Bartell v. Lohiser, Rein, Roxberry, Fett

• Decision Date: 06 August 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-1877,98-1877
• Citation: 215 F.3d 550
• Parties: (6th Cir. 2000) Ella Bartell, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Loretta Lohiser; Gerald Rein; Michael Roxberry; Lloyd Fett; State of Michigan; Michigan Family Independence Agency, in the County of Jackson; Patricia Kempter; Patrick Okoronkwo; Lutheran Social Services, of Michigan; Frank Van Goethem; Woodbridge Behavioral Management Consultants; Gerald Miller, Defendants-Appellees, Susan Dehnke; County of Jackson; Woodbridge Psychological Center, Defendants. Argued:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 550

215 F.3d 550 (6th Cir. 2000)

Ella Bartell, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Loretta Lohiser; Gerald Rein; Michael Roxberry; Lloyd Fett; State of Michigan; Michigan Family Independence Agency, in the County of Jackson; Patricia Kempter; Patrick Okoronkwo; Lutheran Social Services, of Michigan; Frank Van Goethem; Woodbridge Behavioral Management Consultants; Gerald Miller, Defendants-Appellees, Susan Dehnke; County of Jackson; Woodbridge Psychological Center, Defendants.

No. 98-1877

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

Argued: August 6, 1999

Decided and Filed: June 7, 2000

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Ann Arbor; No. 96-60416--Barbara K. Hackett, District Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] David R. Parker, CHARFOOS & CHRISTENSEN, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant.

Margaret A. Nelson, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, TORT DEFENSE DIVISION, Lansing, Michigan, Patrick D. Filbin, Mary L. Dresbach, Patrick D. Filbin, RUTLEDGE, MANION, RABAUT, TERRY & THOMAS, Detroit, Michigan, Patrick McLain, Joseph K. Grekin, KERR, RUSSELL & WEBER, Detroit, Michigan, Jeffrey C. Gerish, PLUNKETT & COONEY, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellees.

Before: JONES, SILER, and GILMAN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

NATHANIEL R. JONES, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-Appellant Ella Bartell brought the instant action against Defendants-Appellees Michigan Family Independence Agency ("FIA"), Lutheran Social Services of Michigan ("LSS"), and others, asserting that they violated various federal and state laws in terminating her parental rights to raise her son. The district court ultimately granted Defendants' motions for summary judgment, holding that they were shielded from liability by the doctrine of qualified immunity. Bartell now appeals these rulings, and for the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM the district court's judgment.

I.

Bartell is the biological mother of William John Stanley, who was born on August 20, 1987, and suffers from a number of physical and psychological challenges. Sometime in 1988 or 1989, Bartell contacted Michigan's Family Independence Agency ("FIA") for assistance in dealing with William's aggressive and hyperactive behavior, and FIA responded by providing Bartell with parental aides. In the early 1990s, local authorities began investigating Bartell after receiving complaints that she and her husband were engaging in violent fights, and that Bartell was abusing her children. While acknowledging marital problems, Bartell denied that she physically or verbally abused her children. See Bartell v. Lohiser, 12 F.Supp.2d 640, 642 (E.D. Mich. 1998).

In 1992 and 1993, Bartell suffered through bouts of depression and was hospitalized after a suicide attempt. After being released from the hospital, Bartell continued to receive treatment for her physical and mental ailments. Simultaneously, William's behavior became increasingly uncontrollable, and in August 1993, Bartell voluntarily placed him in the Chelsea Home for Boys. William stayed at the Chelsea Home for approximately one year, when his behavior proved more than the Home could handle. Toward the end of his stay at Chelsea, William was hospitalized at the University of Michigan's Children's Psychiatric Unit to receive more specialized care. Thereafter, the Chelsea Home discharged William because of his hospitalization and its inability to contain his behavior. See id.

After William's discharge from the Chelsea Home, Bartell agreed to FIA's suggestion that she voluntarily place him in foster care. Bartell believed that William's placement in foster care would be temporary, and that she would re-assume his care when she was better able to do so. See id. Given William's unique behavioral and psychological challenges, FIA placed William in the care of LSS, which contracted with FIA for the provision of foster care services. During this period, Defendants Patricia Kempter and Patrick Okoronkwo both LSS caseworkers, worked closely on William's case.

During William's voluntary placement in foster care, FIA asserts that Bartell visited William erratically and that his behavior became agitated and uncontrollable during her visits. Claiming that she had sufficiently resolved her psychological maladies to re-assume her son's care, Bartell asked to resume custody of her son in December 1994. See id. at 642-43. Shortly thereafter, Lohiser and FIA initiated custody proceedings in Jackson County Probate Court, asserting that William's behavioral and emotional disorders, coupled with Bartell's mental and emotional problems, prevented her from providing the care William needed. The Probate Court denied FIA's request, and Bartell was re-united with William on March 1, 1995. The next day, however, FIA filed a second petition to place William in temporary custody. On March 9, 1995, the Probate Court granted the petition and thereby continued William's temporary out-of-home placement. In granting the petition, the court concluded that the out-of-home placement was necessary to protect William from a substantial risk that he would be mentally or physically harmed while in Bartell's care.

The Probate Court conducted four hearings between September 1995 and April 1996 to review William's case and to assess whether William should be re-united with his mother. While Bartell claims that she complied with LSS' requirements that she attend parenting classes, receive therapy, and visit with her son, LSS reported that Bartell had difficulty controlling her son on her visits and was unable to attend to him without the assistance of relatives. See id. Due to these findings, Bartell's visitation privileges were reduced from unsupervised to supervised.

In early 1996, LSS petitioned to have Bartell's parental rights terminated, and on May 15, 1996, the Probate Court held a hearing on this issue. Among other evidence, LSS proffered an examination of Bartell performed by Dr. Frank Van Goethem. Dr. Van Goethem's report provided that Bartell was "intellectually limited" because she "was not very articulate," had "a limited vocabulary," and scored 74 on the verbal IQ test. J.A. at 113-115. Van Goethem also found that Bartell suffered from dependent personality disorder, serious depression, low self-esteem, and self-abusive, pathological behavior. See Bartell, 12 F.Supp.2d at 643-44. Based on these findings, Van Goethem concluded that it was "unwise to reunite Ms. Bartell with her children" and that he "seriously question[ed] if Ms. Bartell ha[d] the intellectual and necessary emotional resources to provide optimal parenting for the children." J.A. at 119. A second evaluator, psychologist Gary Rutledge, also opined that Bartell was unable to care properly for William.

Bartell countered Van Goethem's and Rutledge's reports with affidavits from clinical psychologists Carolyn Moore-Newberger and Paul Jacobs. Both criticized Van Goethem's evaluation, stating that "his entire evaluation reflects his discrimination and bias" against Bartell, and that it "was grossly inadequate, completely inaccurate and was not based on any data which was gathered, verified and analyzed by Mr. Van Goethem." J.A. at 307, 312.

Notwithstanding the reports of Moore-Newberger and Jacobs, the Probate Court granted LSS' petition, concluding that Bartell "fail[ed] to provide proper care and custody for William and there is no reasonable likelihood that she will be able to provide proper care and custody within a reasonable time." J.A. at 216. The court further concluded that there was a "reasonable likelihood" that William would be harmed by the mental and emotional incapacities of his mother, and that irrespective of Bartell's benign intentions, this potentiality legally required that her parental rights be terminated. See J.A. at 216.

While Bartell did not appeal the Probate Court's ruling, she did file the instant seven-count federal Complaint against FIA, LSS, Jackson County, Van Goethem, and various LSS and FIA personnel. Bartell alleged federal claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985 and 1986 (Counts I-III); the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12132 ("ADA"), and the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (Count IV). She additionally asserted state claims for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress (Count V, VII), and breach of the Michigan Handicappers' Civil Rights Act, M.C.L.A. § 37.1101 (Count VI). Bartell thereafter stipulated to the dismissal of Defendants Susan Dehnke, Jackson County, and Woodbridge Psychological Center. The remaining Defendants subsequently filed motions for summary judgment.

The district court granted these motions, concluding that the doctrine of qualified immunity shielded the remaining Defendants from suit for their actions. The district court ruled that although Bartell undoubtedly has a constitutional interest in caring for her child, that right is not absolute given the State's concurrent interest in the health and welfare of children in its jurisdiction. See Bartell, 12 F.Supp.2d at 647. Apparently responding to a procedural Due Process Claim, the district court noted that Bartell had not alleged a deficiency either in the administrative process or the processes before the Probate Court. Without specifically resolving the clash of the substantive liberty interests at stake, the district court granted Defendants qualified immunity on Bartell's due process claim. The district court also rejected Bartell's equal protection claim, holding that the Probate Court did not violate constitutional norms by incorporating Bartell's intelligence level into its custody determination. See id. at 648. After concluding that the State did not err in considering Bartell's limited intellectual capacity in assessing Bartell's parental fitness, the district court additionally denied Bartell's ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims. With these rulings, the district court granted Defendants qualified...