Williams v. Wicomico County Board of Education

836 F. Supp. 2d 387, 2011 WL 3022300, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79191
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedJuly 21, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. WMN-10-3582
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 836 F. Supp. 2d 387 (Williams v. Wicomico County Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Wicomico County Board of Education, 836 F. Supp. 2d 387, 2011 WL 3022300, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79191 (D. Md. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

WILLIAM M. NICKERSON, Senior District Judge.

Pending before the Court is a motion to dismiss this action filed by Defendants Wicomico County Board of Education, John [390]*390Fredericksen, Stephanie Moses and Thomas Field. ECF No. 11. The parties have fully briefed the motion and it is ripe for adjudication. Upon consideration of the facts, applicable law and legal arguments advanced by the parties, the Court will grant in part and deny in part Defendants’ motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Larry Williams, an African-American man, was a social studies teacher at the Wicomico Alternative Learning Center (Learning Center), a now-defunct alternative public high school for students with severe disciplinary histories. Defendant Wicomico County Board of Education (Board) oversaw the Learning Center. John Fredericksen is the current Superintendent of the Wicomico County school system. Stephanie' Moses is the school system’s Director of Human Resources, and Thomas Field was the interim Superintendent from July 2006 to July 2008, after which the Board hired Dr. Frederick-sen.

Mr. Williams joined the Learning Center in August 2006.1 In May 2007, Mr. Williams was involved in a physical altercation with a student at the Learning Center. Consequently, Mr. Williams was placed on administrative leave from his teaching position, but he continued to receive his pay. The Wicomico County Department of Social Services Child Advocacy Center (Social Services) investigated the altercation and issued a finding “indicating” physical child abuse. The finding was forwarded to the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Mr. Williams was charged with second degree assault. On September 11, 2007, the Board notified Mr. Williams that Mr. Field had recommended his termination. Mr. Field also penned a letter to the Assistant State Superintendent at the Maryland State Department of Education requesting that the state revoke Mr. Williams’ teaching certificate. On October 8, 2007, Mr. Williams was suspended indefinitely without pay. He was never afforded an opportunity to appeal the Board’s decisions.

In December 2007, Mr. Williams was tried for second degree assault in the District Court of Wicomico County. He was acquitted. In turn, Social Services formally revised its finding of “indicated” child abuse to “ruled out” child abuse, and it expunged its record of the incident pursuant to Maryland state regulation. As defined by regulation, a finding of “ruled out” means that the alleged abuse “did not occur.” COMAR 07.02.07.02B(38). One day after Social Services amended its finding, the Board modified Mr. Williams’ status to administrative leave with pay retroactive to November 1, 2007. In April 2008, Mr. Field notified Mr. Williams that his employment contract with the Board would not be renewed for the following school year. In May 2008, the District Court of Wicomico County ordered that all records of the criminal charge be expunged.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Williams began applying for new teaching positions in other Maryland counties. Despite receiving some positive responses, he was unsuccessful. For example, officials at Prince George’s County school system expressed interest in pursuing Mr. Williams, but his application stalled when he was asked, pri- or to an interview, why he left his position in Wicomico County. Later, Mr. Williams interviewed at Montgomery County school [391]*391system in December 2008, after which the principal of Gaithersburg High School personally recommended him for a position in her school. Nonetheless, Mr. Williams was told that the school’s human resources department “would not release him,” and Mr. Williams was never offered a position.

Unable to obtain a teaching position, Mr. Williams looked elsewhere for work. He applied to be a bus driver with Somerset County schools in late 2009, but he was informed via letter from the Director of Facilities and Transportation that the school would not hire him. In a letter dated September 16, 2009, the transportation director explained that “upon researching your references, I was made aware of a physical confrontation which involved you and a student while you were employed in Wicomico County.” Mr. Williams had not previously disclosed the incident to Somerset County schools.

Mr. Williams now claims he is unable to find work in any school system, either as a teacher or in any other capacity, because Defendants have willfully and maliciously spread false information regarding the alleged assault for which he was found not guilty. He further alleges Defendants’ conduct is motivated by racial discrimination. To that end, Counts I through V of Mr. Williams’ Complaint allege Defamation, Invasion of Privacy, Tortious Interference with a Prospective Advantage, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, and Negligence, respectively, and they are lodged against all four Defendants. Count VIII also relates to all four defendants and claims violations of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. In contrast, Counts VI and VII relate to Dr. Fredericksen, Ms. Moses and Mr. Field in their personal capacities only and allege violations of the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Defendants now move to dismiss all eight counts and argue both that some of Mr. Williams’ claims are barred by the 11th Amendment and principles of sovereign immunity and that Mr. Williams has failed to allege facts sufficient to state plausible claims.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), pleadings must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Rule 8 does not require “detailed factual allegations,” but “naked assertions, devoid of further factual enhancement” are insufficient. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)) (internal quotations omitted). Likewise, unadorned accusations and rote recitation of a cause of action’s elements fail to meet the requisite pleading standard. Id.

Instead, to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter ... to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. In this context, the plausibility standard demands more than the mere possibility of a defendant’s liability. Id. To wit, “[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.” Id. When evaluating the sufficiency of a pleading, courts are required to construe all facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Ibarra v. United States, 120 F.3d 472, 474 (4th Cir.1997).

III. ANALYSIS

Mr.

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836 F. Supp. 2d 387, 2011 WL 3022300, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-wicomico-county-board-of-education-mdd-2011.