C.F. v. Capistrano Unified School Dist.

• Decision Date: 27 July 2009
• Docket Number: Case No. SACV 07-1434 JVS (ANx).
• Citation: 647 F.Supp.2d 1187
• Parties: C.F., Plaintiff(s), v. CAPISTRANO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendant(s).
• Court: U.S. District Court — Central District of California

647 F.Supp.2d 1187

C.F., Plaintiff(s), v. CAPISTRANO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, et al., Defendant(s).

Case No. SACV 07-1434 JVS (ANx).

United States District Court, C.D. California.

July 27, 2009.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Jennifer L. Monk, Robert H. Tyler, Advocates for Faith and Freedom, Murrieta, CA, for Plaintiff.

Michael D. Hersh, California Teachers Association, Santa Fe Springs, CA, for California Teachers Association and Capistrano Unified Education Association.

Daniel K. Spradlin, Caroline Anne Byrne, Roberta A. Kraus, Woodruff Spradlin and Smart APC, Costa Mesa, CA, for Capistrano Unified School District and Dr. James Corbett.

ORDER RE MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AN AMENDED ANSWER, MOTION FOR A DETERMINATION RE QUALIFIED IMMUNITY, AND SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING

JAMES V. SELNA, District Judge.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff C.F., by and through his parents Bill Farnan and Teresa Farnan, (collectively, "Farnan"), asserted a claim for relief for violation of C.F.'s First Amendment rights by the Capistrano Unified School District ("District") and Dr. James C. Corbett ("Corbett"), (collectively, "School Defendants"). On April 28, 2008, this Court granted a motion allowing the California Teachers Association ("CTA") and Capistrano Unified Education Association ("CUEA"), (collectively, "Unions"), to intervene for defendants in the action. (Docket No. 29.) Farnan asserted that his rights under the Establishment Clause were violated by a practice and policy hostile toward religion and favoring irreligion over religion. (First Amended Complaint ("FAC") ¶¶ 22, 25.) At the focus of the dispute are remarks made by Corbett in his Advanced Placement European History class. (Id. at ¶¶ 14-15.)

On May 1, 2009, this Court ruled on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. (Docket No. 87.) The Court granted Farnan's motion for summary judgment against Corbett with respect to the "Peloza statement." (Id.) The Court granted the School Defendant and the Unions' motions with respect to all other statements and with respect to the District's liability. (Id.)

II. DISCUSSION

A. Leave to File an Amended Answer

The School Defendants now move for leave to file an amended answer pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) in order to plead qualified immunity. In the Ninth Circuit, a request for leave to amend made after the entry of a Rule 16 Scheduling Order is governed primarily by Rule 16(b). Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 608-09 (9th Cir.1992). Pursuant to Rule 16(b), a scheduling order "shall not be modified except upon a showing of good cause and by leave of the district judge ..." Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(b). The good cause standard "primarily considers the diligence of the party seeking the amendment." Johnson, 975 F.2d at 609. If good cause is shown, the party must then demonstrate that amendment was proper under Rule 15. Id.; Fed.R.Civ.P. 15, 16(b).

The deadline for filing amended pleadings in this action was August 17, 2008. (Docket No. 31, p. 1.) An amended order in this case set a later date as the last day to file and serve motions. This order, however, does not supersede the date set in the initial order stating that amended pleadings must be filed by August 17, 2008. Therefore, the time set by the Scheduling Order for filing amended pleadings has past.

Although it may appear to be a strict requirement, the Ninth Circuit has found that a party wishing to file an amended pleading after the time set by the scheduling order must specifically request that the court modify the scheduling order. Johnson, 975 F.2d at 608-09. In Johnson, the court found that merely moving to amend the complaint is not sufficient. Id. Some courts have considered a motion to amend the complaint as a motion to amend the scheduling order and the court's denial of that motion a denial of a motion to amend the scheduling order. Id. (citing Spiller v. Ella Smithers Geriatric Ctr., 919 F.2d 339, 343 (5th Cir.1990); R.L. Clark Drilling Contractors, Inc. v. Schramm, Inc., 835 F.2d 1306, 1308 (10th Cir.1987)). The Ninth Circuit, however, has found to the contrary. Id. (citing Jauregui v. City of Glendale, 852 F.2d 1128, 1133-34 (9th Cir. 1988); Dedge v. Kendrick, 849 F.2d 1398 (11th Cir.1988)).

Although a request to modify the Scheduling Order need not appear in a separate motion, the School Defendants do not specifically make such a request in the motion for leave to amend. Nor do the School Defendants address Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b).

Accordingly, the Court denies the School Defendants' motion for leave to file an amended answer, without prejudice. Given that the Court has denied leave to amend, the Court cannot consider the motion for a determination that Corbett is entitled to qualified immunity at this time. Therefore, the Court denies that motion as moot. The Court also defers consideration of Farnan's request for attorneys' fees. However, as the parties both agree, the question of qualified immunity does not affect Farnan's request for injunctive and declaratory relief. The Ninth Circuit has held that "a defense of qualified immunity is not available for prospective injunctive relief." Vance v. Barrett, 345 F.3d 1083, 1091 n. 10 (9th Cir.2003) (citing Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) v. United States, 870 F.2d 518, 527 (9th Cir.1989) ("Qualified immunity is an affirmative defense to damage liability; it does not bar actions for declaratory or injunctive relief.")). Therefore, the Court will now address Farnan's request for injunctive relief and a declaratory judgment.

B. Equitable Relief

1. Injunctive Relief

Farnan requests "a permanent injunction ordering Corbett to refrain from expressing any disapproval of religion while acting in his official capacity as a public school employee."¹ (Suppl.Br. p. 1.) The request for injunctive relief is denied.

To obtain a permanent injunction, a plaintiff must demonstrate:

(1) that it has suffered an irreparable injury; (2) that remedies available at law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate for that injury; (3) that, considering the balance of hardships between the plaintiff and defendant, a remedy in equity is warranted; and (4) that the public interest would not be disserved by a permanent injunction.

eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388, 391, 126 S.Ct. 1837, 164 L.Ed.2d 641 (2006). The Court's "decision to grant or deny permanent injunctive relief is an act of equitable discretion by the district court." Id. "Once a right and a violation have been shown, the scope of a district court's equitable powers to remedy past wrongs is broad, for breadth and flexibility are inherent in equitable remedies." Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Ed., 402 U.S. 1, 15, 91 S.Ct. 1267, 28 L.Ed.2d 554 (1971). "As with any equity case, the nature of the violation determines the scope of the remedy." Id. at 16, 91 S.Ct. 1267.

"[I]njunctive relief is not automatic, and there is no rule requiring automatic issuance of a blanket injunction when a violation is found.... The grant of jurisdiction to ensure compliance with a statute hardly suggests an absolute duty to do so under any and all circumstances, and a federal judge sitting as chancellor is not mechanically obligated to grant an injunction for every violation of law." N. Cheyenne Tribe v. Norton, 503 F.3d 836, 843 (9th Cir.2007) (internal quotation marks omitted).

When injunctive relief is appropriate, the court must balance the equities between the parties and give due regard to the public interest. Sometimes a full injunction is appropriate. But at other times, the equities demand a partial injunction. A district court has broad latitude in fashioning equitable relief when necessary to remedy an established wrong.

Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). "[I]n constitutional adjudication as elsewhere, equitable remedies are a special blend of what is necessary, what is fair, and what is workable." Lemon v. Kurtzman, 411 U.S. 192, 200, 93 S.Ct. 1463, 36 L.Ed.2d 151 (1973).

a. The Proposed Injunction

First and foremost, the Court finds that the proposed injunction is overbroad. Farnan requests a permanent injunction ordering Corbett to refrain from expressing any disapproval of religion while acting in his official capacity as a public school employee. (Suppl.Br. p. 1.) As discussed in the Court's May 1, 2009 Order, the Establishment Clause is not a blanket prohibition on making any disapproving or hostile statements.

The recent Ninth Circuit case of Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights v. City and County of San Francisco, 567 F.3d 595 (9th Cir.2009) ("Catholic League"), leaves no doubt as to this point. In Catholic League, the Ninth Circuit found there were statements in a City and County resolution that, "taken in isolation, may be said to convey disparagement towards the Catholic Church. But to be violative of the Establishment Clause, those statements must overwhelm the Resolution's secular dimensions." Id. at 605. In addition, the plaintiffs in that case argued, with respect to the primary effect prong of the Lemon test, that if the Resolution conveyed any message of hostility towards the Catholic religion, the Resolution failed the Lemon test. Id. n. 11; Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 91 S.Ct. 2105, 29 L.Ed.2d 745 (1971). The court rejected this argument, explaining that "the focus of this prong is on the primary effect of the government's conduct." Catholic League, 567 F.3d at 605 n. 11 (internal quotation marks omitted). The court also found that, even though certain statements may be viewed as disparaging, that the Resolution satisfied the first and second prongs of the Lemon test. Id. at 608.

In addition, reference to the language of the Lemon test as well as case law interpreting Lemon demonstrates that Farnan's proposed injunction would prohibit speech beyond that which is prohibited by the Establishment Clause. The Lemon test provides that "[f]irst, the statute must...