Byers v. New Plymouth Sch. Dist. No. 372
| Decision Date | 05 November 2013 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 1:12-CV-00230-EJL |
| Parties | FREDERIC BYERS, Plaintiff, v. NEW PLYMOUTH SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 372, a corporate and political body organized under the laws and state of Idaho; JOLENE PARINI-SHIPLEY, HERBERT FOUST, DAVID BROGAN, GARY JOHNSTON, and NADINE HORTON, in their official capacities as members of the BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF NEW PLYMOUTH SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 372, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Idaho |
Before the Court in the above entitled matter are Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 34) and Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 35). The parties have submitted their briefing on the motions and the matters are now ripe for the Court's review. Having fully reviewed the record herein, the Court finds that the facts and legal arguments are adequately presented in the briefsand record. Accordingly, in the interest of avoiding further delay, and because the Court conclusively finds that the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument, the motions shall be decided on the record before this Court without oral argument.
For the reasons stated below, the Court finds there are disputed issues of material fact which preclude granting summary judgment for either party. Defendants' and Plaintiff's cross-motions for summary judgment are accordingly DENIED.
Plaintiff Frederic Byers (hereinafter "Plaintiff" or "Mr. Byers") was employed by Defendant New Plymouth School District No. 372 ("School District") as an elementary school teacher for over twenty-five years. (Dkt. 37, p. 2.) Defendant Board of Trustees, New Plymouth School District No. 372 ("School Board") is the governing body of the School District. (Dkt. 32, ¶3.) Defendants Jolene Parini-Shipley, Herbert Foust, David Brogan, Gary Johnston and Nadine Horton are the current members of the School Board and were the members of the School Board at the time of Mr. Byers' termination. (Id., ¶4.)
During his tenure with the School District, Mr. Byers worked with and developed a close friendship with Anne Moscrip ("Ms. Moscrip"), a former memberof the School Board. (Id., ¶7.) Ms. Moscrip served as a member of the School Board for ten years, from the Spring of 2001 until the Spring of 2011. (Id., ¶¶9-10.) In the Summer of 2010, Ms. Moscrip went through a public divorce from her husband, Scott Moscrip. (Id., ¶¶8, 12.) During and after her divorce, Mr. Byers frequently reached out to Ms. Moscrip, through e-mails and invitations to dinner "in an effort to help her deal with the emotional ramifications of her ongoing divorce." (Id., ¶¶13-14.)
In approximately November 2010, Ms. Moscrip became troubled by Mr. Byers' actions toward her, and spoke to School District Superintendent Ryan Kerby ("Mr. Kerby") and School Board member Jolene Parini-Shipley ("Ms. Parini-Shipley") about her concerns. (Id., ¶¶16, 19.) In addition to serving as a School Board member with Ms. Moscrip for a number of years, Ms. Parini-Shipley was also Ms. Moscrip's personal friend. (Id., ¶11; Moscrip Deposition, Dkt. 39-12, p. 16.) In an e-mail to Ms. Moscrip dated November 12, 2010, Ms. Parini-Shipley stated the situation with Mr. Byers was "scary" and suggested Ms. Moscrip call 911 if she had any issues with Mr. Byers. (Moscrip Deposition, Dkt. 39-13, pp. 72-73; Dkt. 38-3, Ex. J.)
On or about November 16, 2010, Ms. Moscrip sent Mr. Byers an e-mail asking that he cut off all communications with her and refrain from contacting her inthe future in any way. (Dkt. 32, ¶17; Dkt. 38-3, Ex. K.) Ms. Moscrip copied Mr. Kerby and Ms. Parini-Shipley on the November 16, 2010 e-mail to Mr. Byers. (Id., ¶19.) In response, Ms. Parini-Shipley e-mailed Ms. Moscrip:
I am so proud of you! You go girl. Like I said before, this is creepy. Stand on your word. If he [Mr. Byers] does try to contact you and your family, call 911. I see you also sent this to Ryan [Kerby] good job, I feel much better knowing I will be out of town for eleven days and somebody else knows about Fred [Byers] and his creepy behavior.
(Id., ¶20.)
Beginning in approximately December of 2010 and continuing until roughly June 2011, Ms. Moscrip received various anonymous text messages, e-mails and letters, some of which were harassing in nature. (Dkt. 32, ¶21.) Some of the anonymous communications were from an individual who referred to himself as "Mike Kelly." (Hearing Transcript, Dkt. 34-4, pp. 53-54.) Ms. Moscrip did not know anyone named "Mike Kelly," but communicated with this individual via e-mail. (Id.) At one point, Ms. Moscrip received flowers from Mike Kelly. (Id.) Ms. Moscrip eventually came to believe that Mr. Byers was responsible for the anonymous communications, and that Mr. Byers was, in fact, Mike Kelly. (Id.) Ms. Moscrip shared her suspicion that Mr. Byers was harassing her anonymously with Ms. Parini-Shipley, and may have also shared such concerns with one or more of the other members of the School Board. (Dkt. 32, ¶23; Moscrip Deposition, Dkt.39-13, p. 76.) In approximately January 2011, Ms. Moscrip also received a text message directly from Mr. Byers, inviting her to watch the Super Bowl at his home. (Moscrip Deposition, Dkt. 39-13, p. 79.)
On February 9, 2011, in reference to Mr. Byers, Ms. Parini-Shipley sent Ms. Moscrip an e-mail stating, "I will be honest he is creepy so be careful." (Moscrip Deposition, Dkt. 39-12, pp. 48-49; Dkt. 38-3, Ex. M.) In another e-mail on that date Ms. Parini-Shipley advised Ms. Moscrip to consider taking out a restraining order against Mr. Byers. (Dkt. 38-3, Exhibit N.) Ms. Moscrip thereafter gave Ms. Parini-Shipley a file she had compiled of the anonymous texts and e-mails she suspected were from Mr. Byers. (Parini-Shipley Deposition, Dkt. 39-8, pp. 32, 48.) After reviewing the file, Ms. Parini-Shipley again suggested Ms. Moscrip should take out a restraining order on Mr. Byers, and again stated that Mr. Byers was creepy. (Dkt. 38-3, Ex. O.)
The parties dispute whether the School Board met to discuss the communications Ms. Moscrip was receiving, from either Mr. Byers or the anonymous individual, during this time. (Compare Dkt. 32, ¶¶25-27 with Kerby Deposition, Dkt. 39-10, pp. 73-74; Parini-Shipley Deposition, Dkt. 39-8, pp. 49-54.)
However, various School Board members and Mr. Kerby discussed how to best proceed, and, in February, 2011, decided that School Board Member HerbertFoust ("Mr. Foust") and New Plymouth Elementary School principal, Carrie Aguas ("Ms. Aguas"), would approach Mr. Byers and ask him to stop communicating with Ms. Moscrip. (Kerby Deposition, Dkt. 39-10, pp. 73-74; Parini-Shipley Deposition, Dkt. 39-8, pp. 49-54.) Shortly thereafter, Mr. Foust and Ms. Aguas visited Mr. Byers in his classroom and asked him to stay away from Ms. Moscrip and to stop contacting her. (Byers Deposition, Dkt. 34-11, pp. 46-48; Dkt. 39-1, p. 5.)
The parties also dispute whether the School Board later met to discuss Mr. Byers' reaction to the visit from Mr. Foust and Ms. Aguas. (Compare Dkt. 37, p. 8 with Kerby Deposition, Dkt. 39-10, p. 78; Dkt. 34-1, pp. 14-16.) However, in an e-mail dated February 18, 2011, Ms. Parini-Shipley advised another school official to "stay away from Fred right now," again characterized Mr. Byers as "creepy," and suggested Mr. Byers created a "huge safety issue." (Dkt. 38-4, Ex. Q.) On February 22, 2011, Ms. Parini-Shipley e-mailed Ms. Moscrip and suggested she protect herself from Mr. Byers by buying a "gun, dog, bear spray, whatever you need to do for your safety" and stated "[b]e safe my friend, I am afraid this is going to heat up." (Dkt. 38-4, Ex. S.) Although she did not receive any communications signed by Mr. Byers after his January 2011 Super Bowl invitation, Ms. Moscrip continued to receive anonymous communications throughout the Spring of 2011. (Seegenerally, Moscrip Deposition, Dkts. 39-12 and 39-13; Hearing Transcript, Dkt. 34-4.)
In April 2011, Ms. Moscrip was accepted into graduate school at the University of Idaho and decided to move to Moscow. (Moscrip Deposition, Dkt. 39-12, p. 14.) On August 15, 2011, shortly before she left for Moscow, Ms. Moscrip met with Ms. Aguas to say goodbye. (Hearing Transcript, Dkt. 34-4, p. 152.) Ms. Moscrip mentioned the anonymous texts she had received throughout the year, and Ms. Aguas stated that she had also received some anonymous texts. (Id.) Ms. Moscrip and Ms. Aguas determined the anonymous texts they had both received were similar, and came to the conclusion that the texts were from Mr. Byers. (Id., pp. 169-170.) Ms. Moscrip also mentioned that someone had been anonymously sending a topless photograph of "a woman in a red bathing suit" who was supposedly Ms. Moscrip. (Id., p. 153.) On August 17, 2011, Ms. Aguas accessed Mr. Byers' classroom computer, and found a saved file with the topless photograph Ms. Moscrip had described. (Id., pp. 152, 170.) Ms. Aguas immediately contacted Mr. Kerby. (Id., p. 170.) A number of other school officials, including Mr. Kerby, had also anonymously received the topless photograph via e-mail or text. (Id., p. 172; Kerby Deposition, Dkt. 39-11, pp. 90-93.)
On approximately August 19, 2011, Mr. Kerby placed Mr. Byers on administrative leave with pay, "due the pornography saved in a file" on Mr. Byers' computer and Mr. Kerby's belief that Mr. Byers was responsible for the anonymous communications with Ms. Moscrip. (Dkt. 39-11, p. 93.) That same day, Ms. Parini-Shipley contacted Ms. Moscrip to inform her that she was concerned for Ms. Moscrip's safety because Mr. Byers had been placed on administrative leave and no one knew where he was. (Parini-Shipley Deposition, Dkt. 39-8, pp. 82-83; Moscrip Deposition Dkt. 39-12, pp. 57, 59-60.) On August 24, 2011, Ms. Parini-Shipley also e-mailed Mr. Kirby that she was worried about "getting hurt" by Mr. Byers, and suggested Mr. Byers was "scary," and "we would be fools not to be aware of any danger." (Dkt. 38-4, Ex. T.) On or...
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