Doe v. Petaluma City School Dist.
| Decision Date | 30 August 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. C-93-0123 EFL.,C-93-0123 EFL. |
| Citation | 830 F. Supp. 1560 |
| Parties | Jane DOE, a Minor, By and Through her Guardian ad Litem, John DOE, Plaintiff, v. PETALUMA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, and Petaluma Joint Union High School District, Dick Cleclak, Richard Homrighouse, Kenilworth Junior High School and Roes 1 through 50, inclusive, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of California |
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Anne T. Shelton, Conner, Slabach, Lawrence & Rodney, Santa Rosa, CA, for plaintiff.
Scott N. Kivel, Liebert, Cassidy & Frierson, San Francisco, CA, Robert J. Henry, School and College Legal Services, Sonoma County Office of Educ., Santa Rosa, CA, for defendants.
Plaintiff Jane Doe has filed suit concerning defendants' alleged failure to put an end to sexual harassment inflicted on her by her peers while she was a student at Kenilworth Junior High School. Defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiff's First Amended Complaint is before the court. For the reasons stated below, the court holds:
(1) The motion to dismiss because the claims are barred by the statute of limitations is DENIED.
(2) The motion to dismiss the Title IX claim is GRANTED (with leave to amend). The court finds that hostile environment sexual harassment claims may be brought under Title IX. To obtain damages, however, the plaintiff must prove intentional discrimination on the basis of sex on the part of an employee of the educational institution, not just that an employee or employees of the institution knew or should have known of the hostile environment and failed to take appropriate action to end it.
(3) The motion to dismiss the Title IX claim against the individual defendants (Homrighouse and Cleclak) is GRANTED (with prejudice) because Title IX makes institutions, not individuals, liable.
(4) The motion to dismiss the section 1983 claim against the school districts is GRANTED (with prejudice) because they are immune under the Eleventh Amendment. The motion to dismiss the section 1983 claim against Homrighouse and Cleclak on the ground of Eleventh Amendment immunity is DENIED because they have been sued in their individual capacities. The section 1983 claim against Cleclak, however, is DISMISSED (with leave to amend) to allege sufficient facts to establish section 1983 liability for him.
(5) The motion to dismiss the section 1983 claim on the merits is GRANTED (with prejudice) to the extent that it is based on a "special relationship" theory within the meaning of DeShaney. Plaintiff may amend the section 1983 claim (against the individual defendants only) to the extent that she is claiming another theory of section 1983 liability.
(6) The motion to dismiss the California Civil Code § 52.1 claim is GRANTED (with leave to amend) because plaintiff has failed to allege facts to show that any defendant interfered with her rights by threats, intimidation or coercion.
(7) The motion to dismiss the intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims on the ground of state law immunity is GRANTED (with prejudice) but the motion to dismiss the California Civil Code § 52.1 claim on the ground of state law immunity is DENIED.
(8) The motion to dismiss the entire complaint against Kenilworth Junior High School on the ground that it is not a suable entity is GRANTED (with prejudice).
The factual allegations are drawn from plaintiff's complaint. Plaintiff Jane Doe (Jane) is a minor; she was born on December 30, 1977 and she resides in Petaluma, California. At all times relevant to this suit she was a student at Kenilworth Junior High School (Kenilworth), a public school in Sonoma County, California.
Petaluma City School District and Petaluma Joint Union High School District (PJUHSD) control and manage the public schools in Petaluma, including Kenilworth Junior High School. PJUHSD is a recipient of federal financial assistance.
Defendant Dick Cleclak (Cleclak) is, and at all relevant times was, the principal of Kenilworth. Defendant Richard Homrighouse (Homrighouse) is, and at all relevant times was, a counselor at Kenilworth.
Jane alleges that she was repeatedly subjected to sexual harassment by other students throughout seventh and eighth grades; that she informed school officials of the harassment, and that they did not respond to the harassment adequately. Most of the harassment was verbal, in the form of statements about Jane having a hot dog in her pants or that she had sex with hot dogs.
Specifically, plaintiff alleges: In mid-Fall, 1990, when she was in seventh grade, two students, Scott and Mike, said to plaintiff, "I hear you have a hot dog in your pants." Within a few weeks, another student said something to her about her having a hot dog in her pants and that there was a rumor spreading around the school about her and hot dogs.
Within a few days Jane reported those incidents to Mr. Homrighouse, her counselor. She told him she was upset and asked him to stop the harassment. He did nothing. Throughout the fall, students continued to make comments regarding plaintiff having sex with a hot dog and called her "hot dog." Plaintiff went to Homrighouse approximately every other week to get him to stop the harassment. He said that all he could do was warn the students. He never told plaintiff about the Title IX Student/Parent Grievance Policy, nor did he tell her about the Title IX officer for Kenilworth, Mrs. Noll (Noll).
Later in the Fall of 1990, Jane's father, John, spoke to Homrighouse about the comments and rumors. Homrighouse told John that Jane had informed him of the comments and that he was taking care of the problem. Homrighouse did not tell Jane's father about the Title IX Grievance Policy or about the Title IX coordinator. Also in the Fall of 1990, plaintiff's mother spoke to Homrighouse a couple of times. Homrighouse said that everything was going well, that some kids just need time to adjust to junior high, and that he expected the comments to cease in a short time.
In approximately December of 1990, John spoke to Homrighouse because Jane was being harassed by some girls (or one girl) who wanted to fight her because she had reported their harassment. Homrighouse later informed John that he had looked into the matter, spoken to the girl who wanted to fight, and gave plaintiff's father the impression that things would be all right. Nonetheless, the harassment continued.
In the early months of 1991, during an English class, Mario and Scott (two students) were speaking to Jane and made reference to her having a hot dog in her pants. Jane reported these statements to Homrighouse. He told her that the comments were sexual harassment. He called Mario and Scott into his office and warned them.
Jane also asked Homrighouse to do something about the girls making hot dog comments. He advised her that girls could not get into trouble for making such sexual comments because girls could not sexually harass other girls. He told her all he could do was to warn the students and that since there were so many students taunting her and calling her "hot dog" that warning all of them would be fruitless. Homrighouse did bring the girls in in groups and told Jane to work it out with them. The girls promised to stop the harassment but never did.
Jane's father spoke to Homrighouse after the incident with Mario and Scott. Homrighouse responded by saying essentially "boys will be boys," but he told Jane's father that he had warned Mario and Scott.
The comments continued in the Spring of 1991. Jane talked to Homrighouse about five times a month during that period. She reported being called a "hot dog bitch," "slut" and "hoe" (slang for whore) by girls who were trying to get her to fight. Homrighouse said that he could not stop the girls from talking to Jane because of their free speech rights. Homrighouse did nothing although he knew Jane was frightened and upset. Harassment by both boys and girls continued throughout the Spring of 1991, Jane continued to complain to Homrighouse, and he continued to do nothing about the harassment. Homrighouse assured Jane's mother that he was keeping an eye out for Jane. The comments continued throughout the summer of 1991, both on and off the school grounds.
On the first day of the eighth grade, in September of 1991, a student named Dawn wanted to fight Jane. A friend of Jane's intervened and told Dawn to leave Jane alone. Jane was left alone for one week. Over the next four months, however, comments and threats were made to Jane from both boys and girls on a daily basis. Jane reported the incidents to Homrighouse on a weekly basis, as he had asked her to. She got a reputation as a tattle-tale. Going to school became increasingly emotionally difficult for Jane.
Jane's mother called Homrighouse two or three times in the Fall of 1991 to ask for help. He responded that sooner or later the kids would mature and cease harassing Jane. He stated that there was little he could do since no one had actually hit Jane. Again, he failed to inform Jane's mother about the Title IX grievance procedure or the Title IX coordinator. Jane's father also spoke to Homrighouse three of four times during the Fall of 1991. Homrighouse stated that "boys will be boys," that he would talk to the students involved, and that things should be getting better. The harassment continued.
On January 21, 1992, Jane was slapped by another student. The incident was reported to Noll, the Vice-Principal (and Title IX coordinator), who was in charge of discipline. She took written statements and suspended the offending student for two days.
On February 20, 1992, a student named Dan stood up in plaintiff's English class and said, The entire class laughed. The teacher made Dan apologize. Jane ran out in tears. She reported the incident to Homrighouse. Noll suspended Dan...
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