Morgan v. Town of Lexington

138 F. Supp. 3d 82, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128424, 2015 WL 5634463
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedSeptember 24, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 14-13781-DJC
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 138 F. Supp. 3d 82 (Morgan v. Town of Lexington) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morgan v. Town of Lexington, 138 F. Supp. 3d 82, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128424, 2015 WL 5634463 (D. Mass. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CASPER, District Judge

I. Introduction

Plaintiff Christine Morgan (“Morgan”), next friend and mother of the minor R.M., has filed this lawsuit against defendants Town of Lexington (“Lexington”), Lexington Public Schools (“LPS”), Super-intendant Paul Ash (“Ash”) and Principal Steven Flynn (“Flynn”) (collectively, the “Defendants”), alleging a violation of R.M.’s substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against all Defendants (Count I), negligence against all Defendants (Count II), intentional infliction of emotional distress against Ash and Flynn (Count III), negligent infliction of emotional distress against Ash and Flynn (Count IV), negligent ’hiring, training and supervision against Lexington and LPS (Count V) and violations of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, Mass. Gen. L. c. 12, §§ 11H, I against all Defendants (Count VI). D. 1. Morgan has moved to amend her complaint to add a hostile environment claim based on sexual harassment and discrimination pursuant to Title IX, 20 U.S.C. § 1681. D. 15. The Defendants have moved to dismiss the original complaint, D. 6, and oppose the amendment, D. 19. For the reasons stated below, the Court ALLOWS the Defendants’ motion to dismiss and DENIES Morgan’s motion to amend.

II. Standard of Review

In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), the Court must determine if the facts alleged “plausibly narrate a claim for relief.” Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Comm., 669 F.3d 50, 55 (1st Cir.2012) (citation omitted). This determination requires a two-step inquiry. Garcia-Catalan v. United States, 734 F.3d 100, 103 (1st Cir.2013). First, the Court must distinguish the factual allegations from the con-clusory legal allegations in the complaint. Id. Second, taking the Plaintiffs allegations as true, the Court should -be able to draw “the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. (quoting Haley v. City of Boston, 657 F.3d 39, 46 (1st Cir.2011)).

The Court will dismiss a pleading that fails to plead “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). To state a plausible claim, a claim need not contain detailed factual allegations, but it must recite facts sufficient to at least [86]*86“raise a right to relief above the speculative level- ... on-the .assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “A pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders ‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement.’” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955) (alteration in original). At bottom, a claim must contain sufficient factual matter that, accepted as true, would allow the Court “to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. However, “[i]n determining whether a [pleading] crosses the plausibility threshold, ‘the reviewing court [must] draw on its judicial experience and common sense.’ ... This context-specific inquiry does not demand ‘a high degree of factual specificity.’” Garcia-Catalan, 734 F.3d 100, 103 (1st Cir.2013) (internal citations omitted).

III. Factual Allegations

These.facts are as stated in the complaint, D. 1-, ^ and are accepted as true for the purpose of the motion to dismiss. R.M. has attended Lexington Public Schools since he was five years old, Id. ¶- 7. At all times relevant to this action, Defendant Ash was the superintendent of the Lexingr ton School District. Id. ¶ 4. Beginning in September 2010, R.M. was a student at Jonas Clarke Middle School (“Clarke”), .where Defendant Flynn served as the principal. Id. ¶¶ 5, 8.

On or about October 5, 2011, when R.M. was twelve years old, he sustained injuries as a result of a physical assault on school grounds by several other students at Clarke referred to in. the complaint as members of the “Kool-Aid Club.” Id. ¶¶ 13-16. Morgan alleges multiple students, teachers and staff witnessed the assault. Id. ¶ 18. Morgan further alleges the assault was recorded on a student’s cell- phone and that the video was. later provided to school administrators. Id. ,¶ 19.

Thereafter, Morgan left a message for Flynn informing him of the incident, notifying him that R.M. had been the victim of bullying and that she was concerned for his safety. Id. ¶¶ 22-23. As some point later that day, based on a lack of response from Flynn, Morgan called the school again and left a message for Assistant Principal Jennifer Turner (“Turner”). Id. ¶ 24. The next day, October 6, 2011, Flynn returned Morgan’s call while he had another student present in his office. Id. ¶ 25. Flynn told Morgan that R.M. had not “told the whole story” and that R.M. had initially agreed to the assault to become a member of the “Kool-Aid Club.”-Id. ¶¶ 25-26. He also indicated the school administration had a video of the assault. Id. ¶ 27. Flynn stated that R.M, was not in trouble as he had not “been the aggressor,” but that Flynn “was not happy with R.M. for delaying the investigation.” Id. ¶ 28. As a result, Flynn banned R.M. from running in a track meet scheduled for later that day. Id. ¶ 29.

Morgan alleges that Flynn’s refusal to acknowledge that bullying had occurred and the punishment of being banned from the track meet deterred R.M. from reporting subsequent incidents of bullying. Id. ¶ 30. On October 11, 2011, R.M. told Morgan he feared retaliation for repprting the bullying. Id. ¶ 35. Because of this, Morgan met with Taylor and another assistant principal, Anna Monaco (“Monaco”), to explain that she and R.M. were afraid for his safety. Id. ¶¶ 35-36. Morgan alleges Monaco was confrontational and stated R.M. [87]*87had “invited” the assault based on a video that had been provided to the administration. Id. ¶¶ 39-40.

"The complaint alleges that as a consequence of the administration’s indifference, R.M. was assaulted and verbally harassed by the students who previously assaulted him in retaliation for “getting thém in trouble.” Id. ¶¶ 44-47. R.M. immediately reported this to Turner. Id. ¶ 48.'Turner instructed R.M. to move away from the group of students. Id, ¶ 49,

Thereafter, R.M.’s pants were pulled down, on multiple occasions and iri front of other students, by the same group involved in the earlier incident. Id. ¶ 53. R.M. was also “table topped,” in which two students pushed R.M. from opposite directions so that he fell backwards. Id. ¶ 54. R.M.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
138 F. Supp. 3d 82, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128424, 2015 WL 5634463, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morgan-v-town-of-lexington-mad-2015.