05500-SI
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 234 F. Supp. 3d 987 (I.H. ex rel. Hunter v. Oakland School for the Arts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
I.H. ex rel. Hunter v. Oakland School for the Arts, 234 F. Supp. 3d 987, 2017 WL 565069, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20177 (N.D. Cal. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

SUSAN ILLSTON, United States District Judge

Now before the Court is the motion by defendant Oakland School for the Arts (“OSA”) to dismiss plaintiff I.H.’s complaint. Docket No. 22. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-l(b), the Court determines [990]*990that this matter is appropriate for resolution without oral argument and hereby VACATES the hearing set for February 17, 2017. For the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint and GRANTS plaintiff leave to amend.

BACKGROUND

The following allegations are taken from the complaint, which the Court treats as true for purposes of this motion. Plaintiff I.H. is a minor who attended the Oakland School for the Arts, “a charter school under the auspices of the Oakland Unified School District through OUSD Office of Charter Schools.” Docket No. 1, Compl. ¶ 2. On March 8, 2016, I.H. used a drinking fountain in the hallway of the school to take her birth control medication. Id. ¶ 14. Tamaris Usher, a security guard for OSA, “accosted, berated and belittled” I.H. for her use of the medication. Id. Usher “questioned [I.H.’s] virginity in public and called her a ‘slut’ and a “whore’ in a voice loud enough for all others present to overhear.” Id. Plaintiff alleges that beginning on March 8, 2016, she was “repeatedly harassed, accosted, intimidated, humiliated and discriminated against by employees, students and administrators, based upon Plaintiffs sex.” Id. ¶ 16. Plaintiff has sought counseling to deal with the resulting stress and humiliation. Id. ¶ 14.

Plaintiff further alleges that Usher had similarly accosted other female students previously, and that the school district was aware of Usher’s conduct but had made no attempts to discipline him. Id. ¶¶ 14, 19. According to the complaint, I.H. and her parents complained to school employees and agents about the incident that occurred on March 8, 2016, but that the defendants “initially took no significant disciplinary or remedial action against the perpetrator ... until well after Plaintiff complained.” Id. ¶ 20.

On September 27, 2016, I.H. brought this lawsuit through Cheryll Hunter, her guardian ad litem. Docket No. 1. Plaintiff sues OSA, the Oakland Unified School District (“OUSD”), OUSD Office of Charter Schools, and Doe defendants 1 through 15.1 Plaintiff brings the following claims for relief: (1) violation of Equal Protection on the basis of sex, under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, (2) violation of Due Process, under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, (3) conspiracy, under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3), (4) violation of Title IX, under 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681-1688, (5) violation of civil rights, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, (6) neglect to prevent, under 42 U.S.C. § 1986, (7) violation of Equal Protection on the basis of sex, under the California Constitution, Article I, § 79(a), (8) deprivation of civil rights, under Cal. Civ. Code § 61, and (9) freedom from violence, under Cal. Civ. Code § 51.7. Plaintiff seeks damages against all defendants, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs. Id. at 16.

On December 5, 2016, defendant OUSD answered the complaint. Docket No. 19. OUSD also filed a cross-claim for indemnity against OSA. Docket No. 20. On December 16, 2016, OSA filed the present motion to dismiss plaintiffs complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Docket No. 22. OSA argues that the complaint must be dismissed because OSA is not a state actor under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, OSA is not a “person” within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and 1986, plaintiff has set forth no facts of a conspiracy under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985(3) and 1986, and plaintiff has set forth no facts alleging violence or intimidation by threat of violence under California Civil Code § 51.7.

[991]*991LEGAL STANDARD

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a district court must dismiss a complaint if it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). This “facial plausibility” standard requires the plaintiff to allege facts that add up to “more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). While courts do not require “heightened fact pleading of specifics,” a plaintiff must allege facts sufficient to “raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

In deciding whether the plaintiff has stated a claim upon which relief can be granted, the court must assume that the plaintiffs allegations are true and must draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor. See Usher v. City of Los Angeles, 828 F.2d 556, 561 (9th Cir. 1987). However, the court is not required to accept as true “allegations that are merely concluso-ry, unwarranted deductions of fact, or unreasonable inferences.” In re Gilead Scis. Sec. Litig., 536 F.3d 1049, 1055 (9th Cir. 2008).

If the Court dismisses the complaint, it must then decide whether to grant leave to amend. The Ninth Circuit has “repeatedly held that a district court should grant leave to amend even if no request to amend the pleading was made, unless it determines that the pleading could not possibly be cured by the allegation of other facts.” Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130 (9th Cir. 2000) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).

DISCUSSION

I. Claims 1, 2, and 5: State Action under 42 U.S.C.

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234 F. Supp. 3d 987, 2017 WL 565069, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ih-ex-rel-hunter-v-oakland-school-for-the-arts-cand-2017.