Lewis v. Perry County Board of Education

201 So. 3d 1124
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedFebruary 26, 2016
Docket1150029
StatusPublished

This text of 201 So. 3d 1124 (Lewis v. Perry County Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. Perry County Board of Education, 201 So. 3d 1124 (Ala. 2016).

Opinions

MAIN, Justice.

Cathy Trimble and Ida Longmire petition this Court for a writ of mandamus directing the Perry Circuit Court to enter a summary judgment in their favor on certain claims asserted against them by Crystal Lewis, individually and by and through her mother and next friend, Mary Lewis. We grant their petition and issue the writ.

I. Facts and Procedural History

In October 2012, Crystal was a 12th-grade student at Francis Marion High School, a school within the Perry County public-school system. The school system is covered by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (“the Act”). That Act generally requires a school district to provide reasonable accommodations to assist any child deemed to have a “disability” as that term is defined by the Act. Crystal has a medical condition that required the Perry County public-sehool system to provide her with certain special accommodations.

Longmire is an English teacher at Francis Marion High School and also served as committee-member secretary for the school’s Section 504 special-accommodations meetings. In October 2012, Long-mire prepared an updated report of the special accommodations required by Section 504. The report was intended to inform particular teachers of the 504 accommodations for specific students. Longmire placed a copy of the report in sealed envelopes, which were to be hand delivered to the teachers.

On October 16, 2012, Longmire contacted Trimble, who was then the acting principal at Francis Marion High School. Longmire asked Trimble about distributing the envelopes containing the 504-ac-eommodation information. Trimble assigned a student office aide the task of delivering the envelopes to the teachers. Longmire gave the aide the sealed envelopes with specific instructions to hand deliver them to the teachers whose names were oñ the outside of each envelope.

Rather than delivering the envelopes as instructed, the student office aide opened one of the sealed envelopes and read about Crystal’s medical condition. She shared that information about Crystal’s medical condition with other students.

On December 11, 2012, Crystal, individually and by and through her mother and next friend, Mary Lewis, commenced this action against Longmire, Trimble, the student office aide, the Perry County Board of Education, “Francis Marion High School,” and other school administrators. In her complaint, Crystal alleged that she has faced ridicule, harassment, and bullying as a result of the dissemination of her confidential medical information. She asserted claims of negligence, wantonness, nuisance, breach of contract, and invasion of privacy against each defendant and claims of negligent hiring, training, and supervision against all the defendants except the student office aide and Longmire. Following a period of discovery, Longmire and Trimble moved for a summary judgment on the ground that they were entitled to State-agent immunity ■ as to all claims asserted against them by Crystal. On August 31, 2015, the trial court entered an order denying Longmire and Trimble’s motion for a summary judgment, concluding that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Longmire and Trimble had violated a written policy concerning the confidentiality of student records.1 Longmire and Trimbíe then filed this petition for a writ of mandamus.

[1127]*1127II. Standard of Review

“ ‘ “While the general rule is that the denial of a motion for summary judgment is not reviewable, the exception is that the denial of a motion grounded on a claim of immunity is reviewable by petition for writ of mandamus. Ex parte Purvis, 689 So.2d 794 (Ala.1996)....
“ "‘ “Summary judgment is appropriate only when ‘there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled tó a judgment as a matter of law.’ Rule 56(c)(3), Ala. R. Civ. P., Young v. La Quinta Inns, Inc., 682 So.2d 402 (Ala.1996). A court considering a motion for summary judgment will view the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, Hurst v. Alabama Power Co., 675 So.2d 397 (Ala.1996), Fuqua v. Ingersoll-Rand Co., 591 So.2d 486 (Ala.1991); will accord the nonmoving party all reasonable favorable inferences from the evidence, Fuqua, supra, Aldridge v. Valley Steel Constr., Inc., 603 So.2d 981 (Ala.1992); and will resolve all reasonable doubts against the moving party, Hurst, supra, Ex parte Brislin, 719 So.2d 185 (Ala.1998).
‘““An appellate court reviewing a ruling on a motion for summary judgment will, de novo, apply these same standards applicable in the trial court. Fuqua, supra, Brislin, supra. Likewise, the appellate court will consider only that factual material available of record to the trial court for its consideration in deciding the motion.. Dynasty Corp. v. Alpha Resins Corp., 577 So.2d 1278 (Ala.1991), Boland v. Fort Rucker Nat'l Bank, 599 So.2d 595 (Ala.1992), Rowe v. Isbell, 599 So.2d 35 (Ala.1992).”’
“Ex parte Turner, 840 So.2d 132, 135 (Ala.2002) (quoting Ex parte Rizk, 791 So.2d 911, 912-13 (Ala.2000)). A writ of mandamus is an extraordinary remedy available only when the petitioner can demonstrate: ‘ “(1) a clear legal right to the order sought; (2) an imperative duty upon the respondent to perform, accompanied by a refusal to do so; (3) the lack of another adequate remedy; and (4) the properly invoked jurisdiction of the court.”’ Ex parte Nall, 879 So.2d 541, 543 (Ala.2003) (quoting Ex parte BOC Group, Inc., 823 So.2d 1270, 1272 (Ala.2001)).”

Ex parte Yancey, 8 So.3d 299, 303-04 (Ala.2008).

III. Analysis

Trimble and Longmire contend that they are entitled to State-agent .immunity as to the claims asserted against them by Crystal. They argue that Crystal’s claims arise out of their performance of official duties as employees of the Perry County Board of Education and from their exercise of discretion in distributing 504-ac-commodation information to teachers.

In Ex parte Cranman, 792 So.2d 392 (Ala.2000),2 we stated:

“A State agent shall be immune from civil liability in his or her personal capacity when the conduct made the basis of the claim against the agent is based upon the agent’s.
“(1) formulating plans, policies, or designs; or
[1128]*1128“(2) exercising his or her judgment in the administration of a department or agency of government, including, but not limited to, examples such as:
“(a) making administrative adjudications;
“(b) allocating resources;
“(c) negotiating contracts;
“(d) hiring, firing, transferring, assigning, or supervising personnel; or
“(3) discharging duties imposed on a department or agency by statute, rule, or regulation, insofar as the statute, rule or regulation prescribes the manner for performing the duties and the State agent performs the duties in that manner; or

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Bluebook (online)
201 So. 3d 1124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-perry-county-board-of-education-ala-2016.