Daniel v. Ga. Dep't of Human Servs.
| Decision Date | 15 November 2019 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 1:16-cv-03512 |
| Citation | 420 F.Supp.3d 1350 |
| Parties | Anthony DANIEL, et al., Plaintiffs, v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
Craig Thomas Jones, Craig T. Jones, PC, Washington, GA, Roger Frank Krause, Krause & Witcher, LLC, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiffs.
Robert L. Bunner, State of Georgia Law Department, Annarita L. McGovern, Coleman Talley, LLP, Atlanta, GA, for Defendants.
This is a heartbreaking case. Laila Daniel died at the age of two after the State of Georgia placed her in the custody of Jennifer and Joseph Rosenbaum. Her parents, Anthony Daniel and Tessa Clendening, sued the Georgia Department of Human Services ("DHS") and Samantha White and Tamara Warner, former DHS case workers responsible for Laila's placement with the Rosenbaums. Defendants White and Warner moved for summary judgment. (Dkts. 41; 43.) Defendant DHS also moved to dismiss or for summary judgment. (Dkt. 44.) The Court grants Defendants White's and Warner's Motions for Summary Judgment (Dkts. 41; 43). The Court grants in part and denies in part Defendant DHS's Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 44).
DHS's Division of Family and Child Services ("DFCS") took Laila Daniel and her sister, MP, into its temporary legal and physical custody in April 2015. (Dkt. 37 ¶ 12.) Laila was about twenty-one months old at the time. (Id. ) MP was four. (Id. ) DFCS placed the girls with Patricia and Dexter Lambert, experienced foster parents. (Id. ¶¶ 14, 15.)1
Jennifer Rosenbaum was a third-year law student interning in the Juvenile Court in Henry County. (Id. ¶ 17.) She heard about the children's placement in foster care. (Id. ) Rosenbaum had been a foster child and had lived in a foster home with the children's mother. (Id. ) Jennifer and her husband, Joseph Rosenbaum, wanted to provide foster care for Laila and MP. (Id. )
Defendant White, the children's case manager, heard about their interest. (Id. ¶ 4; Dkt. 42-1 at 71:11–21.) Because the Rosenbaums were not approved foster parents, White and her supervisor, Defendant Warner, worked to have them approved as "fictive kin." (Dkt. 37 ¶ 18.) Fictive kin is a term DFCS uses to describe people who are so close to children that DFCS considers them relatives even though they are not actually related. (Dkt. 42-2 at 52:3–54:11.) DFCS treats placement with fictive kin as placement with relatives. (Dkt. 42-2 at 50:1–11.) It is not foster parent placement. (Id. ) Fictive kin are supposed to have resided with or had significant contact with the children before becoming permanent caregivers. (Dkt. 44-2 at 8.) That was not the case here. The record provides little detail about the decision to classify the Rosenbaums as fictive kin other than to say that Warner believed they would serve as good caregivers for the children. She explained, (Dkt. 41-1 at 73:19–23.)
As a part of the approval process, DFCS hired a company to perform a background check on the Rosenbaums. (See Dkt. 41-3 at 36–57.) The company gave them positive reviews and approved Laila and MP going into their home. (Id. ) White and Warner did not conduct a check under Jennifer Rosenbaum's maiden name, which would have revealed that she had been in foster care. (Dkt. 42-2 at 74:11–17.) They knew she had been in foster care, but that was all. (Id. ) Warner explained that, because she viewed Jennifer Rosenbaum as someone who had pulled herself out of a difficult situation, she did not look further into her past. (Dkt. 42-2 at 75:14–20.)
The Rosenbaums moved forward in their efforts to take custody of the girls. As part of this, Laila and MP (while still living with the Lamberts) visited the Rosenbaums for overnight stays. (Dkt. 42-1 at 84:8–14.) Ms. Lambert expressed concern to Warner that the Rosenbaums were not watching the children closely enough. (Id. at 84:15–85:9.) Ms. Lambert went to the DFCS office twice to voice her concerns. (Dkt. 42-2 at 18:4–20:8.) During one visit, she showed a different case manager a bruise on Laila's leg and let the case manager take photos of the injury. (Id. ) She explained that Jennifer Rosenbaum had said Laila got the bruise during an altercation with another child. (Dkt. 37 ¶ 21.)2 Warner saw the photos of the bruise and sent White to see the children at the Lamberts' house. (Dkt. 42-2 at 18:4–20:8.) White met with the children, took additional photographs, and reported back that the injury was "pretty much gone." (Id.; Dkt. 50-5 at 1.) White told Warner she had no concerns and did not feel the children were in any danger. (Dkt. 42-2 at 18:4–20:8.)3
White also met with Jennifer Rosenbaum. She told Rosenbaum that someone had reported concerns about whether she was watching the children closely enough. (Dkt. 42-1 at 87:11–13.) White thought Rosenbaum "didn't take it the wrong way" and Rosenbaum "took [her] advice." (Id. at 87:14–18.) After investigating Ms. Lambert's complaint about the bruise, White found nothing of concern. (Dkt. 42-2 at 18:4–20:8.) Warner and White did not file a Serious Injury Report or a Child Protective Services Report about the injury because they did not think it was serious.4 (Dkt. 37 ¶ 28.) Ms. Lambert also never said that the Rosenbaums should not get the children. (Dkt. 42-1 at 19–22.)
Both White and Warner approved of the Rosenbaums taking the children as fictive kin. (Dkt. 42-2 at 50:1–16.) Warner instructed White to get approval for this decision from their administrator. (Dkt. 42-2 at 49:19–50:17.) White never did so, and Warner failed to follow up. (Dkt. 42-2 at 50:1–16.) DFCS permanently assigned Laila and MP to the Rosenbaums in late July 2015. (Dkt. 37 ¶ 21.)
As case manager, White visited the Rosenbaums each month. (Dkt. 43-4 ¶ 10.) She typically (but not always) undressed Laila to examine her for injuries or signs of abuse.5 (Id. ; Dkt. 42-1 at 60:20–61:19.) White did not undress MP because she was older and could speak with White about her treatment. (Dkt. 43-4 ¶ 10.) MP told White that the Rosenbaums never hurt her or her sister. (Dkt. 42-1 at 63:6–64:8.)
During a visit in early September 2015, White found a bruise on Laila. (Dkt. 42-1 at 109:17–110:5.) Jennifer Rosenbaum said another child at daycare had hit Laila. (Id. ) White contacted the school and confirmed that Laila had been at school. (Id. at 110:16–25.) After this visit, White wrote in a DFCS narrative that (Dkt. 41-2 ¶ 36.)
The next month, Laila broke her leg. (Dkt. 37 ¶ 30.) Jennifer Rosenbaum took her to an urgent care facility. (Dkt. 42-1 at 46:18–47:5.) Medical records show Rosenbaum claimed Laila had fallen at her "Nana's house" and at a gymnastics class. (Dkt. 37 ¶ 31.) Jennifer Rosenbaum texted White while at the hospital, saying Laila had hurt her leg at gymnastics, that they were at the hospital with the doctor, and that Laila was not in much pain. (Dkt. 42-1 at 46:2–48:17.) White spoke with Laila's doctor, who said Laila would be okay. (Id. at 53:8–24.) The doctor did not mention any concerns of abuse. (Dkt. 43-4 ¶ 8.) White also arranged to get the doctor's notes. (Dkt. 42-1 at 48:6-12.) She had given the Rosenbaums permission to take the girls to gymnastics but she did not go to the gymnasium until after Laila's leg injury and she failed to check out Jennifer Rosenbaum's explanation for the injury. (Dkt. 42-1 at 46:8–17, 47:2–14, 99:16-25.)6
White claims she told Warner about the injury, but Warner denies that. (Dkt. 41-2 ¶ 27.) Given that Laila broke her leg, White should have completed a Serious Injury Report. (Dkt. 73 at 19:16–20:13.) The parties dispute whether she did so. Warner stopped supervising White on November 1, 2015, and had no further involvement with Laila's case. (Dkt. 41-2 ¶ 30.)
White visited the Rosenbaums on November 2, 2015. (Dkt. 37 ¶ 38.) She saw a bruise on MP's head. (Id. ) Jennifer Rosenbaum explained that she had left MP in the bathroom alone while retrieving her phone from another room. (Dkt. 43-4 ¶ 6.) She said that, while she was gone, MP bumped her head against the faucet.7 (Id. ) Laila was asleep during the visit. (Dkt. 42-1 at 65:4–18.) Rosenbaum told White that Laila was teething and having trouble sleeping. (Id. ) As a result, White did not wake the child to undress her. (Id. ) Instead, she merely pulled back the bed covers and looked over the child's body for signs of abuse. (Id. ) She found none. (Id. ) White recorded her impressions of this incident:
There are no signs of maltreatment.... [MP] hit her head on the facet (sic) in the tub.... There is not any serious bruising. [White] asked [MP] if she was ok and she stated that she was and that it didn't hurt .... There are no other marks on the girl[']s bodies.... There are no safety interventions needed. The girls are closely watched and when medical attention is needed it is given quickly.
Laila passed away on November 17, 2015. (Dkt. 37 ¶ 1.) An autopsy revealed she had an untreated broken arm and multiple bruises over her entire body. (Id. at ¶ 42.) A medical examiner testified at Jennifer Rosenbaum's criminal trial that Laila endured ongoing abuse, including twenty-two injuries to the head and neck
, eleven injuries to the torso, and multiple injuries to her legs. (See Dkt. 74 ¶ 2.) DFCS Director Bobby Cagle fired White and Warner after an internal DHS investigation into their conduct. (Dkt. 73 at 23:22–24:15.)
Plaintiffs filed claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendants Warner and White for...
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