Arsan v. Keller
| Decision Date | 31 January 2018 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 3:17-cv-121 |
| Parties | NANCY ARSAN, Plaintiff, v. BETH KELLER, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio |
Plaintiff Nancy Arsan brings this action alleging Defendants violated her constitutional rights, including her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures; Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination; Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection under the law; and her right to due process of law. She further alleges Defendants conspired to deprive her of her constitutional rights. Last, she alleges Defendants Greene County Children's Services, Greene County, Ohio, and Greene County Board of Commissioners failed to properly train and failed to properly supervise their employees.
This case is presently before the Court upon County Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. #47), Plaintiff's Response (Doc. #49), Defendants'Reply (Doc. #53), Defendant Jennifer McDermott's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. #57), and Plaintiff's Response (Doc. #58).
The present case stems from custody disputes concerning Plaintiff's two children—Karson and Kaden. Plaintiff is of Syrian descent and is a Maronite Christian. (Doc. #1, PageID #s 8, 13). She speaks English and works as an interpreter. Id.
Plaintiff alleges that on April 29, 2015, Defendant Kristi Weber, a caseworker for the Greene County Children's Services Board, pounded on her door, and "[w]hen Plaintiff opened the door, Weber, without a warrant, without consent and without identifying herself, pushed her way into Plaintiff's residence." Id. at 5. Weber told Plaintiff "there was a report that the Plaintiff was abusing drugs in her home and neglecting her children." Id. at 6. Plaintiff suggested that one of her son's father had threatened to take their child and "it was probably him who made such a report." Id. When she showed Weber text messages supporting her statement, Weber looked through Plaintiff's other messages without permission. Id. Weber also began searching Plaintiff's house, going into other rooms and opening a closet. Id. Plaintiff's two-year-old son, Karson, "was crying and afraid" and "Plaintiff also began to cry because Defendant Weber was upsetting her child, refused to leave and was searching her premises without either a warrant or permission." Id. at 7. Weber asked about Plaintiff's other son, Kaden, and Plaintiff reported he was with his aunt. As it turns out, Kaden's aunt is Defendant Jennifer McDermott, a former employee of Greene County Children'sServices, and sister of Kristopher Otto, Kaden's father. Id. at 7, 15. Weber then went out to the porch to verify Kaden was with McDermott. Id. at 7.
"When Defendant Weber returned[,] Plaintiff again asked Weber to leave but Weber stated that she would not leave until Plaintiff admitted to something or she would do an emergency removal and take Karson immediately." Id. Plaintiff did not, and Weber went outside again to call McDermott back. Id. Weber then came back inside and "stated that she would not leave until Plaintiff submitted to a drug test[.]" Id. Plaintiff said that she would go to Weber's office the next day. Id. "Weber refused to leave and began pretending she did not understand Plaintiff's accent[.]" Id. at 8. "It was late in the evening and Plaintiff, under duress and to get Weber to leave, admitted to smoking marijuana in the past[.]" Id. Weber then "demanded a drug test, [and] [u]nder duress, Plaintiff complied and when asked by Weber, stated that she took Adderall for ADHD[.]" Id. Weber "swabbed Plaintiff's mouth and collected the swab but did not seal it, which is against protocol for taking the test[.]" Id. "Weber again threatened to immediately take her son if Plaintiff did not agree to a safety plan," and thus, "Plaintiff and her child Karson were placed on a safety plan with her friend Brittany Hunter as the supervisor of the plan[.]" Id. Weber told Plaintiff she must report the next day to Greene County Children's Services.
The next day, at Greene County Children's Services, Plaintiff met with Weber, Beth Keller, and Kaden's father, Kristopher Otto (who attended via telephone). Id. at 4, 9. "Plaintiff was told that she was acting too emotionally, [] Plaintiff explained that in her culture people express their feelings more openly, [] Defendant Keller told her thathere they could find her crazy for acting in that manner[.]" Id. at 10. Plaintiff requested a neutral caseworker but Keller denied her request and named McDermott—without a background check or drug test—the supervisor of the safety plan for Karson. Id.
After the meeting, Plaintiff found out that Defendants McDermott, Keller, and Weber had personal relationships and were friends on Facebook. Id. Before the meetings that included McDermott, she met with the staff of Greene County Children's Services—without Plaintiff—for about an hour. Id.
When Plaintiff's mother arrived from Lebanon, Plaintiff requested that she be named the supervisor of Karson's safety plan. Id. After Keller denied her request, Plaintiff told Keller that they took her child without a court order and she planned to hire an attorney. Id. at 11. Keller informed her that her mother could not be named supervisor until she found an Arabic interpreter. Id. But, "Plaintiff was informed by a friend that Keller's statement was false since an interpreter had already been appointed[.]" Id. Plaintiff's mother then became the supervisor of the safety plan for Karson. Id. Later, Weber went back to Plaintiff's residence with a police officer. Id. She told Plaintiff that she had received "a tip that Plaintiff had violated the safety plan because her mother had taken a nap in the other room[.]" Id. Weber "demanded that Plaintiff make Defendant McDermott supervisor of the plan or she would remove Karson, Plaintiff in fear agreed[.]" Id. Later, Michael Klumb, Karson's father, became supervisor of the safety plan for Karson. Kaden's father, Kristopher Otto, became supervisor of the safety plan for Kaden. Id. at 12.
At some later point, Weber called Plaintiff to inform her that the drug test was positive for high levels of methamphetamines and amphetamines. Id. Plaintiff, wanting to discuss these results, went to Greene County Children's Services. Id. She was told she could not see Weber without an appointment, and Plaintiff said she would wait. Id. After about an hour, "Plaintiff heard the Defendant say to Weber that the foreign lady was still in the waiting room[.]" Id. Plaintiff then met with Weber and Keller and requested a copy of the drug test results but they refused to provide her a copy. Id. at 12-13.
A few months later, Kelly Mohammad was assigned as Plaintiff's new caseworker. Id. at 13. She provided Plaintiff with a copy of the drug test results. Id. Later, when Plaintiff confronted Keller about her refusal to give Plaintiff the results, "Keller stated that she had not understood Plaintiff due to her accent." Id.
On May 22, 2015, Weber testified at a hearing in the Greene County Juvenile Court that she received a report that Plaintiff was using methamphetamine, physically abusing her children, and "had been seen smoking crack cocaine[.]" Id. at 9. Weber indicated that she informed Plaintiff of these allegations when she first visited her home on April 29, 2015. Id. She reported Plaintiff's drug test revealed high levels of methamphetamines and amphetamines. Id. She further testified that Plaintiff had no criminal record and "noted no concerns regarding the condition of Plaintiff's residence." Id. Weber also reported that she had not received the results of Plaintiff's second drug test. Id. at 13. Plaintiff's "second drug test was negative and had been with Defendant Greene County Children's Services prior to the hearing[.]" Id. Weber "later stated thatthe results of this test had been given to the wrong person, [and] Defendant Keller affirmed this statement. Id.
After the hearing, temporary custody of Karson Klumb was granted to his father, Michael Klumb. Id. Mr. Klumb does not live in Greene County and thus, Greene County Children's Services terminated its involvement with Karson. Id. at 14.
On May 29, 2015, Defendant Amy Weinman, Program Resource Manager at Greene County Children's Services, "approved a finding that physical abuse and neglect of Kaden Otto and Karson Klumb was substantiated[.]" Id. at 3, 13. Greene County Children's Services filed for custody of Kaden and "gave custody to Kris Otto under their supervision[.]" Id. at 14. Plaintiff explained, "Custody actions were filed by the fathers of Kaden and Karson and used information from Defendant Greene County Children's Services to obtain custody of these children[.]" Id. at 15.
Greene County Children's Services gave Plaintiff a set of steps to complete to be re-united with her children. Id. at 14. One of the steps required a psychological evaluation plus group and individual therapy for two years. Id. Plaintiff's psychologist and psychiatrist—who she had been seeing for four years—"wrote a letter to [] Greene County Children's Services stating that they had no basis to believe additional therapy was necessary[.]" Id. Weber "called the Plaintiff's psychologist to claim that they had not properly diagnosed the Plaintiff and suggest the altering of their diagnosis[.]" Id.
During this time period, supervisors of caseworkers at Greene County Children's Services had "Administrative Review meetings" at least weekly. Id. The supervisors involved in these meeting include Defendants Amy [Amburn], [Lana] Penney, JoshuaCoomer, and Chad King. Id. at 15. They "reviewed and approved the work of Defendants Weber and Keller in Plaintiff's case begun on April 29, 2015[.] Id. at 14.
Defendants Beth Keller, Kristi Weber, Christina Knowles, Amy Weinman,...
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