Jackson v. Murray States University

834 F. Supp. 2d 609, 2011 WL 2746826, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76167
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Kentucky
DecidedJuly 13, 2011
DocketCase No. 5:11-CV-00024-R
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 834 F. Supp. 2d 609 (Jackson v. Murray States University) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jackson v. Murray States University, 834 F. Supp. 2d 609, 2011 WL 2746826, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76167 (W.D. Ky. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

THOMAS B. RUSSELL, Chief Judge.

Defendants Murray State University (“MSU”) and Randy J. Dunn have moved to dismiss the claims against them in Plaintiffs complaint (DN 5). Plaintiff has responded (DN 7) and Defendants have replied (DN 8). This matter is now ripe for adjudication. For the following reasons, Defendants’ motion is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Shawn Jackson, an African American, was a student at MSU during the relevant events. Sometime around February 19, 2010, Jackson and other students were invited to attend a party at an off-campus fraternity house. The party was hosted by the Gamma Upsilon chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity. While in at[612]*612tendance, Jackson says he was assaulted and called racial slurs by two or more members of the fraternity. He claims that despite his complaints to MSU’s police about the incident, no action was taken against Gamma Upsilon or its members. He also avers that certain organizations affiliated with MSU were aware of and sanctioned the party, and that Gamma Upsilon’s faculty advisor was present.

Jackson now brings suit against MSU, Randy J. Dunn in his individual and official capacity as the president of MSU, Sigma Pi Fraternity International, Inc., the Gamma Upsilon chapter of Sigma Pi, and all unknown members and officers of the Gamma Upsilon chapter of Sigma Pi. Against MSU and Dunn, Jackson asserts the following theories of recovery: (1) interference with the right to contract in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, (2) violations of his Fourteenth Amendment substantive and procedural due process rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, (3) conspiracy to interfere with his civil rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985, (4) violations of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, (5) violations of sections one, two and three of the Kentucky Constitution, and (6) the state-law tort of outrage. DN 1 at 7-10. Jackson also declares that MSU and Dunn are vicariously liable for the torts of assault and battery. Id. at 10. MSU and Dunn seek to dismiss the claims leveled against them, asserting that this action is barred on a number of legal and procedural grounds.

STANDARD

“When considering a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the district court must accept all of the allegations in the complaint as true, and construe the complaint liberally in favor of the plaintiff.” Lawrence v. Chancery Court of Tenn., 188 F.3d 687, 691 (6th Cir.1999) (citing Miller v. Currie, 50 F.3d 373, 377 (6th Cir.1995)).

To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the complaint must include “only 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); see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1950, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The “[fjactual allegations in the complaint must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). A plaintiff must allege sufficient factual allegations to give the defendant fair notice concerning the nature of the claim and the grounds upon which it rests. Id.

Furthermore, “a plaintiffs obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Id. A court is not bound to accept “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949.

ANALYSIS

I. Claims against MSU and official capacity claims against Dunn

This motion first offers that the claims against MSU and Dunn in his official capacity should be disallowed because each is entitled to sovereign immunity. The Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution generally bars suits brought in federal court against a state and its agencies. Grinter v. Knight, 532 F.3d 567, 572 (6th Cir.2008). A suit against a state official in his or her official capacity is considered a suit against the official’s office. Id. (quot[613]*613ing Will v. Mich. Dep’t of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989)). Public universities in Kentucky and their directors are state agencies and officials for Eleventh Amendment purposes. See Hutsell v. Sayre, 5 F.3d 996, 999-1000 (6th Cir.1993) (explaining why the University of Kentucky was an “arm of the state under state law”); Weathers v. Ky. State Univ., No. 3: 09-CV-00004, 2009 WL 1683711, at *3 (E.D.Ky. June 16, 2009) (explaining that lawsuit against university officials including the president was barred by the Eleventh Amendment).

Many of Jackson’s federal and state claims are barred by the Eleventh Amendment. See e.g., Ejikeme v. Violet, 307 Fed.Appx. 944, 951 (6th Cir.2009) (bar of Eleventh Amendment applies to claims under section 1981); Thiokol Corp. v. Dep’t of Treasury, 987 F.2d 376, 383 (6th Cir.1993) (“Congress did not intend to abrogate the states’ Eleventh Amendment immunity by passing section 1983.”); Mosier v. Kentucky, 640 F.Supp.2d 875, 879 (E.D.Ky.2009) (“Kentucky has not waived its immunity from suit in federal court for claims under KRS Chapter 344.”); Davis v. Kent State Univ., 928 F.Supp. 729, 732 (N.D.Ohio 1996) (state university was entitled to sovereign immunity for claim under section 1985); An-Ti Chai v. Mich. Technological Univ., 493 F.Supp. 1137, 1162 (W.D.Mich.1980) (same); Yanero v. Davis, 65 S.W.3d 510, 519 (Ky.2001) (“[A] state agency is entitled to immunity from tort liability to the extent that it is performing a governmental, as opposed to a proprietary, function.”). As a result, these claims against MSU and Dunn may not proceed.

Notwithstanding these decisions, Jackson provides several equally unpersuasive arguments in hopes of sidestepping this precedent. First, he states that since the thrust of the Eleventh Amendment’s protections are to safeguard a state’s treasury, the likelihood that MSU has insurance to offset a lawsuit works as an express waiver of its sovereign immunity. This is incorrect, as the Supreme Court has expressly rejected such an argument. Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. Doe, 519 U.S. 425, 430-31, 117 S.Ct.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Keeling v. Hartman
W.D. Kentucky, 2022
Averett v. Hardy
W.D. Kentucky, 2020
Bleid Sports, LLC v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass'n
976 F. Supp. 2d 911 (E.D. Kentucky, 2013)
Campbell v. University of Louisville
862 F. Supp. 2d 578 (W.D. Kentucky, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
834 F. Supp. 2d 609, 2011 WL 2746826, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76167, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-murray-states-university-kywd-2011.