JS, Ex Rel. Duck v. ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY SCHOOL

368 F. Supp. 2d 522, 2005 WL 1027172
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedApril 29, 2005
DocketCIV.A. 2:05CV76
StatusPublished

This text of 368 F. Supp. 2d 522 (JS, Ex Rel. Duck v. ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY SCHOOL) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
JS, Ex Rel. Duck v. ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY SCHOOL, 368 F. Supp. 2d 522, 2005 WL 1027172 (E.D. Va. 2005).

Opinion

368 F.Supp.2d 522 (2005)

J.S., a minor, by his mother and next friend, Sharon DUCK, Plaintiff,
v.
ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, Dr. Michael W. Mcpherson, Ron M. Reese, Theodore Durniak, A. Gene Lowery, Kenneth M. Bunch, and Barbara B. Olin, Defendants.

No. CIV.A. 2:05CV76.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division.

April 29, 2005.

*523 *524 John Warren Hart, John W. Hart, P.C., Virginia Beach, VA, for Plaintiff.

*525 James Richard Theuer, Kevin Joseph Cosgrove, Hunton & Williams, Norfolk, VA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND FINAL ORDER

REBECCA BEACH SMITH, District Judge.

This case comes before the court on Defendants' Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). For the reasons stated below, the motion is GRANTED.

I. Factual and Procedural History

The facts of this case have been described extensively in this court's Opinion dated March 25, 2005, published as J.S. v. Isle of Wight County School Board, 362 F.Supp.2d 675, 681-83 (E.D.Va.2005). Plaintiff J.S. is a high school student who was suspended from Windsor High School ("WHS") in January 2005 and transferred to an "alternative school" for the remainder of the school year due to a disciplinary situation involving accusations of a sexual nature by a seventh-grade girl. J.S. is learning disabled and had an Individualized Education Plan in place at WHS. Compl. at ¶ 27. Plaintiff filed the instant lawsuit on February 7, 2005, suing the Isle of Wight County School Board and various individual defendants pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In his complaint, plaintiff alleges that his due process rights were violated when defendants suspended him without following the school board's own regulations. Plaintiff further alleges that defendants violated a court order issued in a previous lawsuit, and that defendants unlawfully retaliated against plaintiff after he filed that previous lawsuit. Plaintiff requests both monetary damages and injunctive relief.

On February 18, 2005, plaintiff filed a Motion for Issuance of a Preliminary Injunction, asking the court to issue an injunction requiring defendants to readmit plaintiff to WHS pending resolution of this case. A hearing was held on March 11, 2005. The court issued an Opinion on March 25, 2005, denying the motion, finding that plaintiff did not demonstrate irreparable harm or a likelihood of success on the merits, as is required by Blackwelder Furniture Co. v. Seilig Mfg. Co., 550 F.2d 189 (4th Cir.1977).

The instant motion to dismiss was filed on March 14, 2005. Plaintiff responded on April 5, 2005, after receiving an extension of time in which to respond, and defendants replied on April 6, 2005. The motion is now ripe for review. Defendants argue that (1) plaintiff fails to state a claim under § 1983, (2) the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiff's claim that defendants violated a court order in a previous action, (3) plaintiff fails to state a claim against the individual defendants, and (4) plaintiff fails to state a claim for injunctive relief.

II. Standard of Review

A complaint should not be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim unless it appears to a certainty that the nonmoving party cannot prove any set of facts in support of its claim that would entitle it to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). The court must accept the complaint's factual allegations as true and view all allegations in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 164, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993).

III. Analysis

In Gomez v. Toledo, 446 U.S. 635, 100 S.Ct. 1920, 64 L.Ed.2d 572 (1980), the Supreme Court held that a plaintiff suing under § 1983 must plead only two allegations *526 in order to state a claim: (1) plaintiff must allege that some person has deprived him of a federal right, and (2) plaintiff must allege that the person who deprived him of that right was acting under color of state law. Id. at 640, 100 S.Ct. 1920. Subsequent to this decision, however, most circuit courts of appeals and lower courts imposed upon § 1983 claimants a "heightened" pleading obligation that "rejects vague and conclusory assertions and requires specific factual allegations demonstrating a deprivation of federal rights under color of state law." Martin A. Schwartz, 1 Section 1983 Litigation: Claims and Defenses § 1.06[A] (Aspen 2005) (citing cases).

The heightened pleading requirement for § 1983 claims was rejected by the Supreme Court in Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 164, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993). In that case, the Court held that the heightened pleading requirement for § 1983 claims could not be squared with the language of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8, which requires only a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." 507 U.S. at 168, 113 S.Ct. 1160. Thus, the Court reasoned, it is inconsistent both with Rule 8 and with the Court's ruling in Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957), for lower courts to require a heightened pleading standard in § 1983 suits. There are still certain allegations that must be made in a § 1983 complaint, however, in order to state a claim for municipal liability or individual liability.

A. Plaintiff Fails to State a Claim for Municipal Liability Under § 1983 Against the School Board

In order to state a § 1983 claim against a municipality, or a subdivision thereof, a plaintiff must plead "the existence of an official policy or custom that is fairly attributable to the municipality and that proximately caused the deprivation of their rights." Jordan v. Jackson, 15 F.3d 333, 338 (4th Cir.1994). To hold a municipality liable for a single decision or violation, "the decisionmaker must possess final authority to establish municipal policy with respect to the action ordered." Love-Lane v. Martin, 355 F.3d 766, 782 (4th Cir.2004) (quoting Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 480, 106 S.Ct. 1292, 89 L.Ed.2d 452 (1986)).

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Related

Conley v. Gibson
355 U.S. 41 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Gomez v. Toledo
446 U.S. 635 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
457 U.S. 800 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Kentucky v. Graham
473 U.S. 159 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Malley v. Briggs
475 U.S. 335 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati
475 U.S. 469 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Paddington Partners v. Bouchard
950 F. Supp. 87 (S.D. New York, 1996)
Clay v. Brown, Hopkins & Stambaugh
892 F. Supp. 11 (District of Columbia, 1995)
Dowell v. Blackburn
776 F. Supp. 283 (W.D. Virginia, 1991)
J.S. Ex Rel. Duck v. Isle of Wight County School Board
362 F. Supp. 2d 675 (E.D. Virginia, 2005)
Love-Lane v. Martin
355 F.3d 766 (Fourth Circuit, 2004)
J.S. ex rel. Duck v. Isle of Wight County School Board
368 F. Supp. 2d 522 (E.D. Virginia, 2005)
Maciariello v. Sumner
973 F.2d 295 (Fourth Circuit, 1992)

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368 F. Supp. 2d 522, 2005 WL 1027172, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/js-ex-rel-duck-v-isle-of-wight-county-school-vaed-2005.