Thornton v. Chronister

309 F. Supp. 3d 1196
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedApril 10, 2018
DocketCase No.: 8:18–cv–260–T–33MAP
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 309 F. Supp. 3d 1196 (Thornton v. Chronister) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thornton v. Chronister, 309 F. Supp. 3d 1196 (M.D. Fla. 2018).

Opinion

VIRGINIA M. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter comes before the Court pursuant to Defendants the Florida State Fair Authority's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. # 13), Sheriff Chad Chronister's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. # 17), and Deputies Henry Echenique, Mark Clark, Stephen Jones, and Adrian Chester's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. # 16), filed on February 23 and *1199March 6, 2018. Plaintiff Yvonne Thornton, as guardian and natural parent of C.T., a minor, responded on March 30, 2018. (Doc. ## 45-46, 48). The Motions are granted as set forth herein.

I. Background

For many years, "students of Hillsborough County schools have been given a day off from school and provided with free admission to an event current[ly] known as 'Student Day' at the Florida State Fairgrounds." (Doc. # 1 at ¶ 17). On February 7, 2014, C.T., the minor son of Thornton, attended Student Day with his friend Andrew Joseph III. (Id. at ¶ 42).

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office provides security for Student Day. (Id. at ¶ 19). Sheriff Chronister was "aware based on the large number of juveniles expected to attend, that specific definitions and standards of conduct needed to be established so that deputies and other security personnel at Student Day would know what conduct was prohibited." (Id. at ¶ 23). He "was further aware and on notice due to the large numbers of juveniles expected to attend and due to [ ] past experiences in previous years' Student Day events, that specific, uniform procedures needed to be established for the 2014 Student Day for the deputies to employ in the process of conducting arrests, detentions, ejectments and trespasses of juveniles." (Id. at ¶ 24).

Despite that knowledge, deputies were simply advised "to be alert for 'unruly' behavior" and "that they had the option, at their discretion, to eject or trespass students if the deputies felt it was warranted in his or her individual discretion, or that they could place the student under arrest." (Id. at ¶¶ 34-35). Thornton alleges that such discretion was wrongfully exercised on C.T. and Andrew. Around eight that night, C.T. "was detained and placed in custody by [Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office] deputies for alleged 'disorderly conduct' without cause or legal justification." (Id. at ¶ 43). "At the time of his de facto arrest, C.T. [ ] was not disorderly, was in violation of no law, and was not smoking or drinking alcohol or using any other intoxicant." (Id. at ¶ 44).

C.T. "was then taken into custody and was then taken or transported by deputies to the processing area." (Id. at ¶ 46). At no point during his detention, transport, or ejection were C.T.'s parents notified and C.T. "was given no assistance or opportunity to make a phone call." (Id. at ¶ 47). Unfortunately, C.T. had been relying on Andrew's cell phone, which was either taken away or broken. (Id. at ¶ 46). And, "[o]nce [ ] student detainees [like C.T.] had been transported to the processing area by whatever means, they were dropped off there and the deputies returned to the Fairgrounds." (Id. at ¶ 36). "Deputies who escorted students to the temporary processing area were not instructed to stay with their detainees or supervise their processing, detention or release"-instead deputies were free to leave after filling out paperwork for their detainees. (Id. at ¶ 37). Furthermore, "the temporary processing area was understaffed and unable to efficiently process the student detainees brought there by deputies from the event." (Id. at ¶ 39).

Like other minors to be ejected but not arrested, C.T. and Andrew were transported after processing to Gate 4 where they were "simply shown to the door and told to exit the facility." (Id. at ¶¶ 47-48). Gate 4 is a gate adjacent to the busy Interstate 4, and was not the gate at which C.T. and Andrew had been dropped off or were scheduled to be picked up. (Id. at ¶¶ 27-28, 49). "[B]ecause of fencing and other barriers on and around the Fairgrounds, there was no clear path or area that could be safely traversed on foot from outside Gate *12004 back to the US [Highway] 301 side"-where C.T. and Andrew, like most other attendees, had been dropped off and entered the fair. (Id. at ¶ 28). "The only direct route, as well as the safest route to return to the parking lots and adjacent entrance Gates from outside Gate 4 was to return into the Fair through Gate 4 and walk east back through the Fair itself." (Id. ). Making matters worse, "[v]ehicular access from outside the Fairgrounds to that portion of the Fairgrounds property where the boys were located was prohibited that night," so the boys could not be picked up at Gate 4. (Id. at ¶ 50).

At first, C.T. and Andrew waited around the area outside of Gate 4, but "a deputy in a patrol car drove up and told the boys that they could not stay where they were." (Id. at ¶ 51). In the hope of getting back to the gate at which they would be picked up, C.T. and Andrew asked the deputy at Gate 4 to let them travel back through the fair or to give them a ride to the gate they needed. (Id. at ¶¶ 52-53). The deputy refused the request, but gave C.T. and Andrew directions on how to walk back to the gate they needed on the other side of the fairgrounds. (Id. at ¶¶ 52-53, 54). The route the deputy described would cover 2 to 3 miles and required the boys to cross Interstate 4, "then walk in an easterly direction generally following the direction of I-4 until they reached U.S. [Highway] 301, at which point they could head south following 301 back to the entrance area of the Fairgrounds." (Id. at ¶¶ 54-55).

Feeling out of options, C.T. and Andrew took the deputy's advice. They crossed Interstate 4 and walked towards the entrance gates of the Fairgrounds. (Id. at ¶ 56). When C.T. and Andrew attempted to cross Interstate 4 back to the Fairgrounds, "Andrew was struck and killed by a passing motorist," as twelve-year-old C.T. watched. (Id. at ¶ 57). As a result, Thornton alleges C.T. suffered the "infliction of emotional distress" as well as "pain and suffering." (Id. at ¶ 70).

Thornton initiated this action on C.T.'s behalf on January 31, 2018, asserting negligence claims against the Hillsborough County School Board, the Florida State Fair Authority, Sheriff Chronister, and four Defendant Deputies, as well as 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against the Defendant Deputies and Sheriff Chronister. (Doc. # 1). Thornton alleges that, because of Defendants' negligence and allegedly insufficient policies or lack thereof regarding the detention and ejectment of minors, C.T. was "improperly detained, taken into custody and transported off the Fairgrounds property to a location in the immediate vicinity of Interstate 4," where C.T. watched his friend be struck and killed by a motorist. (Id. at ¶ 138).

Each Defendant moved to dismiss. (Doc. ## 13-14, 16-17). Subsequently, Thornton voluntarily dismissed the claim against the Hillsborough County School Board. (Doc. # 47). Thornton responded in opposition to the Motions from the State Fair Authority, Sheriff Chronister, and the Deputy Defendants. (Doc.

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309 F. Supp. 3d 1196, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thornton-v-chronister-flmd-2018.