Doe v. Russell Cnty. Sch. Bd.

• Decision Date: 13 February 2018
• Docket Number: Case No. 1:16CV00045
• Citation: 292 F.Supp.3d 690
• Parties: John DOE, an Infant, BY His Next Friend, Reelia WATSON, Plaintiff, v. RUSSELL COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD d/b/a Russell County Public Schools, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia

292 F.Supp.3d 690

John DOE, an Infant, BY His Next Friend, Reelia WATSON, Plaintiff,

v.RUSSELL COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD d/b/a Russell County Public Schools, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 1:16CV00045

United States District Court, W.D. Virginia, ABINGDON DIVISION.

Signed February 13, 2018

Monica H. Beck and Douglas E. Fierberg, The Fierberg National Law Group, PLLC, Traverse City, Michigan, and Paul R. Thomson, III, The Thomson Law Firm, PLLC, Roanoke, Virginia, for Plaintiff; Christopher S. Dadak and Jim H. Guynn, Jr., Guynn & Waddell, P.C., Salem, Virginia, and Mary Katherine Patton, Chafin Law Firm P.C., Lebanon, Virginia, for Defendants Russell County School Board d/b/a Russell County Public Schools, Phillip Henley, and Kimberly Hooker; W. Ethan Stewart, Stewart Law Office, P.C., Norton, Virginia, guardian ad litem for Defendant Bobby Gobble.

OPINION AND ORDER

James P. Jones, United States District Judge

Bobby Gobble was an elementary school custodian who over time sexually abused several young boys who were students at the school, including John Doe, the pseudonymously-named plaintiff in this case. Following discovery of his abuse, Gobble pled guilty to state criminal charges and is currently serving a lengthy prison term. As a result of Gobble's abuse, Doe now sues Gobble, as well as the Russell County, Virginia, School Board (the "School Board"), and former school principals Phillip Henley and Kimberly Hooker, based on various state and federal causes of action, including Title IX and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.¹ This court has subject-matter jurisdiction of the claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a).

Following extensive discovery, the plaintiff has moved for summary judgment against Gobble, and the School Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all counts pending against them. The School Defendants have also moved to exclude certain proposed trial testimony by two of the plaintiff's expert witnesses. The motions have been fully briefed and orally argued and are ripe for decision.

For the following reasons, I will grant summary judgment against Gobble, deny summary judgment to the School Board, grant summary judgment to Henley and Hooker, and grant in part and deny in part the School Defendants' Motion to Exclude.

I. FACTS .

The following facts are taken from the summary judgment record and, where disputed, are presented in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.

John Doe began attending Lebanon Elementary School ("LES") in the fall of 2011 as a nine-year-old third grade student. When he began attending LES, Doe had an individualized education plan ("IEP") to address his special learning needs. He could not write his name, wrote his letters backward, and could not read. His mother, referenced in the record as Jane Doe, was incarcerated, and Doe was living with his grandmother, step-grandfather, and three siblings. His grandmother, who had custody of Doe, was ill and suffered from heart problems.

Defendant Phillip Henley was the principal of LES from 2005 until June 1, 2012, the end of Doe's third-grade year. Defendant Kimberly Hooker was the principal of LES during the 2012–13 school year, when Doe was in fourth grade. Dennis Price—who is not a defendant—was the assistant principal at LES from 2006 until 2012 and later served as the principal of LES from 2013 to 2015. During the 2013–14 school year, when Doe was in fifth grade, he attended Lebanon Middle School ("LMS"), located across the street from LES.

Gobble began working at LES as a janitor in May 2007 and became the head custodian on July 8, 2011. His sister, Brenda Helbert, worked as the assistant custodian at LES. Helbert had two sons, B.G. and S.G., who were a few years older than Doe and were students at other schools in Russell County.

Gobble first met Doe at LES, where the two talked to one another often. Doe wanted to help Gobble with his custodial duties. Gobble had a practice of encouraging boys to help him collect trash at the end of the school day. Teachers would permit students to leave class during the last five to ten minutes of the school day for this purpose, and Gobble frequently gave the boys one or two dollars or candy in exchange for helping him.

Gobble and Doe began spending more and more time together, during and after school, at LES and elsewhere. This relationship was encouraged by Doe's teachers, who thought Gobble was a good influence on Doe. Teacher Cecille Lawson Skeens called Gobble to her classroom on several occasions to calm Doe down, and each time Gobble took Doe out of the classroom and into the hallway. Doe's teachers sent him out of the classroom by himself to get supplies and coffee from the custodian office. On at least one occasion, Gobble was allowed to remove Doe from school to get a haircut. While he was enrolled in the after school program, Doe was allowed to leave the program to spend time with Gobble and help him with his cleaning duties around the school. Gobble was not related to Doe and did not have written permission to remove Doe from school, although Doe's grandmother and mother verbally approved of Doe spending time with Gobble.

Gobble signed off on Doe's report cards. Teacher Alisha Powers met with Gobble and Doe to discuss Doe's IEP. Gobble would ask Skeens how Doe had done on tests and assignments, and she would provide that information to Gobble. Gobble told her that he helped Doe study and would bring him a soft drink at lunch if Doe did well. Doe frequently spent time in the custodian office, the door to which remained closed at Henley's direction.

Gobble gave Doe rides home from school in his personal vehicle on a regular basis. Gobble befriended Doe's family and sometimes stayed to eat dinner with them. Gobble took Doe to Gobble's house along with his nephews, B.G. and S.G., to play video games, and Doe ended up spending the night there. Doe would eventually stay at Gobble's house for days on end and essentially lived with Gobble for a period of several months. B.G. and S.G. introduced Doe to Henley at LES one day and told Henley that Gobble was taking them all out to dinner. Henley incorrectly assumed that Doe was related to B.G., S.G., and Gobble.

Henley became aware that Doe would help Gobble gather trash and also participated in the after-school program. As the school year went on, Gobble mentioned to Henley that Doe would go to Gobble's house because he did not like to stay at his own home. Henley did not ask Gobble any questions about Doe being at his house, including whether he had the permission of a parent or guardian. Henley never talked to Doe's grandmother, his guardian.

Doe's teachers were aware that Gobble bought him shoes, clothes, and an expensive video game console that he had to finance. Doe's teachers also knew that Gobble often bought him food, which he took to Doe in the school cafeteria during lunch, and that Gobble paid Doe's expenses related to little league football. Teacher Powers encountered Doe with Gobble and his nephews at the amusement park known as Dollywood, some distance from Russell County. Henley did not ask teachers if they had any concerns about Doe spending time with Gobble. Henley never checked on Gobble as part of his regular workday. He had no set supervisory schedule for Gobble. Henley never reviewed security camera footage to see what Gobble was doing.

Gobble began sexually abusing Doe in early 2012. The abuse continued until the summer of 2013, when Jane Doe, who had regained custody of him, stopped allowing Doe to spend time with Gobble. Gobble has admitted to repeatedly molesting Doe in the LES boiler room and custodian office, in his vehicle, at the home Gobble shared with his then-wife, and at the home of Gobble's sister Helbert, where Gobble lived while separated from his wife. The abuse occurred on a near-daily basis.

According to Gobble, Henley and Hooker knew that Gobble was regularly at school before his shift began and that children spent time in the custodian office with him before school started. Henley and Hooker knew that teachers sometimes sent students by themselves to the custodian office during the school day to get supplies, like sponges or paper towels. Henley and Hooker further knew that Doe spent time in the custodian office after school and that Gobble spent time in the custodian office with Doe, S.G., and B.G., with the door to the office closed. In addition, Henley and Hooker were aware that Doe and Gobble's nephews were with Gobble at the school when school was not in session. Henley and Hooker knew that Gobble brought Doe to school in the mornings and that Doe left school with Gobble at the end of the day. Gobble testified that neither principal asked him why he was at school before his shift began or told him he should not have children in the custodian office with him.

In 2012, Gobble's wife Charlene made a complaint to the Russell County Department of Social Services ("DSS") about Gobble's relationship with Doe. Charlene reported that Doe was staying at the couple's house and spending an excessive amount of time with Gobble. She stated that Gobble was no longer sleeping with her and was instead sleeping in the same room as Doe. Charlene reported that Gobble's relationship with Doe was negatively affecting the couple's marriage.

Pam Kincaid, Kathy Brickey, and two other DSS personnel went to Gobble's home to investigate the complaint. Charlene showed them where Gobble slept and a small cot next to the bed where Doe slept. After leaving the Gobble home, the DSS workers went to LES and spoke to Hooker about the complaint. Hooker told them that Gobble had taken the child under his wing because Doe was insecure and he looked up to Gobble as a father figure. Hooker stated that Gobble made sure that Doe got home in the evenings and would take him to ball games. Following this conversation, the focus of the DSS investigation shifted from Gobble to Jane Doe.

The DSS workers spoke to Gobble, who told them that Doe's mother had...