Storie v. Independent School District

834 F. Supp. 2d 1305, 2011 WL 3704216, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94482
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Oklahoma
DecidedAugust 23, 2011
DocketNo. CIV-11-108-SPS
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 834 F. Supp. 2d 1305 (Storie v. Independent School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Storie v. Independent School District, 834 F. Supp. 2d 1305, 2011 WL 3704216, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94482 (E.D. Okla. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS AND BRIEF IN SUPPORT

STEVEN P. SHREDER, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on a Motion to Dismiss and Brief in Support [1307]*1307[Docket No. 13] pursuant to Fed. R. of Civ. P. 12(b)(6), filed by Defendants Independent School District No. 13, Pushmataha County, Oklahoma (Antlers Independent School District); Pam Matthews, Principal of Obuch Middle School; and Mark Virden, Superintendent of Antlers Independent School District (together, “Defendants”). Defendants challenge the Plaintiffs Petition [Docket No. 2, Ex. 1] under Rule 12(b)(6) for failing to allege sufficient facts to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. For the reasons set forth below, the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is hereby GRANTED.

Plaintiffs Sean and Melody Storie filed this action in Oklahoma state court as parent and next friend of their daughter, H. N.S. They alleged that Defendants violated their daughter’s Fourteenth Amendment and Oklahoma constitutional rights when the school district suspended her and placed her in an alternative education setting for the remainder of the Spring 2011 semester for taking unauthorized medication1 on school property. Defendants removed the case to this Court, and have filed this Motion to Dismiss. As an initial matter, Plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss Defendant Virden as a party to this case, to dismiss their claims under the Oklahoma Constitution, and to dismiss their request for injunctive relief. Accordingly, the Court will address only the remaining issues and claims.

A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief[J” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but the statement of the claim under Rule 8(a)(2) must be “more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), citing Papasan v. Attain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986). “A pleading that offers labels and conclusions or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders naked assertion[s] devoid of further factual enhancement ... To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949, quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 556, 557, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 [internal quotation marks omitted]. “While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1950.

First, Defendant Matthews argues that the official-capacity claims against her are duplicative because Plaintiffs have also named the school district in their suit. Plaintiffs acknowledge that they can only recover once from the school district, but argue that dismissal is not required. The Court finds that Plaintiffs’ claims against Defendant Matthews in her official capacity are redundant and therefore dismissed. [1308]*1308See D.L. v. Unified School Dist. No. 497, 392 F.3d 1223, 1227 (10th Cir.2004) (“The district court ... dismissed the claims against the school-board members as redundant because of the District’s presence as a defendant ... ”); see also Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985) (“As long as the government entity receives notice and an opportunity to respond, an official-capacity suit is, in all other respects other than name, to be treated as a suit against the entity.”) [citation omitted]

Second, “[a] plaintiff must allege a deprivation of a sufficient property or liberty interest to invoke the protection of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.” Seamons v. Snow, 84 F.3d 1226, 1234 (10th Cir.1996), citing Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 569-70, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). Defendants therefore argue that the Plaintiffs have not alleged a procedural due process violation because Plaintiffs merely alleged damage to their daughter’s reputation. See Seamons v. Snow, 84 F.3d 1226, 1235 (10th Cir.1996) (“Furthermore, to the extent Brian was deprived of his reputation or standing in the community as a result of Defendant’s conduct, he still fails to state a procedural due process claim. The Supreme Court [has] concluded that damage to an individual’s reputation alone, apart from some more tangible interest, is not enough to establish a due process violation.”), citing Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 701, 96 S.Ct. 1155, 47 L.Ed.2d 405 (1976). Plaintiffs contend that this claim does allege more than just damage to their daughter’s reputation because the complaint also alleged that their daughter’s education at the alternative school was not commensurate with the regular middle school, and that their daughter was denied the right to participate in her eighth grade graduation ceremony. Contrary to Plaintiffs assertions, neither denial of participation in a graduation ceremony nor failure to provide a particular curriculum is a constitutional violation. See Seamons, 84 F.3d at 1234-35 (upholding dismissal of plaintiffs § 1983 claims because, “[w]ith regard to the specific components of education which Brian claims were lost (e.g., the right to participate in sports, to take advanced placement classes, and to attend a particular school), we do not believe that Brian has a constitutional right to those particular incidents of education.”); see also Nevares v. San Marcos Consol. Independent School Dist., 111 F.3d 25, 27 (5th Cir.1997) (“We have previously held that no protected property interest is implicated in a school’s denial to offer a student a particular curriculum.”), citing Arundar v. DeKalb Cty. School Dist., 620 F.2d 493 (5th Cir.1980); Smith v. N. Babylon Union Free School Dist., 844 F.2d 90, 94 (2d Cir.1988) (a plaintiffs interest in attending a graduation ceremony is not constitutionally protected); Khan v. Fort Bend Ind. School Dist., 561 F.Supp.2d 760, 764 (S.D.Tex.2008) (“[T]he United States Constitution’s due process guarantees do not protect a student’s interest in participating in extracurricular activities, such as a graduation ceremony.”). But see Riggan v. Midland Ind.

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834 F. Supp. 2d 1305, 2011 WL 3704216, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94482, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/storie-v-independent-school-district-oked-2011.