NJ Ex Rel. Jackson v. MET. SCH. DIST.

879 N.E.2d 1192
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 31, 2008
Docket49A05-0701-CV-30
StatusPublished

This text of 879 N.E.2d 1192 (NJ Ex Rel. Jackson v. MET. SCH. DIST.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
NJ Ex Rel. Jackson v. MET. SCH. DIST., 879 N.E.2d 1192 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

879 N.E.2d 1192 (2008)

N.J. by L. Lee JACKSON and Judith Jackson, Parents and Next Friends, Appellants-Plaintiffs,
v.
METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP; Ingaborg Willis; Washington Township School Police; Marion County Sheriff, Jason Swanson; and John Riggers, Appellees-Defendants.

No. 49A05-0701-CV-30.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

January 31, 2008.

*1194 Paul D. Ludwig, Bator Redman Bruner Shive & Ludwig, P.C., Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellants.

Steven D. Groth, Michael D. Rogers, Bose McKinney & Evans, LLP, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

MAY, Judge.

N.J. appeals summary judgment for the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, Washington Police Department, Marion County Sheriff, Ingaborg Willis, Officer Jason Swanson, and Officer John Riggers. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On August 27, 2003, N.J. was a student in a Washington Township school. On that day, she was riding home on a school bus driven by Willis. During the bus ride, N.J. and B.S.C. got into an argument. Willis reported there was a fight on her bus and asked that the students be removed. When asked to confirm whether there was a fight currently going on, Willis stated the girls were "at each other's throats." (Abridged Bus Video, time stamp 15:56.) Willis stopped the bus and waited for police officers employed by the School District to arrive. Meanwhile, N.J. called her father.

Officers Riggers and Swanson responded. Apparently, they believed there to be a physical fight involving choking. They ordered N.J. and B.S.C. off the bus. N.J. told the officers her father had instructed her not to get off the bus, but then promptly got off the bus and allowed herself to be handcuffed. The officers viewed the videotape from the bus and determined there had been no physical fight. Nevertheless, N.J. was transported to the Juvenile Center for alleged disorderly conduct.

N.J. filed suit under the Indiana Tort Claims Act ("ITCA") against Willis, the School District, Officers Swanson and Riggers, the Washington Police Department, and the Marion County Sheriff's Department. Her complaint alleged: (1) Willis made a false report to the police; (2) the officers lacked probable cause to arrest her; (3) the officers lacked probable cause to charge her with disorderly conduct; (4) the officers used excessive force when they placed her under arrest; and (5) the School District and Sheriff's Department were vicariously liable. The defendants filed motions for summary judgment, which the trial court granted.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

In reviewing summary judgment, we apply the same standard as the trial court. Wright v. American States Ins. Co., 765 N.E.2d 690, 692 (Ind.Ct.App.2002). Summary judgment is appropriate if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). "Any doubt as to a fact, or an inference to be drawn, is resolved in favor of the non-moving party," here, Jackson. Sanchez v. Hamara, 534 N.E.2d 756, 757 (Ind.Ct.App. 1989). The moving party bears the burden of proving there is no genuine issue of material fact; however, once this burden is sustained, the opponent may not rest on the pleadings, but must set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial. T.R. 56(E); Oelling v. Rao, 593 N.E.2d 189, 190 (Ind.1992). We consider only the evidence designated to the trial court. T.R. 56(H); Mangold ex rel. Mangold v. Ind. Dep't of Natural Res., 756 N.E.2d 970, 973 (Ind.2001). We affirm summary judgment on any legal basis supported by the designated evidence. Bernstein v. Glavin, 725 N.E.2d 455, 458-59 (Ind.Ct.App.2000), trans. denied 741 N.E.2d 1248 (Ind.2000). The appellant *1195 bears the burden of persuading us the grant of summary judgment was erroneous. Bank One Trust No. 386 v. Zem, Inc., 809 N.E.2d 873, 878 (Ind.Ct.App. 2004), trans. denied 822 N.E.2d 975 (Ind. 2004).

Immunity from liability under the ITCA is a question of law, but "may require extended factual development." East Chicago Police Dep't v. Bynum, 826 N.E.2d 22, 26 (Ind.Ct.App.2005), trans. denied 855 N.E.2d 1011 (Ind.2006). In this case, there are questions of fact that must be resolved, and at the summary judgment stage, those facts must be resolved in favor of N.J.

1. Willis' Report to the Police

The Appellees argue Willis' report to the police was an attempt to enforce school rules and is therefore immune under Ind.Code § 34-13-3-3(8), which gives governmental entities and employees immunity from liability when the loss results from the "enforcement of . . . a law (including rules and regulations), unless the act of enforcement constitutes false arrest or false imprisonment."

The evidence N.J. designated indicates she violated the rules by standing and yelling, but that is not the conduct Willis reported.[1] Several other students engaged in similar conduct during the bus ride without comment from Willis. Instead, Willis reported a "fight," (Abridged Bus Video, time stamp 15:51), although she knew N.J. and B.S.C. had not been physically fighting or doing anything else for which they could be arrested. Willis confirmed a fight was occurring after the verbal altercation had subsided. She told the girls they might as well "go ahead and fight" so she could have them sent to the Juvenile Center. (Id. at 15:54.) B.S.C. called her mother, and Willis told B.S.C.'s mother the girls had been "getting ready to fight." (Id. at 16:04.) From these statements, it can be inferred Willis intended to give the police the impression the girls had been physically fighting. The evidence also suggested that after the police arrived, Willis urged them to arrest N.J.

The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to N.J., is that Willis intentionally gave police a false report and wanted N.J. to be arrested for conduct that never occurred. The Appellees' characterize this as a "disagreement with the sanction imposed" for N.J.'s violation of the rules. (Appellees' Br. at 11.) Making a false report of a physical fight is not related to enforcement of school rules prohibiting standing and yelling on the bus. Therefore, a genuine issue of material fact remains as to whether the Appellees are immune to this claim.

2. N.J.'s Arrest

N.J. claims there was a question of fact as to whether the Officers had probable cause to arrest her. We disagree.

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879 N.E.2d 1192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nj-ex-rel-jackson-v-met-sch-dist-indctapp-2008.