Godby v. Montgomery County Bd. of Educ.
| Decision Date | 09 March 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ.A. 97-A-040-N.,Civ.A. 97-A-040-N. |
| Citation | 996 F.Supp. 1390 |
| Parties | Bethany GODBY, etc., Plaintiffs, v. MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama |
J. Richard Cohen, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL, M. Wayne Sabel, Mark W. Sabel, Jr., Sabel & Sabel, P.C., Montgomery, AL, for Bethany Godby, by and through her next friends, Jeffery Godby, and Kristine Godby, Plaintiffs.
James R. Seale, Martha Ann Miller, Robison & Belser, P.A., Montgomery, AL, Mark S. Boardman, J. Wesley Hughes, Boardman & Tyra, P.C., Birmingham, AL, for Defendants.
This cause is before the court on the Motion for Summary Judgment filed on July 25, 1997, by the Defendants, Montgomery County Board of Education ("MCBOE"), Superintendent John A. Eberhart, Principal Jethro Wilson, and teachers John Bradford and Holli Lovrich. The case was filed by Bethany Godby because of events which occurred while she was a student at Cloverdale Junior High School. Her complaint is that the Defendants racially discriminated against her and violated other of her federal rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, and Title VI; and violated Alabama state law by negligently supervising their employees and invading her privacy.
This court has jurisdiction over the claims which state a violation of federal law. 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The court also has jurisdiction over the state law claims based on supplemental jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1367. For the reasons discussed herein, the motion for summary judgment is due to be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The party asking for summary judgment "always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the `pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,' which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Id. at 323.
If the movant succeeds in demonstrating the absence of a material issue of fact, the burden shifts to the non-movant to establish, with evidence beyond the pleadings, that a genuine issue material to the non-movant's case exists. See Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir.1991); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). A dispute of material fact "is `genuine' ... if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). If the non-movant's response consists of nothing more than conclusory allegations, the court must enter summary judgment for the movant. See Peppers v. Coates, 887 F.2d 1493 (11th Cir.1989).
As is required at the summary judgment stage, the "facts" in this case are viewed in the light most favorable to the non-movant Plaintiffs, the Godbys. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255.
The primary Plaintiff in this case, Bethany Godby, is a mixed-race child. Her father is white and her mother is black. Bethany thinks of herself as being "both" races; and when she has been asked for her race on forms, such as those at school, she has routinely checked both categories. B. Godby Depo. 11; Plaintiff's exh. 14 (Cloverdale Jr. High School class selection form dated 8-28-95); Plaintiff's exh. 15 (Montgomery Public Schools Registration Cards from 1993-96).
Homecoming queen elections at her school, Cloverdale Junior High in Montgomery, elect (or at least elected) the queens and their courts according to their race. Students are asked to nominate "white" students and "black" students, separately. The seventh and eighth grades each have two representatives on the homecoming court — a student of each race from each grade. Ninth grade has a queen, who is the top vote getter, and two attendants, a white one and a black one.
The Election.
Bethany Godby was in the ninth grade at Cloverdale Junior High School in 1996-97, when this dispute began. On September 10 of that school year, her homeroom held a vote to nominate students for the school-wide homecoming queen election. Godby's homeroom teacher. Defendant Bradford, was not present, so the vote was conducted by a substitute teacher (who is not a defendant). Students were asked to separately nominate students as either white or black. The winner from each category in the homeroom would be that homeroom's nominee for the school-wide ballot. The school-wide ballot was also divided into two racial categories: white and black.
Godby was not in her homeroom when the vote started. She learned upon returning, however, that she had been suggested by one of her classmates as a candidate for the homeroom's black nominee. Matters became complicated when one of her classmates said that she should run as the homeroom's white nominee. Other students complained that it would be unfair for Godby to run for both slots, and a discussion about race ensued among the students. B. Godby Depo. 21. The substitute teacher left to consult with Ms. Lovrich, the school's homecoming director.1
Lovrich went to the room and talked to Godby about the situation. Lovrich took Godby into the hall and told her that she had to choose one or the other slot in which to run; Godby could not run for both. B. Godby Depo. 22. In effect, the biracial child had to choose: was she white or black? Godby returned to the room and asked her classmates which slot she should choose. The majority of the classmates told her that she should run as the white nominee. Godby ran for the white slot and was selected as her homeroom's nominee. B. Godby Depo. 23.
Godby's nomination during the first vote never made it to the general student body for a vote, however. The school officials have maintained from early on that the first election was invalidated because the girl who received the black nomination from Godby's homeroom had helped count the votes. This was thought improper. Plaintiffs have not contested that the black nominee helped count the votes. Plaintiffs have noted facts, however, which at least make it appear that other reasons may have led to the invalidation of the first election. Ms. Lovrich has admitted that she used the school computer in the guidance counselor's office to look up Godby's race after the first ballot was taken. Ms. Lovrich testified in deposition that the registry on the school computer listed Godby as black. Lovrich did this search because she thought that it was her "duty to make sure what [Godby] was telling me was true." Lovrich Depo. 18:12 - 20:5.
In any event, however, the first set of nominations was invalidated. Lovrich asked Bradford to redo the elections for both the white and black nominees from his homeroom. On the next day, a second round of votes was taken to get nominations. The school officials have maintained that Godby simply did not win the white nomination of her homeroom during this second vote. Godby has presented evidence, however, that she did win the white nomination of her homeroom during the second vote. This evidence includes her own testimony, affidavits from other students, and the results of a questionnaire given to the students by school officials.2 Godby herself says that there were no other white nominees from her classroom, so she was selected by default. She was the only nominee, even though students in the homeroom were allowed to nominate anyone from throughout the school.
Taking the facts in the light most favorable to Godby, therefore, it appears that she was nominated by her homeroom as a white nominee for the school-wide election. Godby's name was not on the school-wide ballot when it appeared, however. That fact is uncontested. School officials have maintained that Godby was not removed from the school-wide ballot, but was simply not nominated by her homeroom on the second try. Godby suggests improper action, however, and presents the evidence of her election, and Ms. Lovrich's admitted actions.
Godby did not learn that her name was not on the ballot until it was distributed to everyone. She asked Mr. Bradford why her name was not on the ballot, but he said that he did not know. He admits that he at first said that he did not know. Bradford Depo. 25.21 - 26:6. He would not allow her to leave the room to ask someone at that time. Later in the day, Godby asked Lovrich why her name had not been on the ballot. Lovrich at first told her that she had not been nominated, but then, according to Godby, told Godby that it was because Lovrich had looked up her school records and discovered that Godby was black.
The Policy of the School.
After the election, Godby's parents met with the principal of Cloverdale, Jethro Wilson, on two occasions: once with just Mrs. Godby present, a second time with both parents in attendance. Wilson Depo. 72:5-9. Wilson claimed to not know anything about the incident, but told them that he would look into it. Wilson says that he talked to Mrs. Godby about the perceptions of society that mixed children are thought of as black. Wilson Depo. 64:7 - 66:9. As stated by Mrs. Godby, Wilson and she talked about how the biracial election system was set up in the '60s, "mulattos," "quadroons," the effects of "one or two drops of black blood," and how it had been back in New Orleans. K. Godby Depo. 14:19 - 17:8; Wilson Depo. 62:5 - 66:2.. Wilson...
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