Doe v. Beaumont I.S.D.
| Decision Date | 08 May 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:95-CV-207.,1:95-CV-207. |
| Parties | Jane DOE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. BEAUMONT I.S.D., et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas |
Laurence Wade Watts, Carleton C. Casteel, Watts & Associates, Houston, TX, Mark G. Lazarz, Shellist Lore & Lazarz, Houston, TX, for Jane Doe, Sue Doe, Sam Doe.
Tanner Truett Hunt, Jr., Melody G. Thomas & Chris Wohleb, Wells, Peyton, et al, Beaumont, TX, for Beaumont Independent School District, Norman Traylor.
Lawrence Louis Germer, Germer & Gertz, Beaumont, TX, for Marlot Shook.
Robert J. Hambright, Orgain Bell & Tucker, Beaumont, TX, for Shedrick Evans.
Before the court are the following:
a) Defendants Beaumont Independent School District ("BISD") and Dr. Norman Traylor's ("Traylor") Motion for Summary Judgment and Brief in Support, filed on February 6, 1998. Plaintiffs filed a Brief in Opposition ("Plaintiffs' Response to BISD") on April 21, 1998.1 Defendants BISD and Traylor filed a Reply to Plaintiffs' Response ("BISD's Reply to Plaintiffs' Response") on April 28, 1998.
b) Defendant Shedrick Evans' ("Evans") Motion for Summary Judgment, filed on February 6, 1998. Plaintiffs filed a Brief in Opposition ("Plaintiffs' Response to Evans") on April 21, 1998.
After consideration of the motions, responses, and applicable law, the court is of the opinion that Defendants BISD and Traylor's Motion should be GRANTED, and Defendant Evans' Motion should be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.
Jane Doe, Sue Doe and Sam Doe brought this action as next friends of their minor daughters Janet Doe and Sally Doe against Defendants BISD, Traylor, and Evans. During the 1993-94 school year, Janet Doe and Sally Doe were eleven year-old fourth grade students at Homer Elementary School, enrolled in the class of Marlot Shook.2 Plaintiffs allege Evans, a fifth grade teacher at Homer Elementary School, sexually assaulted Janet and Sally by fondling their breasts.
In depositions taken during the course of this cause of action, both girls described the contact between Mr. Evans and themselves. According to Janet Doe, Evans would often speak with her and the other girls in Janet's class while they were in the hallways. However, she and Evans were never alone together. Depo. of Janet Doe at 14-16. Janet testified that sometimes during these conversations, Evans would touch her by draping his hand over her shoulders, with his hand "leaning over" onto her chest area. Id. at 18. This contact allegedly occurred three or four times. Id. at 20. No other physical contact occurred, although Janet testified that she perceived that Evans was flirting with her. Id. at 19.
After Janet perceived this "flirting" and that Evans was touching her inappropriately, she alleges that she told her teacher, Marlot Shook. Id. at 20-21. Janet admitted that she did not tell Shook that Evans touched her. She only told Shook that Evans made her feel uncomfortable and that he was flirting with the girls in the class. Id. at 21, 74. According to Janet, Shook replied to her reports of Evans' flirtation by telling her, "I don't want to hear it" or that Janet was "off-task." Id. at 20-21. Janet testified that she complained about Evans "once or twice, probably," to Shook, but that Shook took no action. Id. at 21. According to Janet, nothing came of her reports about Evans until April 14, 1994. Id. at 65.
The deposition of Sally Doe is relatively consistent with that of Janet. Sally also states that she was never alone with Evans, and that she and the other girls in her class would see Evans at various times during the school day. Depo. of Sally Doe at 18-22. According to Sally, the complained-of conduct occurred only in the hallways of the school when the students were lining up for the buses at the end of the day. Id. at 22, 25. There was no other time, according to Sally, that Evans touched any of the girls in her class. Id. at 25-26. Evans draped his hand across Sally's shoulders once, id. at 22, and asked Sally whether or not she liked his car. Id. The contact only happened one time. Id. When he draped his hand across her shoulders, his hand fell down onto her "upper shoulder, chest area." Id. at 26-27.3 Sally did not report the contact to Shook, and she did not tell anyone about the incident until April 14, 1994. Id. at 48.
On April 14, 1994, Ms. Shook's class was being taught by a substitute teacher. A girl in the class (not one of the plaintiffs) began to cry. Depo. of Janet Doe at 65-66. Apparently, the reason for her distress was Evans. The other girl allegedly told the substitute teacher something regarding Evans, and the substitute teacher questioned the other girls in the class about their contact with him. Depo. of Sally Doe at 31. At this point, both Janet and Sally told the substitute teacher about Evans' physical contact with them. The substitute teacher instructed each girl in the class to write down the substance of their contacts with Evans. Id. at 31. The substitute teacher then sent the girls to Dr. Norman Traylor, principal of Homer Elementary, to report the conduct of Evans. Id. at 32-33.
After the girls made a report to Traylor, he immediately suspended Evans. Aff. of Dr. Norman Traylor at 1, para. 1 ("Traylor Affidavit"). Traylor claims that he had no knowledge of any previous charges of sexual abuse by Plaintiffs against Evans. Id. at 1, para. 2. Evans was suspended from Homer Elementary for the remainder of the 1993-1994 school year, while criminal charges against him were pending. Id. at 1, para. 2.4 Before Janet and Sally's report to Traylor, BISD had already determined that Evans' contract would not be renewed for the next academic year. Pls.' Exs. to and Documents in Support of Pls.' Briefs in Opp. ( ), Ex. E. That decision was memorialized in a letter dated March 24, 1994, before Janet and Sally met with Traylor. Shortly after his suspension, on May 4, 1994, Evans submitted his resignation from BISD, effective May 5, 1994. Id., Ex. F.
Janet claims that after the incident with Evans she had trouble sleeping, and that it was necessary for her to sleep with her mother until she was thirteen years old. Depo. of Janet Doe at 75. Further, parents of both of the girls have submitted affidavits stating that their daughters were affected by the contact with Evans. Among other alleged injuries, both girls are said to be more withdrawn and afraid of crowds. Supp. Aff. of Jane Doe; Aff. of Sue Doe, Pls.' Exs ., Ex. H; Aff. of Sam Doe, Id., Ex. I.
Plaintiffs have submitted numerous memoranda sent from Traylor to Evans during Evans' employment at Homer Elementary. These documents span the entire length of Evans' tenure at the school. Pls.' Exs., Ex. C. In sum, these documents reflect repeated warnings to Evans about his use of corporal punishment in the classroom, warnings about Evans' use of inappropriate verbal and physical threats towards misbehaving students, and a general dissatisfaction with Evans' job performance.
In one memorandum dated August 30, 1993, Traylor states that he received a report from a student, about Evans.5 According to the memorandum, on August 27, 1993, before the incidents forming the basis of this suit, Evans "looked under [the reporting student's] dress, hugged her, and told her that she was a fine baby." Pls.' Exs., Ex. C, Bates Stamp # 160. Plaintiffs allege that this report shows that Traylor knew of a previous incident where Evans sexually assaulted a student.
However, the memorandum also shows that Traylor held a conference regarding the incident, and that Evans and the child's mother were present at the conference. Id. At the conference, the child's mother admitted that "the child had been sexually abused and that this may have been the reason for part of the story." Id. After the conference, Traylor warned Evans in writing about his disciplinary techniques, and stated that further non-compliance with school policy by Evans would result in corrective action. Id.
It is against this backdrop that Plaintiffs bring their claims. Plaintiffs claim that Evans is liable for the assault or assaults that allegedly took place, and that were first reported to Traylor on April 14, 1994. Plaintiffs also allege that Defendants BISD and Traylor are liable for hiring Evans in the first place, for failing to report previous incidents about which they allegedly had knowledge, for failing to report the incidents involving Janet and Sally, and for otherwise failing to take any action that would have prevented the assault of Janet and Sally.
Plaintiffs assert claims for: (1) deprivation of their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against all three defendants; (2) violations of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. Section 1681-88, against all three defendants; (3) intentional infliction of emotional distress, against Taylor in his individual capacity and against Evans; and (4) assault and battery, against Evans. The court will examine all of Plaintiffs' claims according to the standard for summary judgment as set out in Karr v. City of Beaumont, 950 F.Supp. 1317, 1320-21 (E.D.Tex.1997).
Plaintiffs have submitted, along with Evans' employment history, a series of court documents and arrest warrants. The documents are:
a) An arrest warrant and supporting affidavit, charging Evans with misdemeanor theft by check. The offense charged occurred on March 3, 1993, but the affidavit for arrest was not sworn to...
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