Terrill v. Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District

176 F. Supp. 3d 101, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42904, 2016 WL 1275048
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedMarch 31, 2016
Docket1:15-CV-0615 (GTS/DJS)
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 176 F. Supp. 3d 101 (Terrill v. Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Terrill v. Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District, 176 F. Supp. 3d 101, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42904, 2016 WL 1275048 (N.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

DECISION and ORDER

GLENN T. SUDDABY, Chief United States District Judge

Currently before the Court, in this civil rights action filed by Michael and Carol [103]*103Terrill, -individually and as parents and natural guardians of B.T. (“Plaintiffs”), against Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District (“the School”) and Kerry Overbaugh, individually and as an agent of the School’s Board of Education (“Defendants”), is Defendants’ motion to dismiss counts three through seven of Plaintiffs’ Complaint, as well as Plaintiffs’ request for punitive damages, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed. R.. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). (Dkt. No. 7.) For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ motion is granted and the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ remaining claims asserted in their first two causes of action.

I. RELEVANT BACKGROUND

A. Plaintiffs’ Complaint

Generally, Plaintiffs Complaint alleges as follows. B.T. was a student at Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School in Wind-ham, New York, where she was bullied and harassed by fellow students due to her weight and a medical disability (anorexia/bulimia). (Dkt. No. 1, ¶¶ 11-12, 72 [Pis.’ Compl.].) This harassment occurred over the course of 18 months to two years, prior to May 1, 2014, on school grounds as well as other areas under school control, such as the school bus. (Id., ¶ 13.) On May 1, 2014, B.T. attempted to commit suicide by drug overdose. (Id., ¶ 12.) B.T. and her parents complained to the School and Defendant Overbaugh, the School’s principal, on multiple occasions regarding B.T.’s treatment by fellow students. (Id., ¶¶ 16, 18.) Defendants undertook no reasonable action in response to these complaints, such as offering support to B.T. and implementing and enforcing an anti-bullying policy. (Id., ¶¶ 17,19-20, 23-24.) As a result of Defendants’ inaction, B.T. sustained serious psychological trauma and emotional distress, and had to begin attending school in a different school district. (Id-., ¶¶25-28.)

Based upon these allegations, Plaintiffs’ Complaint asserts the following seven claims: (1) a claim that Defendants were negligent in their “inaction and unreasonable response to the repeated long-term, reckless, and unwarranted harassment and bullying [of B.T.] by fellow students”; (2) a claim that Defendants were negligent in that they owed a duty to B.T., which was breached when they failed to reasonably monitor and control the actions of their agents, servants and employees, as well as other students in their school; (3) a claim that Defendants violated the Dignity for All Students Act (“DASA”), N.Y. Educ. Law § 11(7), by allowing the creation'and existence of a hostile educational environment for B.T.; (4) a claim that Defendants violated DASA § 12(1) by allowing B.T. to be subjected to harassment and bullying on account of her weight and disability, which effectively barred her from access to an educational opportunity or benefit; (5) a claim that Defendants violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by allowing B.T. to be subjected to harassment and bullying on account of her weight and disability; (6) a claim that Defendants violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by allowing B.T. to be subjected to harassment and bullying on account of her weight and disability; and (7) a claim that Defendants violated the Substantive Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by allowing B.T. to be subjected to harassment and bullying on account of her weight and disability. (Id., ¶¶ 33-92.)

Finally, among the forms of relief demanded by Plaintiffs are seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($750,000.00) and punitive damages. (Id., ¶ 92.)

[104]*104B. Parties’ Briefing on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss

1. Defendants’ Memorandum of Law

Generally, in their memorandum of law, Defendants assert five arguments. (Dkt. No. 7, Attach. 1 [Defs.’ Mem. of Law].) First, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ Title IX claim (asserted in their fifth cause of action) must be dismissed for the following two reasons: (a) Title IX prohibits discrimination or harassment on account of sex only, not weight or disability; and (b) even if Plaintiffs could maintain a Title IX claim against the School, there is no individual liability under Title IX and, therefore, this claim should be dismissed as against Defendant Overbaugh. (Id. at 4-5.)

Second, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ DASA claims (asserted in their third and fourth causes of action) must be dismissed because DASA does not provide for a private right of action for monetary damages, either express or implied. (Id. at 5-6.) Rather, Defendants argue that DASA relies on the creation and implementation of school board policies to reduce bullying in schools through the appropriate training of personnel, mandatory instruction for studying on civility and tolerance, and reporting requirements. (Id. at 6.)

Third,' Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ substantive due process claim (asserted in their seventh cause of action) must be dismissed because state (and local) governmental entities are not liable for the failure to protect an individual from harm inflicted by a private party and Plaintiffs’ claim does not fall under either of the two exceptions to this general rule. (Id. at 7-8.) More specifically, these exceptions include (a) where a special relationship existed between the governmental entity and the harmed party, or (b) when the governmental entity created the danger that caused the harm, (Id. at 8.) With respect to the first exception, Defendants argue that it is well established by case precedent that a special relationship does not exist where the governmental entity is a public school district. (Id. at 8-9.)

With respect to the second exception, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs have not pled any facts plausibly suggesting that a School employee personally participated in the alleged bullying or that the School took affirmative steps to facilitate the bullying. (Id. at 9-10.) Furthermore, Defendants argue that, even if their alleged inaction could be construed as a state-created danger, Plaintiffs have not alleged facts that are sufficient to “shock the conscience,” which is necessary for conduct to rise to the level of a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. (Id. at 10-11.)

Fourth, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ equal protection claim (asserted in their sixth cause of action) must be dismissed for the following three reasons: (a) individuals with disabilities do not constitute suspect class; (b) no authority exists for the point of law that weight is a suspect classification; and (c) Plaintiffs fail to allege facts plausibly suggesting a class-of-one theory of liability because they have not alleged facts plausibly suggesting that similarly situated students at the School received more favorable treatment than did B.T. and that such differential treatment was not rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest. (Id. at 12-14.)

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176 F. Supp. 3d 101, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42904, 2016 WL 1275048, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/terrill-v-windham-ashland-jewett-central-school-district-nynd-2016.