Gohl ex rel. J.G. v. Livonia Pub. Sch.

• Decision Date: 30 September 2015
• Docket Number: Case No. 12-cv-15199
• Citation: 134 F.Supp.3d 1066
• Parties: Lauren Gohl, as Next Friend of J.G., Plaintiff, v. Livonia Public Schools, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

134 F.Supp.3d 1066

Lauren Gohl, as Next Friend of J.G., Plaintiff,

v.Livonia Public Schools, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 12-cv-15199

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

Signed September 30, 2015

Christopher Patrick Desmond, Juliana B. Sabatini Plastiras, Rebecca H. Filiatraut, Vernon R. Johnson, Johnson Law PLC, Detroit, MI, for Plaintiff.

Bradley M. Taormina, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman, Troy, MI, Charles A. Harrison, III, Garan, Lucow, Gouri G. Sashital, Thomas L. Fleury, Keller Thoma, PC, Detroit, MI, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS AND/OR FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Dkts. 123, 127, 177, 179, 184, 190, 192)

MARK A. GOLDSMITH, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

In this civil rights case, Plaintiff Lauren Gohl, as next friend of her son J.G., alleges that Defendants violated J.G.'s rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and under state law. This matter is before the Court on Defendants' motions to dismiss and/or for summary judgment.¹ The issues have been fully briefed and oral argument was held on each motion.

For the reasons explained fully below, the Court finds that Defendants are entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiff's federal claims and, therefore, dismisses those claims with prejudice. Because the dismissal of these federal claims means that this case no longer retains a federal character, the Court dismisses Plaintiff's state-law claims without prejudice and denies those portions of Defendants' motions challenging the state-law claims without prejudice.

II. BACKGROUND

During the 2011-2012 school year, Livonia Public Schools ("LPS") operated the Moderately Cognitive Impairment Program ("MoCI program") on behalf of the Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency. The purpose of the MoCI program was to provide educational and therapeutic services to Wayne County special-education students between preschool and age 26.² The MoCI program for preschool students was operated by Webster Elementary School ("Webster"). Defendant Sharon Turbiak was the special-education teacher assigned to the Webster MoCI program during this school year. Turbiak was assisted by Defendant Nancy Respondek, a paraprofessional assigned to Turbiak's classroom.³

During that school year, J.G. was a three-year-old student in the Webster MoCI program. According to the complaint, J.G. was born with hydrocephalusand, as a result of numerous brain surgeries, had a ventricular peritoneal brain shunt implanted in his head behind his right ear to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid from his brain into his stomach. Second Am. Compl. ¶ 18 (Dkt. 78); Gohl Dep. at 127, 266-267 (Dkt. 127-2). According to Plaintiff Lauren Gohl, J.G.'s mother, J.G. had a new shunt implanted to replace his old one in June 2011. See Gohl Dep. at 277-278 (Dkt. 129-9). As of February 2014, J.G. has had no further surgeries and, when asked what his "current status" was regarding the shunt, Gohl responded that "everything looks good." Id. at 278.

On October 24, 2011, Defendant Shellie Moore, the principal at Webster, was approached by Defendant Elizabeth Santer, the MoCI program specialist, who expressed concerns that some staff members had shared with Santer regarding Turbiak's classroom behavior. See Moore Dep. at 94-95, 99 (Dkt. 184-4). Following this interaction, Moore spoke with other staff members, including Defendants Tracey Crews, Megan Sprow, Candy Sokol, and Carol DeBeaudry. Id. at 646-649. Moore then compiled the information she had received from each staff member into a timeline of alleged events. See Moore Timeline (Dkt. 129-11).

The timeline indicates that staff members told Moore about Turbiak being "harsh with children, holding their faces or chins tightly and yelling in their faces," using "too much force [when] pushing on children's shoulders" while putting them in time-out, and treating children "roughly in the [classroom]." Id. at 2 (cm/ecf page). One staff member described Turbiak's treatment of the students as "gruff and abrupt," noting one incident in which Turbiak force-fed a student cereal and the student was gagging and crying. Id. This same staff member also noted that Turbiak would lift students off "the floor by one arm and that there was the potential to dislocate a small shoulder." Id. Moore believes that she provided a copy of this timeline to Defendant Cynthia DeMan, the director of personnel for LPS, on November 1, 2011. Moore Dep. at 130-132.

A few days after her meeting with Santer, Moore contacted DeMan regarding these issues and sought advice on how to handle the matter. DeMan Dep. at 81 (Dkt. 123-5). During this conversation, Moore informed DeMan that "a few staff members...had come to [Moore] and continued to say that Sharon Turbiak's classroom was loud and that Sharon was being rude and that Sharon was intimidating [the adult staff members]." Id. at 82.

On November 2, 2011, DeMan met with Turbiak, along with Turbiak's union representative and Dorothy Chomicz, a co-director of human resources for LPS. See DeMan Dep. at 172-173. According to DeMan, this conversation focused mainly on the interactions between Turbiak and other staff members. Id. at 173. At the end of this meeting, DeMan and Chomicz sent Turbiak home for a couple of days. Id.

DeMan also wrote a memorandum to Turbiak, dated November 4, 2011, regarding appropriate behavior in the classroom and staff interactions. Id. ; 11/4/2011 DeMan Memo (Dkt. 123-8). That memorandum stated that DeMan was "concerned about some of the interactions [Turbiak had] had with ancillary staff and [her] interactions with [her] students." 11/4/2011 DeMan Memo at 2 (cm/ecf page). DeMan acknowledged that Turbiak was "forthright when [she] described the classroom behaviors of [her] students, [her] interactions with them and their families and with the support staff." Id. In recognizing that teaching may be frustrating and exhausting, DeMan wrote that "there is never an excuse for any teacher, especially an experienced teacher as [Turbiak], to lapse into inappropriate behaviors with either staff or students." Id. To remedy this situation, DeMan expected Turbiak to, among other things, "[m]aintain professional behaviors with students and with staff," and "[u]tilize [her] consult time opportunities to discuss best practices that will be acceptable for the well being of the student, and then put those into place." Id.

Following the November meeting with Turbiak, some four months passed without any further reported incidents. Then, on March 5, 2012, Defendant Diane Sloboda, an LPS social worker providing professional services to the MoCI program classroom, gave Moore a verbal and written report of an incident that Sloboda witnessed that day involving Turbiak and J.G. According to her report, Sloboda entered the classroom to look for the LPS psychologist. See Sloboda Report at 2 (cm/ecf page) (Dkt. 123-9). Sloboda then observed Turbiak "grab" J.G. "by the top of his head and jerk it back quite aggressively" before yelling, in close proximity to his face, "you need to listen." Id. Sloboda noted that a paraprofessional was present in the room when this incident occurred, but Sloboda did not know whether that paraprofessional witnessed the event. Id.

After receiving Sloboda's report, Moore called either Chomicz or DeMan to report the incident and was instructed to "[s]end [Turbiak] over." DeMan Dep. at 185-186. DeMan and Chomicz then met with Turbiak and Turbiak's union representative later that afternoon. See id. at 190-191. According to DeMan, Turbiak denied the allegations of grabbing J.G.'s head and yelling in his face. Id. at 193. Rather, Turbiak informed DeMan that she put her hand on the back of J.G.'s head to keep it from bouncing around while redirecting his attention. Id. After hearing Turbiak's version of events, Chomicz sent Turbiak back to the classroom. See id. at 198.

On April 2, 2012, DeMan and Chomicz met again with Turbiak. DeMan prepared a memorandum reflecting the substance of the meeting. See 4/23/2012 DeMan Memo (Dkt. 123-12). In that memorandum, DeMan wrote that they had discussed the recent activity in Turbiak's classroom that had been reported to DeMan's office. Id. at 2 (cm/ecf page). DeMan further noted that "it appears that additional investigation will be necessary to determine if [Turbiak had] acted in accordance with [the guidelines addressed in the 11/4/2011 Memo] and whether [Turbiak had] engaged in other inappropriate actions or omissions." Id.

DeMan then turned the matter over to Mark Schultz, the administrator of employee relations and public safety for LPS, as "an investigation involving a hostile work environment." DeMan Dep. at 311, 328. Schultz conducted an investigation and issued a report concerning Turbiak's alleged behavior, which included the March 5 incident involving J.G. See 4/23/2012 Schultz Report at 23 (cm/ecf page) (Dkt. 129-19) (providing both Sloboda's and Turbiak's accounts of the March 5 incident).

On November 26, 2012, Lauren Gohl, as next friend of her son J.G., filed this lawsuit, alleging violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and asserting state-law claims.

III. STANDARDS OF DECISION

In evaluating a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), "[c]ourts must construe the complaint in the light most favorable to plaintiff, accept all well-pled factual allegations as true, and determine whether the complaint states a plausible claim for relief." Albrecht v. Treon , 617 F.3d 890, 893 (6th Cir.2010)(brackets and citations omitted). To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must plead specific factual allegations, and not just legal conclusions, in support of each claim. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678–679, 129...