Andalusia City Bd. of Educ. v. Andress

• Decision Date: 09 February 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-D-1204-N.,95-D-1204-N.
• Parties: ANDALUSIA CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION, Plaintiff, v. David and Deborah ANDRESS, as parents and next friends of Michael Andress, a minor, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

916 F. Supp. 1179

ANDALUSIA CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION, Plaintiff, v. David and Deborah ANDRESS, as parents and next friends of Michael Andress, a minor, Defendants.

No. 95-D-1204-N.

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Northern Division.

February 9, 1996.

John M. Peel, Abner R. Powell, III, Andalusia, AL, Donald B. Sweeney, Jr., Birmingham, AL, for plaintiff.

Robbie S. Crook, Matthew C. Lamare, Dothan, AL, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DE MENT, District Judge.

Before the court is the motion of defendants David and Deborah Andress filed September 15, 1995, to dismiss the above-styled cause. Also on September 15, 1995, the defendants filed a counterclaim for attorney's fees, compensatory and punitive damages, costs, and an injunction ordering the plaintiff to comply with the order of the hearing officer. Plaintiff Andalusia City Board of Education ("the School Board") responded in opposition to the Andress' motion to dismiss on October 6, 1995. The plaintiff also filed a motion on October 6, 1995, to dismiss the defendants' counterclaim. After careful consideration of the arguments of counsel, the relevant case law, and the record as a whole, the court finds that the defendants' motion to dismiss is due to be granted and that the plaintiff's motion to dismiss the defendants' counterclaim is due to be granted in part and denied in part.

STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR MOTION TO DISMISS

Lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be asserted by either party or the court, sua sponte, at any time during the course of an action. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). Once challenged, the burden of establishing a federal court's subject matter jurisdiction rests on the party asserting the jurisdiction. Thomson v. Gaskill, 315 U.S. 442, 62 S.Ct. 673, 86 L.Ed. 951 (1942); Menchaca v. Chrysler Credit Corp., 613 F.2d 507, 511 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 953, 101 S.Ct. 358, 66 L.Ed.2d 217 (1980).¹ The movant may use affidavits and other materials beyond the pleadings themselves in support of or in opposition to a challenge of subject matter jurisdiction. Land v. Dollar, 330 U.S. 731, 67 S.Ct. 1009, 91 L.Ed. 1209 (1947). In ruling on the motion, the court is to "consider the allegations of the complaint as true." Williamson v. Tucker, 645 F.2d 404, 412 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 897, 102 S.Ct. 396, 70 L.Ed.2d 212 (1981). Unlike a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, dismissals for lack of subject matter jurisdiction do not involve the merits of the claim. Exchange Nat'l. Bank v. Touche Ross & Co., 544 F.2d 1126, 1130-31 (2d Cir.1976).

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Michael Andress ("Michael") is a special education student in the Andalusia City School System with a disability within the meaning of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1400, et seq. On July 21, 1995, after a six-day hearing, an administrative hearing officer found that the School Board had failed to provide Michael with a free appropriate education as required by the IDEA. On September 8, 1995, the School Board filed an action in the Circuit Court of Covington County, Alabama, appealing the decision of the administrative hearing officer pursuant to the Alabama Administrative Code 290-080-090.² On September 15, 1995, the defendants removed the above-styled action to federal court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441.

Because the plaintiff did not file its action until forty-nine days after the decision of the hearing officer was issued, the defendants contend that the plaintiff's action did not comply with the provisions of the Alabama Administrative Code. Specifically, the defendants contend that the School Board failed to provide a notice of intent to file a civil action within thirty days as required by the Alabama Administrative Code 290-080-090(10)(4)(c)(12).³ Consequently, the defendants note that the School Board also failed to file a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction within thirty days after the filing of the notice of intent to file the civil action as required by Alabama Administrative Code 290-080-090(10)(4)(c)(12). The plaintiff contends that the defendant's counterclaim was not timely filed pursuant to these same two provisions of the Alabama Administrative Code because it was filed fifty-six days after the decision of the hearing officer was issued.

DISCUSSION

Congress enacted the IDEA in 1970 to ensure that children born with physical and mental disabilities "have available to them ..., a free appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs...." 20 U.S.C. § 1400(c). An action under the IDEA must be brought in an administrative setting before it can be brought in either federal or state court. See 20 U.S.C. §§ 1415(b)(2) & (c). An "aggrieved" party may then file an action appealing a final judgment of an administrative hearing officer in either a United States District Court or a state circuit court of competent jurisdiction. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(2). Furthermore, while attorney's fees and costs cannot be awarded at the administrative level, "the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorney's fees as part of the costs to ... the prevailing party." 20 U.S.C. § 1415(e)(4)(B).

The IDEA does not address the appropriate statute of limitations for bringing an action in state or federal court subsequent to an administrative hearing decision. In a situation where a federal statute is silent as to the appropriate statute of limitations, the Supreme Court of the United States has held that a court should "apply the most closely analogous statute of limitations under state law." Del Costello v. International Bhd. of Teamsters, 462 U.S. 151, 158, 103 S.Ct. 2281, 2287, 76 L.Ed.2d 476 (1985). A court should thus "apply a statute of limitations which finds some relevance to the administration of the IDEA itself." Dell v. Board of Educ., Tp. High Sch. Dist. 113, 32 F.3d 1053, 1064 (7th Cir.1994).

Although the Eleventh Circuit has not addressed the question of the relevant Alabama statute of limitations, it has suggested that it would apply Florida's 30-day statute of limitations, as provided by Florida's Appellate Procedure Act, to substantive appeals in the state of Florida under the IDEA. JSK ex rel. JK & PGK v. Hendry County Sch. Bd., 941 F.2d 1563, 1570, n. 1 (11th Cir.1991). The Eleventh Circuit reasoned that a 30-day limitation "assures prompt resolution of disputes over individualized education plans or for handicapped children." Id. (quoting Department of Educ., State of Hawaii v. Carl D., 695 F.2d 1154, 1157 (9th Cir.1983)). Several courts have come to the same conclusion, holding that a short statute of limitations period is necessary to fulfill the purpose of the IDEA. See, e.g., Amann v. Town of Stow, 991 F.2d 929 (1st Cir.1993) (30 days); Spiegler v. District of Columbia, 866 F.2d 461 (D.C.Cir.1989) (30 days); Department of Educ. v. Carl D., 695 F.2d 1154 (9th Cir. 1983) (30 days); Adler v. Education Dept., 760 F.2d 454 (2d Cir.1985) (4 months); Bow School Dist. v. Quentin W., 750 F.Supp. 546 (D.N.H.1990) (30 days); Wills v. Ferrandino, 830 F.Supp. 116, 122 (D.Conn.1993) (45 days); Dell, 32 F.3d at 1063 (7th Cir.1994) (120 days).

A. The School Board's Claim

In the present case, both plaintiff and defendants ask the court to adopt the 30-day statute of limitations from Alabama's administrative appeal statute. The court will first address the School Board's appeal of the decision of the administrative hearing officer. In this regard, the First Circuit's decision in Amann is particularly compelling because it discussed at length the reasons that the court decided to adopt the 30-day statute of limitations from the state's administrative appeal statute. Amann, 991 F.2d at 932.

In Amann, the court noted that the role of a federal court reviewing an administrative decision under the IDEA is much the same as a typical administrative appeal because a reviewing court must refrain from substituting its own views of educational policy for those of hearing officers with more expertise in the field. Id. The Amann court also found that a 30-day statute of limitations furthers the goal of the IDEA to have expeditious resolutions of disputes over a student's individualized education program ("IEP"). Id. Furthermore, the court recognized that, even if parents of a student were prejudiced by a shorter statute of limitations, other provisions of the IDEA alleviated much of the harm. Id. For example, the IDEA requires schools to review and revise IEP's for each eligible student at least once a year. 20 U.S.C. § 1414(a)(5). Finally, it is important to note that the only decision that needs to be made within the 30-day time period after an administrative decision is rendered is whether or not to proceed to federal or state court — there is no need for additional time to gather evidence or prepare legal briefs, which usually necessitate a longer statute of limitations. Wills, 830 F.Supp. at 120.

Based on the foregoing reasoning, the court finds that the limitations period of the Alabama Administrative Code should be adopted for substantive appeals of the decisions of administrative hearing officers under the IDEA. Accordingly, the School Board's appeal is due to be dismissed for two reasons. First, the School Board failed to file a notice of filing a civil action within thirty days of the issuance of the administrative officer's appeal as required by the Alabama Administrative Code 290-080-090(10)(4)(c)(12). While this first failure to abide by the procedural requirements of the Alabama Administrative Code is dispositive, the court notes that the School Board also failed to file their appeal within thirty days of filing a notice of filing a civil action as required by the Alabama Administrative Code 290-080-090(10)(4)(c)(12). Instead it filed its appeal directly with the federal...