P.P. v. Compton Unified Sch. Dist.

Decision Date29 September 2015
Docket NumberCase No. CV 15–3726–MWF (PLAx)
Citation135 F.Supp.3d 1126
Parties P.P., et al. v. Compton Unified School District, et al.
CourtU.S. District Court — Central District of California

Michael H. Strub, Jr., Morgan Chu, Sara Adina Stohl, Irell and Manella LLP, Alisa Louise Hartz, Public Counsel, Los Angeles, CA, Anne Hudson–Price, Kathryn Ann Eidmann, Laura L. Faer, Mark D. Rosenbaum, Los Angeles, CA, for P.P., et al.

David Michael Huff, Jeremy Ehrlich, Niv Vladimir Davidovich, Orbach Huff Suarez and Henderson LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Kimble R. Cook, Orbach Huff Suarez and Henderson LLP, Oakland, CA, for Compton Unified School District, et al.

Proceedings (In Chambers): ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION [42]

Present: The Honorable MICHAEL W. FITZGERALD, U.S. District Judge

Before the Court is Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction (the "Motion"). (Docket No. 42). The Court has read and considered the papers filed on the Motion, and held a hearing on August 20, 2015. As set forth below, the Motion is DENIED. Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that the law and facts clearly favor the mandatory injunction sought in the Motion. In the absence of class certification, the evidence presented as to each named Plaintiff does not clearly support a claim of trauma-induced disability that would satisfy a reasonable expert in the field.

I. BACKGROUND

On May 18, 2015, students Peter P. (by Carolina Melendrez, guardian ad litem), Kimberly Cervantes, Phillip W. (by Beatrice W., guardian ad litem), Virgil W. (by Beatrice W., guardian ad litem), Donte J. (by Lavinia J., guardian ad litem) (the "Student Plaintiffs"), on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, along with teachers Rodney Curry, Armando Castro, II, and Maureen McCoy (the "Teacher Plaintiffs") (collectively, "Plaintiffs") initiated the present suit by filing a Complaint. (Docket No. 1).

Plaintiff Peter P. is seventeen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Dominguez High School, and attends Dominguez High School. (Compl. ¶ 40). Plaintiff Kimberly Cervantes is eighteen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Dominguez High School, and attends Cesar Chavez Continuation School. (Id . ¶ 41). Plaintiff Phillip W. is fifteen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Compton High School, "is currently in expulsion procedures from Dominguez High School," and attends school at "Team Builders, an alternative school in CUSD." (Id . ¶ 42). Plaintiff Virgil W.—Phillip W.'s twin brother—is fifteen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Compton High School, and attends Dominguez High School. (Id . ¶ 43). Plaintiff Donte J. is thirteen years old, resides within the boundaries of CUSD and Whaley Middle School, and attends Whaley Middle School. (Id . ¶ 44).

"Plaintiff Rodney Curry is a teacher at Dominguez High School in CUSD." (Id . ¶ 45). "Plaintiff Armando Castro II is a teacher at Cesar Chavez Continuation School in CUSD." (Id . ¶ 46). "Plaintiff Maureen McCoy is a teacher at Centennial High School in CUSD." (Id . ¶ 47).

Defendants in this action are the Compton Unified School District ("CUSD"), as well as Darin Brawley (in his official capacity as Superintendent of Compton Unified School District), and Micah Ali, Satra Zurita, Margie Garrett, Charles Davis, Skyy Fisher, Emma Sharif, and Mae Thomas in their official capacities as members of the Board of Trustees of the Compton Unified School District (the "Individual Defendants") (collectively, "Defendants").

The Student Plaintiffs represent a putative class of current and future students in CUSD. (Compl. ¶ 55). "Defendant CUSD operates schools in the south central region of Los Angeles County and encompasses the city of Compton and portions of the cities of Carson and Los Angeles." (Id . ¶ 48). "Compton is among the most socioeconomically distressed cities in Southern California, and it experiences attendant high rates of violent crime." (Id . ¶ 74). The Complaint notes that "[d]ecades of research have proven that children who grow up in high-poverty neighborhoods characterized by minimal investment in schools, quality housing, after-school programs, parks, and other community resources are disproportionately likely to be exposed to trauma and complex trauma." (Id . ¶ 1 (footnote omitted)).

"Trauma," as described in the Complaint, "stems from such causes as exposure to violence and loss, family disruptions related to deportation, incarceration and/or the foster system, systemic racism and discrimination, and the extreme stress of lacking basic necessities, such as not knowing where the next meal will come from or where to sleep that night." (Id . ¶ 1). Similarly, "[c]omplex trauma stems from the exposure to multiple persistent sources of violence, loss, and other adverse childhood experiences (‘ACEs'), and describes children's exposure to these events and the impact of this exposure." (Id . (footnote omitted)).

The Student Plaintiffs and class members are alleged to "have experienced and continue to experience traumatic events that profoundly affect their psychological, emotional, and physical well-being." (See id . ¶¶ 14–35, 73, 75–76). For example, the Complaint alleges that the following are "[r]epresentative examples of the traumatic incidents of violence that [Student] Plaintiffs have experienced or witnessed":

Plaintiff Peter P. was repeatedly physically and sexually abused by his mother's boyfriends and witnessed physical abuse of his siblings and mother.
Plaintiff Peter P. reports that he watched as his best friend was shot and killed.
Plaintiff Peter P. was stabbed with a knife while trying to protect a friend.
Plaintiff Peter P. reports that he has witnessed over twenty people being shot.
Plaintiff Kimberly Cervantes was sexually assaulted on the bus on her way home from school.
Plaintiff Phillip W. estimates that he has witnessed more than twenty people being shot, one of whom was a close friend who died when shot in the head.
Plaintiff Virgil W. witnessed his father pointing a gun at his mother.
• A stranger attempted to stab Plaintiff Donte J. and his friends when they were standing in front of the Whaley Middle School campus.
Plaintiff Donte J. was arrested by police at gunpoint on school campus when he was mistaken for someone else.
Plaintiff Donte J. was attacked by four people on his way to school.

(Id . ¶ 76). Other sources of trauma include: the death of or separation from a loved one (see id . ¶¶ 85–90); placement of children in the foster system (see id . ¶¶ 91–94); extreme poverty, homelessness, and other socioeconomic hardship (see id . ¶¶ 95–97); and discrimination and racism (see id . ¶¶ 98–105).

Peter P., for example, was initially separated from his siblings when he was placed in the foster system, has "moved in and out of a series of foster homes," has two older brothers and a prior caretaker who are currently incarcerated, and "spent two months of homelessness sleeping on the roof of his high school cafeteria." (Id . ¶¶ 1418, 97). Similarly, Kimberly Cervantes has "experienced multiple incidents of racism," got into an altercation with a security guard at Dominguez High School while returning a book to the library, witnessed the deaths of two students, and informed a fellow student that she identified as bisexual only to have her teacher say in front of her class that Cervantes "shouldn't be gay" and that it was "wrong." (Id . ¶¶ 22–23). Phillip W. "has experienced the deaths of two close friends—one of whom he witnessed get shot in the head last September," and "lost a close family member to cancer." (Id . ¶ 28). Virgil W. "also recently experienced the death of a close friend and a cousin, and nearly lost another close friend and cousin." (Id . ¶ 89). Finally, Donte J. has experienced gang-related violence, despite his "lack of involvement with any gang," and was approached by an assailant with a knife who threatened to stab him. (Id . ¶ 35).

The Complaint alleges that the neurobiological effects of the complex trauma to which Student Plaintiffs have been subjected impair the ability to perform activities essential to education—including, but not limited to, learning, thinking, reading, and concentrating—and thus constitute a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act ("Section 504") and the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA"). (See id . ¶¶ 2, 4, 54–66, 71). The Complaint details the body's response to trauma, including how trauma affects the brain. (See, e.g., Compl. ¶¶ 107–22).

In this vein, Peter P. states that, as a result of the "repeated and sustained trauma" he has experienced, "he often experiences uncontrollable anger, as well as "deep sadness and depression." (Id . ¶ 19). Peter P. "previously had shown an ability to achieve high grades in certain honors classes," but the Complaint alleges that the "complex trauma in his life has at times caused his grades to decline sharply." (Id . ¶ 20). "Over the course of his academic career, [Peter P.] has been repeatedly suspended for disobedient, angry, or aggressive behavior, and has been involuntarily transferred (or ‘expelled’)" from a number of CUSD schools. (Id .). Similarly, the Complaint alleges that Kimberly Cervantes "had trouble focusing and concentrating in class and has missed a significant amount of class" as a result of the multiple traumas she has suffered. (Id . ¶¶ 22, 24, 26). Moreover, Phillip W. allegedly "has difficulty focusing, concentrating, and recalling information in school" and "feels detached or angry much of the time." (Id . ¶ 29). Phillip W. has been expelled from three mainstream high schools in his freshman year because he has been in physical altercations with other students. (Id . ¶ 31). Virgil W. is also alleged to "struggle[ ] with anger due to the traumatic violence and loss he has endured." (Id . ¶ 33). As a result of fights he has been involved in at school, Virgil W. has been repeatedly suspended and was "expelled...

To continue reading

Request your trial
12 cases
  • P.P. v. Compton Unified Sch. Dist., Case No. CV 15–3726–MWF (PLAx)
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Central District of California
    • 29 Septiembre 2015
  • Doe v. Boyertown Area Sch. Dist.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • 25 Agosto 2017
    ...services, and activities can constitute irreparable injury for purposes of a preliminary injunction." P.P. v. Compton Unified Sch. Dist. , 135 F.Supp.3d 1126, 1148 (C.D. Cal. 2015). Even when access is denied, though, movants may be required to show more to establish irreparable harm. Selle......
  • Maney v. Brown
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Oregon
    • 2 Febrero 2021
    ...Plaintiffs seek a mandatory injunction, courts decline to apply the "serious questions" standard. See P.P. v. Compton Unified Sch. Dist. , 135 F. Supp. 3d 1126, 1135 (C.D. Cal. 2015) ("Plaintiffs seek a mandatory injunction, the Court declines to interpret the ‘serious questions’ standard f......
  • Maney v. Brown
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Oregon
    • 1 Junio 2020
    ...here, Plaintiffs seek a mandatory injunction, courts decline to apply the "serious questions" test. See P.P. v. Compton Unified Sch. Dist. , 135 F. Supp. 3d 1126, 1135 (C.D. Cal. 2015) ("Plaintiffs seek a mandatory injunction, the Court declines to interpret the ‘serious questions’ standard......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles
  • RACIAL TRAUMA IN CIVIL RIGHTS REPRESENTATION.
    • United States
    • Michigan Law Review Vol. 120 No. 8, June 2022
    • 1 Junio 2022
    ...the National Injunction, 131 Harv. L. Rev. F. 56, 56 (2017). (104.) Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b). (105.) P.P. v. Compton Unified Sch. Dist., 135 F. Supp. 3d 1126, 1133 (C.D. Cal. 2015) (order denying preliminary injunction) (quoting Memorandum of Points & Auths. in Support of Motion for Prelim......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT