Johnson v. Western State Colorado University

71 F. Supp. 3d 1217, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151384, 2014 WL 5423175
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedOctober 24, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 13-cv-2747-WJM-KMT
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 71 F. Supp. 3d 1217 (Johnson v. Western State Colorado University) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Western State Colorado University, 71 F. Supp. 3d 1217, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151384, 2014 WL 5423175 (D. Colo. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS

William J. Martinez,United States District Judge

Plaintiff Keifer Johnson (“Plaintiff’) brings this action against Western State University and some of its employees (“Defendants”) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. (“Title IX”), arising out of disciplinary action taken against him for a sexual relationship he engaged in with another student. (ECF No. 1.) After significant litigation early in this case, the operative pleading is Plaintiffs Third Amended Complaint (“TAC”). (ECF No. 138.) Before the Court are Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss (“Motions”). (ECF No. 150 & 163.) For the reasons set forth below, the Motions are granted in part and denied in part.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

The Motions are brought pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6).

Rule 12(b)(1) empowers a court to dismiss a complaint for “lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(1) is not a judgment on the merits of a plaintiffs ease. Rather, it calls for a determination that the court lacks authority to adjudicate the matter, attacking the existence of jurisdiction rather than the allegations of the complaint. See Castaneda v. INS, 23 F.3d 1576, 1580 (10th Cir.1994) (recognizing federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and may only exercise jurisdiction when specifically authorized to do so). The burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction is on the party asserting jurisdiction. Basso v. Utah Power & Light Co., 495 F.2d 906, 909 (10th Cir.1974). A court lacking jurisdiction “must dismiss the cause at any stage of the proceeding in which it becomes apparent that jurisdiction is lacking.” See id.

A Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss “must be determined from the allegations of fact in the complaint, without regard to mere conclusory allegations of jurisdiction.” Groundhog v. Keeler, 442 F.2d 674, 677 (10th Cir.1971). When considering a Rule 12(b)(1) motion, however, the court may [1221]*1221consider matters outside the pleadings without transforming the motion into one for summary judgment. Holt v. United States, 46 F.3d 1000, 1003 (10th Cir.1995). Where a party challenges the facts upon which subject matter jurisdiction depends, a district court may not presume the truthfulness of the complaint’s “factual allegations ... [and] has wide discretion to allow affidavits, other documents, and [may even hold] a limited evidentiary hearing to resolve disputed jurisdictional facts under Rule 12(b)(1).”' Id.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a defendant may move to dismiss a claim in a complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” In evaluating such a motion, a court must “assume the truth of the plaintiffs well-pleaded factual allegations and view them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Ridge at Red Hawk, L.L.C. v. Schneider, 493 F.3d 1174, 1177 (10th Cir.2007). In ruling on such a motion, the dispositive inquiry is “whether the complaint contains ‘enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Id. (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). Granting a motion to dismiss “is a harsh remedy which must be cautiously studied, not only to effectuate the spirit of the liberal rules of pleading but also to protect the interests of justice.” Dias v. City & Cnty. of Denver, 567 F.3d 1169, 1178 (10th Cir.2009) (quotation marks omitted). “Thus, ‘a well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is improbable, and that a recovery is very remote and unlikely.’ ” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs TAC is eighty-two pages in length and contains 379 numbered paragraphs. (ECF No. 138.) In this section, the Court sets forth only those facts necessary for the Court’s ruling on the pending Motions.1 As required on a motion to dismiss, all facts pled in the TAC are taken as true, and are viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff.

Plaintiff Keifer Johnson is a student at Defendant Western State University (“Western”), a four-year public liberal arts college in Gunnison, Colorado. (TAC ¶ 3.) The other Defendants hold various positions at Western: Brad Baca is Western’s President, Gary Pierson is the Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Sara Phillips is the Title IX Coordinator, Chris Luekenga is the Associate Vice President for. Student Affairs, and Susan Coykendall is an employee-faculty member. (IdA 5.)

In May 2013, Plaintiff was a freshman student at Western on a partial athletic scholarship for cross-country and track and field. (TAC ¶ 12.) During the spring 2013 semester, Plaintiff served as a teaching assistant for an English course. (7dN 13.) This position consisted primarily of tutoring other students, and Plaintiff received three credit hours for his work. (Id-¶ 14.) Onna Gould was a freshman student in the class for which Plaintiff was a teaching assistant. (7<1¶ 16.)

During finals week of spring 2013, Plaintiff and Ms. Gould began a sexual relationship. (7<1¶ 17.) They had both read and were interested in the “Fifty Shades of Grey” erotic novels, and frequently assumed dominant/submissive roles in bond[1222]*1222age and light sado-masochism. (Id.) They also frequently exchanged poetry, both by known authors and of their own writing, and this . poetry often reflected their role playing. (Id. ¶ 18.)

Plaintiffs relationship with Ms. Gould continued through the summer of 2013, and they continued to exchange e-mail messages, text messages, and messages through their Facebook accounts related to the dominant/submissive roles they assumed in their sexual encounters. (Id-¶ 21.) On June 28, 2013, Plaintiff sent a letter to Ms. Gould (“Dear Onna Letter”) which contained multiple references to sado-masochistic acts that he wished to perform on her. (EOF No. 111-6.) Plaintiff ended his relationship with Ms. Gould on July 27, 2013 by delivering her a letter to her home. ■ (TAC ¶ 29.) For reasons unrelated to her relationship with Plaintiff, Onna Gould did not return to Western for the fall semester of 2013. (77.¶¶ 19-20.)

In late July, Angela Gould — Onna Gould’s mother — contacted Susan Coyken-dall, a professor at Western, and indicated that she wished to have Plaintiff expelled from Western. (Id.% 31.) Ms. Coykendall volunteered to file a complaint on the Gould’s behalf because she was not comfortable with a teaching assistant engaging in a relationship with a student.

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71 F. Supp. 3d 1217, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151384, 2014 WL 5423175, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-western-state-colorado-university-cod-2014.