Sanford v. Stiles

Decision Date02 August 2006
Docket NumberNo. 04-4496.,04-4496.
PartiesKathleen SANFORD, Individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Michael R. Sanford, Appellant v. Pamela STILES; Dennis Murphy; East Penn School District.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Before FUENTES, BECKER,* and ROTH** Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

PER CURIAM.

This case arises out of the unfortunate death of Michael Sanford, a sixteen-year-old boy who committed suicide at his home in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Kathleen Sanford, Michael's mother, appeals the District Court's grant of summary judgment against her in an action against the East Penn School District and one if its guidance counselors, Pamela Stiles ("the Defendants"). Kathleen Sanford filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the Defendants are liable for her son's death under a state-created danger theory. She also alleges that Pamela Stiles is individually liable for negligence under state law. We will affirm the grant of summary judgment against Sanford.

This case requires us to examine and clarify an unsettled area of the law: the standard of fault in state-created danger cases. As we have noted before, the relevant question — whether a state actor's behavior "shocks the conscience" — has an elusive quality to it.1 This is in part because the level of culpability required to shock the conscience will depend upon the extent to which a state actor is required to act under pressure. In the present case, we are satisfied that Kathleen Sanford's state-created danger claims cannot prevail because she is unable to show that Stiles or the East Penn School District acted with the requisite level of culpability. We also must reject Sanford's state law negligence claim because Stiles is entitled to broad immunity under the Pennsylvania Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act.

I. Facts and Procedural History

The events in this case began when Karen Martin, a high school student, received a troubling note from classmate Michael Sanford.2 Karen and Michael had dated for a brief period. Karen was passed the note on November 26, 2002, after Michael learned that she was dating a student named Ryan. The note stated:

I know I really haven't talked to you in awhile. Hopefully this note doesn't come out the wrong way. I've heard 3 diff[erent] stories about you & Ryan. The one I heard almost made me want to go kill myself. Mostly because if there was any chance in hell of you & me solving the what if's I fucked it up. Anyways I heard that instead of Danielle it was you online Friday. If I said anything stupid, I apologize (this weekend sucked & I've tried to make myself forget it). So how have you been? How's driving going? Remember stop signs w/ white lines around them are optional & if you hit a pedestrian @ nite & he's wearing black its 100 pts. For some reason, I just thought this & have to ask you, is there any grudge or an[imosity] btwn us? I g2g. Write back if you can, if not hopefully I ttyl. Luv ya. Ur ex-husband, Mike.

(App. 41 (emphasis added).)

Karen indicated several times that, after reading Michael's note, she did not believe that Michael would actually kill himself. Still, the day after receiving the message, Karen approached a school guidance counselor, Barbara Valladares, about the note's contents. Karen claimed that she was worried about Michael and that she was sick of him "bugging" her. Karen told Valladares that she "didn't think" Michael would hurt himself but that she just "wanted to be safe." (App.462.) Karen asked Valladares not to reveal the source of the note.

Valladares gave a copy of the note to Michael's guidance counselor, Pamela Stiles, and relayed both that Karen "wanted Michael to stop bothering her" and that Karen was concerned about Michael's reaction to their earlier breakup. (App.236.) Stiles immediately called Michael into her office. She told Michael that some of his friends were worried about him, and that therefore she was worried about him. Stiles asked Michael if he was upset about some sort of situation with a girl, and he replied: "that was two months ago when I was upset about that. I'm not upset about that now." (App.280.) According to Stiles, Michael responded in a "very straightforward" manner. (App.255.)

Additionally, Stiles asked Michael if he ever had plans to hurt himself or if he would do such a thing. He answered "definitely not." (App.256.) She asked him "forward thinking" questions and became satisfied that he had future plans. (App. 256-57.) Finally, Stiles asked Michael if anything else was upsetting him. According to Stiles, Michael stated, "no, he was fine." (App.257.)

Stiles later reported that Michael "kind of shrugged that [she] would even ask him these questions or if there was a problem." (App.257.) Stiles was convinced that the feelings expressed in the note dated several months back. She concluded that "Mike did not present any signs ... that were of a nature that he was thinking about harming himself." (App.280.) Therefore, because she believed Michael was not at risk, she did not contact the school psychologist or Michael's mother.

According to Stiles, she and Michael spoke for ten to fifteen minutes during this first encounter. Stiles then gave the note back to Valladares and "told her that [she] had seen Michael and that he did not display any suicidal ideation to [her] in what he verbalized." (App.259.) Also, Jason Pekarik, a friend of Michael's, later testified that Michael told him that he had been called into the guidance office. According to Pekarik, Michael "laughed about it" and said that "everything was fine." (App.647.)

On December 4, 2002, Michael again visited the guidance office. Stiles stated that she asked Michael if he would like to come in, but that Michael only asked Stiles if it was a "blond-haired girl" who gave her the note. (App.264.) Stiles said that she could not share that information. She stated in her deposition that this was because of ethical practices aimed to help students "feel comfortable giving information." (App.264, 266.) Stiles invited Michael to talk further. However, Michael only responded: "thanks, I thought that's what you would say. That's all I needed." (App.264.) According to Stiles, Michael "did not seem upset" during their interaction. (App.268.)

That evening, Michael committed suicide by hanging himself. Immediately before his death, Michael and his mother had argued. Sanford believed that the argument occurred because she told Michael to take his sweatshirt off and to close the car windows. According to Sanford, Michael "opened up the car door while it was still going" and started to run home. (App. 847-48.) Sanford looked for Michael, but when he saw the car, he "took off again." (App.848.) At one point, Michael again entered the car, but he only threw some of Sanford's cigarettes out of the car, then walked the short distance home. After they had both returned home, Sanford asked Michael to clean the kitchen. When Sanford went down to look for him, she found that he had hanged himself from a door in the basement.

As the District Court noted, no one, including Sanford, Karen Martin, or Michael's uncle believed that Michael was suicidal. Michael's uncle, David Schlegel, was a licensed social worker and had worked as a therapist. Schlegel testified that Michael seemed "happy-go-lucky" before his death and that there were no signs that he would harm himself. Additionally, shortly before Michael's death, Sanford had read an instant message exchange between Michael and his friend Jason Pekarik. The messages referenced suicidal behavior. Still, after reading the messages, Sanford was not concerned that Michael could be suicidal.

It appears that Stiles followed school protocol in making her assessment of Michael. The Emmaus High School Counseling Department Guidelines Handbook delineates a "Suicide Referral Process." That protocol states:

In cases of suicide ideation, the assigned counselor will assess the situation no matter what the referral source (SAP, teacher, parent, and self-referral). The counselor will determine if and when a referral should be made to the school psychologist.

(App.85.) A flow chart provides further information.

Sanford filed this action against Stiles and the East Penn School District in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She alleged that the Defendants were liable for Michael's death under a state-created danger theory for constitutional violations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. She also alleged that Stiles was individually liable for negligence under state law. The Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, which the District Court granted.3

The District Court determined that the substantive due process claims brought against both Defendants failed. Specifically, a reasonable jury could not conclude that Stiles "create[d] the danger" to Michael or that her conduct exceeded mere negligence. The District Court also rejected Sanford's claim of municipal liability against the East Penn School District because Sanford failed to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Stiles caused an underlying constitutional violation. Finally, the District Court rejected the state law negligence claim against Stiles both because Sanford could not prove causation under tort law and because Stiles was entitled to immunity under Pennsylvania law.

II. Substantive Due Process: Sanford's State-Created Danger Claim Against Stiles

Sanford alleges that Stiles is liable under a state-created danger theory because her actions "increased the risk that Michael would commit suicide." (Appellant's Br. at 14.)...

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