K.S. v. Detroit Public Schools

153 F. Supp. 3d 970, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169961, 2015 WL 9268747
District Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided December 21, 2015·No. Case Number 14-12214·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER FOR ENTRY OF JUDGMENTS

DAVID M. LAWSON, United States District Judge

The present dispute in this case concerns the terms of a judgment — or judg[973]*973ments — that ought to be entered against the defendants following a settlement and a jury verdict. Plaintiff Khody Sanford brought claims against the several defendants for damages incurred as a result of the sexual misconduct by defendant Charles Pugh to which Sanford was subjected while a student at the Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men in Detroit. Advancing various legal theories, Sanford accused defendants Detroit Public Schools and district officials Roy Roberts, Robert Bobb, Berry Greer, and Monique McMurtry (the DPS defendants) of maintaining a sexually harassing educational environment and depriving him of educational opportunities. He accused defendant Charles Pugh of inflicting emotional pain, suffering, and distress upon him.

In his first amended complaint, the plaintiff set out claims against the DPS defendants for violating his rights under the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment via 42 U.S.C. § 1983; sexual harassment and gender discrimination under the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (EL-CRA); and, against defendant DPS only, “gender harassment” under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The plaintiffs claims against defendant Charles Pugh were framed as violations of the Due Process Clause via 42 U.S.C. § 1983; sexual harassment and gender discrimination under ELCRA; assault; battery; and intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). The section 1983 claims were dismissed before trial. Trial began on November 3, 2015 on the ELCRA and Title IX claims against the DPS defendants and the ELCRA, assault, battery, and IIED claims against defendant Pugh.

On November 4, 2015, the DPS defendants reached a settlement with the plaintiff and placed the settlement on the record. The terms of the settlement (discussed in more detail below) called for the entry of a consent judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of $350,000, to be paid within a year, which would resolve the ELCRA and Title IX claims against all of the DPS defendants. Trial continued against Pugh, and the Court dismissed the assault claim against him before the case went to the jury. On November 9, 2015, the jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant Pugh on the ELCRA claim, and for the plaintiff on the battery and IIED claims, awarding him damages of $250,000.

The plaintiff and the DPS defendants have not been able to agree on the form of the consent judgment, which prompted the plaintiff to file a motion for its entry. Defendant Pugh contends that the judgment against him should recognize the plaintiff’s settlement with the DPS defendants by giving him credit for a setoff in the amount of the settlement, effectively reducing his exposure to $0. The plaintiff contends that he is entitled to a judgment against Pugh in the full amount of the jury’s verdict, irrespective of the settlement with the other defendants. The plaintiff and defendant Pugh have submitted briefs on that aspect of the case.

For the reasons discussed below, the Court will enter judgment against the DPS defendants for $350,000, which will require payment by November 1, 2016 as agreed, forestall collection efforts by the plaintiff until then, and allow the plaintiff to pursue collection remedies against all DPS defendants if the amount is not paid by the agreed deadline. Defendant Pugh is not entitled to set off the settlement amount against the jury verdict because the claims against him are several and not joint (Michigan abolished joint liability in nearly all tort cases in 1995), and a separate judgment will be entered against him. Moreover, the “one recovery rule” will not [974]*974stand as an obstacle to the plaintiffs collection of the full judgment against Pugh, because the settlement with the DPS defendants compensated the plaintiff for damages that were different in their nature than those for which the jury compensated him.

' I. The DPS Defendants’ Settlement

The plaintiff and the DPS defendants agree on the terms of the settlement, except for one important, provision. The plaintiff contends that if the $350,000 settlement amount is not paid by the November 1, 2016 deadline, then he may resort to collection remedies against all the DPS defendants. The DPS defendants insist that if there is a payment default, then the settlement agreement limits the plaintiffs collection options to enrollment on the public tax rolls of a judgment levy against defendant Detroit Public Schools, and he would forever forego any right to recover against the individual defendants.

As noted above, the settlement was reached on the second day of trial. When the settlement agreement was placed on the record, the following colloquy took place:

MR. CLEMONS: Your Honor, I have been granted the authority to settle this matter as we discussed in chambers.
THE COURT: Well, the record should reflect that there have been ongoing discussions, but nothing has been finalized as of yet, and the parties have been working since the pretrial conference to see if they could come to a resolution, so far unsuccessfully. And I take it you have reached an accord with Mr. Seikaly’s client and Mri Sei-kaly? " ' '
MR. CLEMONS: Yes.
THE COURT: Go ahead.
MR. CLEMONS: And with the valued assistance of the Court, we have been able to reach a settlement of this matter. The amount Is $350,000. There will be a dismissal with prejudice as to all parties; Detroit Public Schools, Roy Roberts, Robert Bobb, Berry Greer and Monique McMurtry. The settlement will be by way of consent judgment. The consent judgment would be satisfied by a placement on the judgment levy for payment by November 1, 2016. No interest would accrue on the judgment unless the judgment is not paid by November 1, 2016. Defendants admit no liability, however, for the purpose of settling, for capping any additional expenses, any additional costs, any additional potential attorney fees in the event we move forward, we are making the decision to resolve this matter. If not paid by...November 1, 2016, then the interest will be future interest only, which would begin on the day after November 1, 2016, and would accrue through the date of payment. There will be no attempt at execution on any of the Defendants of any description; none against the DPS, Robert Bobb, Roy Roberts, Berry Greer or Monique McMurtry.
THE COURT: With the exception of enrolling the judgment according to the statute. MR. CLEMONS: Yes, your Honor. It will be enrolled according to Michigan statute. Additionally, the consent judgment will include language, specific language stating that the Defendants DPS, Roy Roberts, Robert Bobb, Berry Greer and Monique McMurtry retain and reserve the rights to contest any and all Title IX and Elliott-Larsen claims and elements of those claims in any -and all other litigation.
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K.S. v. Detroit Public Schools, 153 F. Supp. 3d 970, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169961, 2015 WL 9268747 (E.D. Mich. 2015).

153 F. Supp. 3d 970 (K.S. v. Detroit Public Schools) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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