Smith v. Williams-Ash

520 F.3d 596, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 6196, 2008 WL 782453
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMarch 26, 2008
Docket06-4638
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 520 F.3d 596 (Smith v. Williams-Ash) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Williams-Ash, 520 F.3d 596, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 6196, 2008 WL 782453 (6th Cir. 2008).

Opinions

COOK, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which DAUGHTREY, J., joined. GILMAN, J. (pp. 601-04), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

COOK, Circuit Judge.

David and Melody Smith filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against Judy Williams-Ash — a social worker employed by the Hamilton County Department of Jobs and Family Services (“Children’s Services”) — claiming violation of their due process right to a hearing before the temporary removal of their children from their home. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Williams-Ash, holding that the Smiths were not entitled to a hearing because they consented to the removal of their children pursuant to a [598]*598voluntary “safety plan.” We agree and affirm.

I

David and Melody Smith are the parents of two minors and the legal custodians of another minor, Malake Dancer. The Smiths have custody of Malake — a nine-year-old who suffers from cerebral palsy and other disabilities — through a “kinship program” administered by Children’s Services. Pursuant to this program, Richard Montifore, a Children’s Services employee, inspected the Smith home in 2004. He found a home so “filthy” that he felt uncomfortable leaving Malake and the other children in the house. Lori Patton — another social worker — viewed the residence and also concluded that the children needed to leave. Patton found dog feces under one child’s bed and so much “clutter” in the house that, in her opinion, the children could not evacuate in the event of a fire.

These unsanitary and dangerous conditions spurred Montifore to call the police (the Smiths were later charged with and convicted of misdemeanor child endangerment). The next day, Children’s Services assigned Williams-Ash to the case. She persuaded the Smiths to consent to a safety plan that removed the children from the Smiths’ home and placed them with friends in the neighborhood. With the children in nearby homes, the Smiths maintained close contact — they visited, arranged outings, and drove the children to and from school.

The safety plan informed the Smiths, “[Y]our decision to sign this safety plan is voluntary,” and read:

1. This safety plan is a specific agreement to help ensure your child(ren)’s safety.
2. The custody of your child(ren) does not change under this safety plan.
3. Children’s Services is here to help you protect your child(ren) when you may not be able to do it on your own.
4. If you cannot or will not be able to continue following the plan, Children’s Services may have to take other action(s) to keep your child(ren) safe.
5. The safety plan will end when you are able to protect your child(ren) without help from Children’s Services.
6. This safety plan may be changed if new or different services are necessary.
7. You must contact your caseworker immediately if you decide that you cannot or will not be able to continue following the plan.

As a part of ensuring the children’s safety, the plan prohibited the Smiths from bringing the children to their home.

Once the parties agreed to the plan and placed the children in safe homes, Williams-Ash launched an investigation into the Smiths’ long-term ability to care for the minors. Over the next two weeks, Williams-Ash interviewed the Smiths, the children, the children’s doctors, the temporary caregivers, and the Smiths’ therapist. She also re-inspected the Smiths’ home.

The Smiths allege that during this time they cleaned their house and repeatedly asked Williams-Ash what else they needed to do to allow the children to return. They allege that Williams-Ash ignored their requests for information and threatened to permanently remove their children if they stopped cooperating. Though the record before the district court includes Williams-Ash’s response regarding additional requirements necessary to permit the children’s return, including doctors’ reports about the state of the children’s health, we take the Smiths’ allegations to [599]*599be true for purposes of summary judgment.

After two weeks, the Smiths filed this action against Williams-Ash in her individual capacity for violating their substantive and procedural due process rights.1 Children’s Services terminated the safety plan two days later and returned the children— seventeen days after they were removed.

Williams-Ash moved the district court to dismiss, citing her right to qualified immunity. The denial of that motion precipitated the first appeal of this case. It resulted in a dismissal of the Smiths’ substantive due process claims, and an affir-mance of the denial of qualified immunity, because judging the Complaint only, it set up a violation of the Smiths’ clearly established right to procedural due process. Smith v. Williams-Ash, 173 Fed.Appx. 363, 366-67 (6th Cir.2005) (per curiam). Although Williams-Ash argued in her first appeal that the safety plan was voluntary, the panel assumed that Children’s Services acted without the Smiths’ consent because Williams-Ash failed to enter the plan into the record. Id. at 366. The court invited Williams-Ash to reassert her qualified immunity defense “based upon a more complete record.” Id. at 367 n. 1.

II

This court reviews the grant of a motion for summary judgement de novo, Westfield Ins. Co. v. Tech Dry Inc., 336 F.3d 503, 506 (6th Cir.2003), and will neither “make credibility determinations [nor] weigh the evidence,” Adams v. Metiva, 31 F.3d 375, 384 (6th Cir.1994) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). Instead, we “view the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.” Baker v. City of Hamilton, 471 F.3d 601, 603 (6th Cir.2006) (quoting Little v. BP Exploration & Oil Co., 265 F.3d 357, 361 (6th Cir.2001)).

Ill

To state a viable 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim, the Smiths must demonstrate that (1) they were deprived of a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States and (2) the deprivation was caused by a person acting under color of state law. Flagg Bros. v. Brooks, 436 U.S. 149, 155, 98 S.Ct. 1729, 56 L.Ed.2d 185 (1978); Harbin-Bey v. Rutter, 420 F.3d 571, 575 (6th Cir.2005).

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Bluebook (online)
520 F.3d 596, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 6196, 2008 WL 782453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-williams-ash-ca6-2008.