Bratset v. Davis Joint Unified Sch. Dist.

• Decision Date: 18 December 2017
• Docket Number: No. 2:16-cv-0035 GEB DB PS,2:16-cv-0035 GEB DB PS
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California
• Parties: LAURA BRATSET, et al., Plaintiffs, v. DAVIS JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants.

LAURA BRATSET, et al., Plaintiffs, v. DAVIS JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendants.

No. 2:16-cv-0035 GEB DB PS

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

December 18, 2017

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This action came before the undersigned on June 30, 2017, for hearing of defendant Winters Joint Unified School District's ("WJUSD") motion to dismiss plaintiff's second amended complaint pursuant to Rules 12(b)(6), 12(e), and 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.¹ Plaintiff's second amended complaint alleges that the defendant violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., with respect to the education of her minor child, M.B.

Plaintiff Laura Bratset appeared in person at the June 30, 2017 hearing on her own behalf. Attorney David Mishook appeared telephonically on behalf of defendant WJUSD. After hearing oral argument, defendant's motion was taken under submission.

For the reasons stated below, the undersigned will recommend that defendant's motion to dismiss be granted in part and denied in part.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Laura Bratset, proceeding pro se, commenced this action on January 6, 2016, by filing a complaint and an application to proceed in forma pauperis. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis was denied on March 24, 2016, and on April 5, 2016, plaintiff paid the applicable filing fee. (ECF Nos. 3 & 4.) On April 18, 2016, plaintiff filed a first amended complaint. (ECF No. 8.) On December 12, 2016, the undersigned issued an order dismissing plaintiff's first amended complaint and granting plaintiff leave to file a second amended complaint. (ECF No. 44.)

Plaintiff filed a second amended compliant on April 27, 2017. (ECF No. 50.) Defendant WJUSD filed the pending motion to dismiss on May 19, 2017. (ECF No. 55.) Plaintiff filed an opposition on May 31, 207. (ECF No. 58.) Defendant WJUSD filed a reply on June 9, 2017. (ECF No. 59.)

STANDARDS

I. Legal Standards Applicable to Motions to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6)

The purpose of a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) is to test the legal sufficiency of the complaint. N. Star Int'l v. Ariz. Corp. Comm'n, 720 F.2d 578, 581 (9th Cir. 1983). "Dismissal can be based on the lack of a cognizable legal theory or the absence of sufficient facts alleged under a cognizable legal theory." Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep't, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990). A plaintiff is required to allege "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).

In determining whether a complaint states a claim on which relief may be granted, the court accepts as true the allegations in the complaint and construes the allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73 (1984); Love v.United States, 915 F.2d 1242, 1245 (9th Cir. 1989). In general, pro se complaints are held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972). However, the court need not assume the truth of legal conclusions cast in the form of factual allegations. United States ex rel. Chunie v. Ringrose, 788 F.2d 638, 643 n.2 (9th Cir. 1986). While Rule 8(a) does not require detailed factual allegations, "it demands more than an unadorned, the defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. A pleading is insufficient if it offers mere "labels and conclusions" or "a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555; see also Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676 ("Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice."). Moreover, it is inappropriate to assume that the plaintiff "can prove facts which it has not alleged or that the defendants have violated the . . . laws in ways that have not been alleged." Associated Gen. Contractors of Cal., Inc. v. Cal. State Council of Carpenters, 459 U.S. 519, 526 (1983).

In ruling on a motion to dismiss brought pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the court is permitted to consider material which is properly submitted as part of the complaint, documents that are not physically attached to the complaint if their authenticity is not contested and the plaintiff's complaint necessarily relies on them, and matters of public record. Lee v. City of Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668, 688-89 (9th Cir. 2001).

II. Legal Standards Applicable to Motions For a More Definite Statement Pursuant to Rule 12(e)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(e) provides:

A party may move for a more definite statement of a pleading to which a responsive pleading is allowed but which is so vague or ambiguous that the party cannot reasonably prepare a response. The motion must be made before filing a responsive pleading and must point out the defects complained of and the details desired. If the court orders a more definite statement and the order is not obeyed within 14 days after notice of the order or within the time the court sets, the court may strike the pleading or issue any other appropriate order.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e); see also Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 514 (2002) ("If a pleading fails to specify the allegations in a manner that provides sufficient notice, a defendantcan move for a more definite statement under Rule 12(e) before responding."); C.B. v. Sonora Sch. Dist., 691 F. Supp. 2d 1170, 1190-91 (E.D. Cal. 2010) ("A Rule 12(e) motion is proper only if the complaint is so indefinite that the defendant cannot ascertain the nature of the claim being asserted, i.e., so vague that the defendant cannot begin to frame a response.").

A court should deny a motion for a more definite statement "if the complaint is specific enough to notify [a] defendant of the substance of the claim being asserted" or "if the detail sought by a motion for more definite statement is obtainable through discovery." C.B., 691 F. Supp. 2d at 1191. A Rule 12(e) motion "is likely to be denied where the substance of the claim has been alleged, even though some of the details are omitted." Neveu v. City of Fresno, 392 F. Supp. 2d 1159, 1169 (E.D. Cal. 2005). This liberal pleading standard is consistent with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) which allows pleadings that simply contain a "short and plain statement of the claim." Id.

III. Legal Standards Applicable to Motions to Strike Pursuant to Rule 12(f)

A motion to strike pursuant to Rule 12(f) allows a court to strike "from any pleading any insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f). "[T]he function of a 12(f) motion to strike is to avoid the expenditure of time and money that must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial . . . ." Whittlestone, Inc. v. Handi-Craft, Co., 618 F.3d 970, 973 (9th Cir. 2010) (quoting Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty, 984 F.2d 1524, 1527 (9th Cir. 1993)), rev'd on other grounds by Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517, 114 (1994); see also Sidney-Vinstein v. A.H. Robins Co., 697 F.2d 880, 885 (9th Cir. 1983).

A motion to strike is well-taken when "it is clear that the matter to be stricken could have no possible bearing on the subject matter of litigation." LeDuc v. Kentucky Central Life Ins. Co., 814 F.Supp. 820, 830 (N.D. Cal. 1992). Impertinent allegations are those that are not responsive or relevant to issues involved in the action and which could not be admitted as evidence in the litigation. Fantasy, Inc., 984 F.2d at 1527. "Scandalous" within the meaning of Rule 12(f) includes allegations that cast a cruelly derogatory light on a party or other person. Talbot v. Robert Mathews Distributing Co., 961 F.2d 654, 665 (7th Cir. 1992).

Ultimately, whether to grant a motion to strike applying these standards lies within the sound discretion of the district court. Fantasy, Inc., 984 F.2d at 1527; see also California Dept. of Toxic Substances Control v. Alco Pacific, Inc., 217 F.Supp.2d 1028, 1032-33 (C.D. Cal. 2002).²

IV. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.

The goal of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq., is "'to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education [or 'FAPE'] that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.'" A.G. v. Paradise Valley Unified School Dist. No. 69, 815 F.3d 1195, 1202 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting Mark H. v. Lemahieu, 513 F.3d 922, 928 (9th Cir. 2008)). "The IDEA provides for a cooperative process between parents and schools that culminates in the creation of an [Individualized Education Plan "IEP"] for every disabled student." M.M. v. Lafayette School Dist., 767 F.3d 842, 851 (9th Cir. 2014). "The IEP must be reasonably calculated to provide the student with some educational benefit, although the IDEA does not require school districts to provide special education students with the best education available, or provide instruction services that maximize a student's abilities." Covington v. Yuba City Unified School Dist., 780 F.Supp.2d 1014, 1020 (E.D. Cal. 2011) (citing Board of Educ. of Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist., Westchester County v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, 198-200 (1982)).

ANALYSIS

I. Plaintiff Laura Bratset's Attempt to Proceed on Behalf of Minor M.B.

Defendant's motion to dismiss argues that plaintiff's second amended complaint must be dismissed because plaintiff Laura Bratset may not represent her minor child pro se. ...