D.S. v. E. Porter Cnty. Sch. Corp.

• Decision Date: 24 August 2015
• Docket Number: No. 13–3549.,13–3549.
• Citation: 799 F.3d 793
• Parties: D.S., b/n/f George M. Stahl and Debbie Lynn Stahl, et al., Plaintiffs–Appellants, v. EAST PORTER COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION, et al., Defendants–Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

799 F.3d 793

D.S., b/n/f George M. Stahl and Debbie Lynn Stahl, et al., Plaintiffs–Appellants

v.EAST PORTER COUNTY SCHOOL CORPORATION, et al., Defendants–Appellees.

No. 13–3549.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued Nov. 14, 2014.

Decided Aug. 24, 2015.

Jason J. Bach, Attorney, Bach Law Firm, LLC, Las Vegas, NV, for Plaintiffs–Appellants.

Marie Anne Hendrie, Attorney, Law Offices of the Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., South Bend, IN, Jacquelyn S. Pillar King, Attorney, Crist, Sears & Zic, Michael D. Sears, Attorney, Singleton, Crist, Austgen & Sears, Munster, IN, Defendants–Appellees.

Before BAUER, FLAUM, and TINDER, Circuit Judges.

Opinion

BAUER, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-appellants, D.S. and her parents, Debbie Lynn Stahl and George M. Stahl, brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against defendant-appellees, East Porter County School Corporation and Morgan Township Middle/High School (collectively “East Porter”), and Porter Township School Corporation and Boone Grove Middle School (collectively “PTSC”), alleging various constitutional and state-law claims. East Porter and PTSC filed separate motions for summary judgment, which the district court granted in full. D.S. and the Stahls appeal the district court's grants of summary judgment as to their constitutional claims only. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

D.S., a minor, was enrolled as a student in the East Porter County School Corporation, a school system located in Porter County, Indiana, from kindergarten through eighth grade. While there, D.S. asserts that she was the victim of bullying at the hands of her fellow students beginning as early as third grade. D.S. claims that the bullying became more physical and vicious at Morgan Township Middle/High School beginning in sixth grade, when several girls threw basketballs at her head, tripped her, and ignored her during basketball practice. The bullying continued into seventh grade, when someone wrote on her school planner, “I hope you die,” and throughout eighth grade, when students continued to pick on her in class, often moving her desk to a corner of the social studies classroom or kicking it.

After many of these incidents occurred, D.S. complained to school officials. However, apart from witnessing the guidance counselor talk to one of the alleged bullies about her behavior toward D.S. and seeing the principal call one of the alleged bullies to her office, D.S. does not know if school officials took any action in response to the complaints. D.S. also alleges that some of her teachers and coaches at Morgan Township Middle/High School expressly participated or were complicit in the bullying. Specifically, D.S. asserts that her sixth grade gym teacher forced her to participate in gym class even though three of her toes were broken

; her sixth and seventh grade basketball coaches gave her little playing time and told her that she was not good at basketball; her seventh grade volleyball coach gave her little playing time and accused her of lying about the number of laps that she ran in practice; and her social studies teacher laughed when her desk was moved by other classmates.

D.S. did not return to Morgan Township Middle/High School after the events of February 9, 2011. On that day, D.S. had stayed after school with the rest of the basketball team. When the girls were told to get their uniforms from the laundry room, D.S. discovered that one of the girls had switched D.S.'s shorts for a larger size. The girls started taunting D.S. and calling her names, such as “fat,” and followed her when she tried to get away from the name calling. D.S. called her mother, Debbie, who came to the school to pick up D.S. and, while there, yelled at the alleged bullies, pointing her finger at one of them. Shortly thereafter, D.S.'s father, George, arrived and confronted the principal about the bullying situation. He asked the principal whether she was going to talk to the alleged bullies; in response, the principal said that she was going to speak to Debbie about her behavior when she picked up D.S. from the school that afternoon. George asked the principal for an explanation and, when she didn't respond, demanded to know whether his child was being treated poorly because of money. George then left the school but returned to pick up D.S.'s grandfather, who was already waiting in the gym for the basketball game. Upon exiting the gym, George and his father confronted several of the alleged bullies. As the two men walked away, the girls started yelling that George and his father had attacked them. This prompted the principal to summon both men into her office and call the police. No students came forward to complain further, so the police did not issue a citation to George or his father.

The next day, the school superintendent, Roy Gardin, contacted the Stahls to set up a meeting with them to discuss the events of the previous day. Gardin explained that Debbie and George would be banned from East Porter property until they were able to meet with him; however, the Stahls never contacted Gardin to set up a meeting. Consequently, George and Debbie were banned from school property for one year. D.S., who was not subject to the ban, voluntarily chose not to return to Morgan Township Middle/High School.

Subsequently, the Stahls contacted Boone Grove Middle School, located within a neighboring school district, the Porter Township School Corporation, to inquire as to whether they could enroll their daughter, who resided out of district, in the school to complete her eighth grade year. George testified that he was advised that the school had “open enrollment,” so the Stahls went to Boone Grove the next day to enroll D.S. and take a tour of the school. After the tour concluded, George told the principal of Boone Grove that he and Debbie had been banned for a year from East Porter property. The principal responded that he would have to check with the superintendent to see whether there was any issue with enrollment prior to finalizing D.S.'s transfer. That evening, the principal called the Stahls and informed them that D.S. would not be permitted to enroll, as they were closing enrollment. Nevertheless, the following Monday, George asked a neighbor to come with him to Boone Grove and inquire about enrollment. George testified that the neighbor was told by school personnel that enrollment was open.

D.S. and the Stahls filed suit against East Porter and PTSC pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging equal protection and due process violations, as well as municipal liability pursuant to Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). The Stahls also asserted several Indiana state-law claims, including intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and false light invasion of privacy. Both East Porter and PTSC filed motions for summary judgment; D.S. and the Stahls filed a response to East Porter's motion but failed to file a response to PTSC's motion. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of East Porter and PTSC as to all of D.S. and the Stahls' constitutional claims and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over their state-law claims. This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

A. D.S.'s Due Process Claim Against East Porter

To state a claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that he or she was deprived of a right secured by the Constitution or the laws of the United States, and that this deprivation occurred at the hands of a person or persons acting under the color of state law. Buchanan–Moore v. Cty. of Milwaukee, 570 F.3d 824, 827 (7th Cir.2009). Although the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prevents the state from infringing on an individual's right to life, liberty, or property, it does not “impose an affirmative obligation on the [s]tate to ensure that those interests do not come to harm through other means.” DeShaney v. Winnebago Cty. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 489 U.S. 189, 195, 109 S.Ct. 998, 103 L.Ed.2d 249 (1989). The Due Process Clause limits the state's power to act, but does not act “as a guarantee of certain minimal levels of safety and security.” Id. at 195, 109 S.Ct. 998. Accordingly, the Clause generally does not impose upon the state a duty to protect individuals from harm by private actors. Id. at 197, 109 S.Ct. 998. However, two exceptions have grown out of this general principle. The first obligates the state to protect individuals with whom it has a “special relationship,” such as a custodial relationship that cuts off alternative avenues of aid. Monfils v. Taylor, 165 F.3d 511, 516 (7th Cir.1998). The other is the “state-created danger exception,” which applies when a state actor's conduct “creates, or substantially contributes to the creation of, a danger or renders citizens more vulnerable to a danger that they otherwise would have been.” Reed v. Gardner, 986 F.2d 1122, 1126 (7th Cir.1993).

D.S. does not argue that the special relationship exception is applicable to this case, and relies instead on the state-created danger doctrine. To prevail under a state-created danger theory, D.S. must show three things: (1) that the state—here, East Porter—by its affirmative acts, created or increased a danger that D.S. faced; (2) that East Porter's failure to protect D.S. from danger was the proximate cause of her injury; and (3) that East Porter's failure to protect D.S. shocks the conscience. See King ex rel. King v. East St. Louis Sch. Dist. 189, 496 F.3d 812, 818 (7th Cir.2007). D.S. alleges that school officials either created the risk that D.S. would be bullied by her teammates and classmates or rendered D.S. more vulnerable to the risk of being bullied. The district court held that D.S. did not offer sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact under the state-created danger standard. We agree.

D.S. has not shown that her teachers and coaches instigated, created, or increased the bullying that she experienced at...