Harper ex rel. Harper v. Poway Unified

• Decision Date: 24 January 2007
• Docket Number: Civil No. 04CV1103 JAH(POR).
• Citation: 545 F.Supp.2d 1072
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of California
• Parties: Tyler Chase HARPER, a minor, by and through his parents, Ron and Cheryl Harper, Plaintiff, v. POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT; et al., Defendants.

545 F.Supp.2d 1072

Tyler Chase HARPER, a minor, by and through his parents, Ron and Cheryl Harper, Plaintiff, v. POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT; et al., Defendants.

Civil No. 04CV1103 JAH(POR).

United States District Court, S.D. California.

January 24, 2007.

Opinion Denying Reconsideration February 11, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Kevin H. Theriot, Alliance Defense Fund, Leawood, KS, Robert H. Tyler, Advocates for Faith Freedom, Murrieta, CA, Timothy D. Chandler, Alliance Defense Fund, Folsom, CA, for Plaintiff.

Paul Vincent Carelli, IV, Stutz Artiano Shinoff and Holtz, John David Blair-Loy, ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, San Diego, CA, for Defendants.

ORDER DISMISSING TYLER CHASE HARPER AS A PLAINTIFF; DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [DOC. # 81]; AND GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [DOC. # 89]

JOHN A. HOUSTON, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Pending before this Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. The motions have been fully briefed by the parties and oral argument has been entertained. In addition, defendants have raised a suggestion of mootness concerning plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's claims, which the parties have now fully briefed. After a careful consideration of the pleadings and relevant exhibits submitted, the oral argument presented at the hearing, and for the reasons set forth below, this Court DISMISSES Tyler Chase Harper as a plaintiff; DENIES plaintiffs motion for summary judgment and GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART defendants' motion for summary judgment.

BACKGROUND¹

On June 2, 2004, plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper, a minor, by and through his parents, Ron and Cheryl Harper, filed a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as nominal and punitive damages, based on allegations that defendants violated plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's constitutional rights when he was detained at school for wearing a t-shirt bearing the words "Homosexuality is shameful. Romans 1:27" on the front and "Be ashamed. Our school has embraced what God has condemned" on the back. On November 4, 2004, this Court granted in part and denied in part defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint, dismissing some of plaintiffs claims, and denied plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction. See Harper v. Poway Unified School District ("Harper I"), 345 F.Supp.2d 1096 (S.D.Cal.2004); Doc. # 37. Plaintiffs subsequently appealed this Court's denial of plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

An amended complaint was filed on November 17, 2004, adding Kelsie Harper, Tyler Chase Harper's sister, as a plaintiff and reasserting other claims previously dismissed. See Doc. # 38. This Court, on February 23, 2005, granted in part and denied in part defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiffs amended complaint, dismissing, inter alia, Kelsie K. Harper as a plaintiff based on lack of standing. See Doc. # 59 at 7-8. This Court subsequently granted leave to file a second amended complaint, which was filed on November 4, 2005, asserting the same claims presented in the first amended complaint and again adding Kelsie K. Harper as a plaintiff. See Doc. # 77.

Plaintiffs' second amended complaint alleges defendants' violated plaintiffs' rights: (1) to free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (first cause of action); (2) to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment (second cause of action); (3) under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (third cause of action); (4) to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment (fourth cause of action); (5) under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment (fifth cause of action); (6) under California Civil Code § 52.1 (sixth cause of action); (7) to free speech under California Education Code § 48950 (seventh cause of action); and (8) to free expression under California Education Code § 48907 (eighth cause of action). Defendants filed an answer to the second amended complaint on December 28, 2005.

On February 1, 2006, plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment. The parties then stipulated to extend the date set for hearing plaintiffs' motion in order to allow defendants the opportunity to file a cross motion for summary judgment. Defendants' motion was filed on April 6, 2006. Prior to the filing of the parties' opposition briefs to the cross motions, the Ninth Circuit, on April 20, 2006, affirmed this Court's order denying plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. See Harper v. Poway Unified School District ("Harper H"), 445 F.3d 1166 (9th Cir.2006). The parties' respective oppositions to the cross motions were subsequently filed on April 25, 2006, and their reply briefs were filed on May 4, 2006. This Court entertained oral argument on May 26, 2006. Thereafter, the motions were taken under submission.

On July 20, 2006, defendants requested that the parties be given the opportunity to file additional briefing on the parties' cross-motions, suggesting that plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's claims may now be moot due to his recent graduation from Poway High School. See Doc. # 122. This Court, on July 25, 2006, granted defendants' request. Defendants filed their supplemental brief on August 21, 2006 and plaintiffs filed their response on August 22, 2006.²

DISCUSSION

1. Mootness

Defendants have suggested that plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's claims for injunctive and declaratory relief are now moot because he is no longer a student within the Poway Unified School District. See Defts' Suppl. Br. at 2. Article III of the United States Constitution requires that there be a "live case or controversy at the time a federal court decides a case." O'Neal v. City of Seattle, 66 F.3d 1064, 1066 (9th Cir.1995). Specifically, the Ninth Circuit recognizes that "the requisite personal interest that must exist at the commencement of the litigation (standing) must continue throughout its existence (mootness)." Id. The Ninth Circuit characterized the constitutional doctrine of mootness as "the doctrine of standing set in a time frame." Zegarra-Gomez v. I.N.S., 314 F.3d 1124, 1126 (9th Cir.2003). In order to avoid dismissal on the ground of mootness, a party must continue to have a personal stake in the outcome of the lawsuit and there must be a justiciable live case or controversy between the parties. Id. "It is well-settled that once a student graduates, he no longer has a live case or controversy justifying declaratory and injunctive relief against a school's action or policy." Cole v. Oroville Union High School Dist., 228 F.3d 1092, 1098 (9th Cir.2000)(citing Doe v. Madison School Dist. No. 321, 177 F.3d 789 (9th Cir. 1999)(en banc)). Plaintiffs concede that plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's claims for injunctive and declaratory relief are now moot but point out that his damages claims remain unaffected by his graduation from high school. In addition, plaintiffs point out that plaintiff Kelsie Harper's claims for injunctive and declaratory relief are still viable. Pltffs' Add. Br. at 1. This Court agrees with plaintiffs' assessment. Accordingly, this Court finds plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's claims for injunctive and declaratory relief are now moot.

This Court notes that it previously dismissed plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's damages claims against all defendants in their official capacities on Eleventh Amendment immunity grounds and against the individual defendants in their personal capacities on qualified immunity grounds. See Harper I, 345 F.Supp.2d at 1115-1119. That ruling was not disturbed by the Ninth Circuit. See Harper II, 445 F.3d at 1192. Although plaintiffs "respectfully disagree" with this Court's qualified immunity ruling,³ plaintiffs indicate the inclusion of plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's damages claims in the second amended complaint was done to avoid waiving the claims on appeal. Pltffs' Add. Br. at 1-2. This Court reaffirms its prior dismissal of plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's damages claims. Accordingly, because plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's damages claims have been dismissed and his injunctive and declaratory relief Claims are moot, all of plaintiff Tyler Chase Harper's claims are no longer viable. Therefore, Tyler Chase Harper is DISMISSED as a plaintiff in this case. The remainder of this Order addresses only plaintiff Kelsie Harper's claims for relief.

2. The Parties' Cross Motions for Summary Judgment

a. Legal Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 empowers the Court to enter summary judgment on factually unsupported claims or defenses, and thereby "secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Summary judgment is appropriate 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 judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A fact is material when it affects the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Freeman v. Arpaio, 125 F.3d 732, 735 (9th Cir.1997). The materiality of a fact is thus determined by the substantive law governing the claim or defense. Disputes over irrelevant or unnecessary facts will not preclude a grant of summary judgment. T.W. Electrical Service, Inc. v. Pacific Electrical Contractors Ass'n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.1987) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505). When ruling on a summary judgment motion, the Court must examine all the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The Court cannot engage in credibility determinations, weighing of evidence, or drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts; these...