Hunter v. Barnstable School Committee

• Decision Date: 17 October 2006
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 02-10604-WGY.
• Citation: 456 F.Supp.2d 255
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts
• Parties: Amy HUNTER and Robert Hunter, as next friends of their minor child, Sharon HUNTER<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL>, Plaintiffs, v. BARNSTABLE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, Defendant.

456 F.Supp.2d 255

Amy HUNTER and Robert Hunter, as next friends of their minor child, Sharon HUNTER¹, Plaintiffs, v. BARNSTABLE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 02-10604-WGY.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

October 17, 2006.

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Wendy A. Kaplan, Law Office of Wendy A. Kaplan, Boston, MA, for Plaintiffs.

Joan L. Stein, John M. Simon, Kay H. Hodge, Stoneham, Chandler & Miller LLP, Boston, MA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

YOUNG, District Judge.

As a parent, waiting for the school bus to pick up your child for her first day of school is one of America's warmest, most wistful moments. As this case demonstrates, it can also turn into one of a parent's worst nightmares. The plaintiffs, Sharon Hunter and her parents, Amy Hunter and Robert Hunter, (collectively, "the Hunters") bring this action stemming from the alleged sexual harassment of Sharon by an older student on the Barnstable School District school bus. The Hunters' seek injunctive relief as well as compensatory and punitive damages under Title IX of the Education Act Amendments of 1972. The defendant Barnstable School Committee ("Barnstable") has moved for summary judgment on this lone remaining count.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Undisputed Facts

For the purposes of this motion, this Court accepts the Hunters' version of the facts, where supported by record evidence, as true and draws all reasonable inferences in the Hunters' favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

During the 2000-01 school year, Sharon Hunter was a kindergarten student at Hyannis West Elementary School of the Barnstable School System. Complaint [Doc. No. 1] ("Compl.") ¶ 13; Defendant's Statement of Material Facts [Doc. No. 32] ("Def.'s Stat.") ¶ Sharon rode the public school bus to and from school. Compl. ¶¶ 15. From September 2000 to February 2001, an older student on the bus, Thomas Brown ("Thomas"), coerced her into lifting her dress, pulling down her underwear, and spreading her legs. Id. ¶¶ 20, 30; Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts [Doc. No. 35] ("Pls.' Stat.") ¶ 2. This occurred every time Sharon wore a dress, which was approximately two to three times per week. Compl. ¶ 20. There are no allegations that the incidents involved any touching.

On the morning of February 14, 2001, Sharon informed her mother, Amy Hunter ("Amy"), and her father, Robert Hunter ("Robert"), about the incidents. Id.; Pls.' Stat. ¶ 2. Amy promptly telephoned Hyannis West Principal Frederick Scully ("Scully"). Def.'s Stat. ¶ 3. This was the first time any Barnstable school official learned of the allegations of sexual harassment. Id. Amy requested an immediate hearing, and the Hunters met that morning with Scully and Barnstable's Prevention Specialist Lynda Day ("Day"). Def.'s Stat. ¶¶ 3-5. At that meeting, Day, along with Amy, conducted the first interview of Sharon. Id. ¶ 6-7.

Sharon was unable to provide Day with enough information to identify the perpetrator, so Scully arranged for Sharon to observe the students departing from the school bus over the next two days.² Id. ¶¶ 8-9, 14-16. On February 16, 2001, Sharon identified the boy as Thomas, a third grader. Id. ¶ 16. Scully and Day interviewed Thomas that same day, but Thomas denied the allegations. Id. ¶ 17. Scully then directed Day to interview other students who rode the bus in order to determine if anyone witnessed the harassment. Id. ¶ 18. Scully followed up with individual interviews of two of the students, but determined that they were too young to be credible. Pls.' Stat. ¶ 33.

Also on February 16, 2001, the Hunters requested the presence of Officer Edward Deveney ("Deveney") of the Barnstable Police Department. Id. at Ex. 3, Resp. 9. Deveney participated in further interviews of both Sharon and Thomas. Id. ¶ 17 & Ex. 3, Resp. 9. The following day, Deveney referred the matter to Barnstable Police Department Juvenile Detective Reid Hall ("Hall"). Def.'s Stat., Ex. H, at 2. Hall conducted yet another interview of Thomas and found him credible. Pls.' Stat., Ex. 3, at 29. The Barnstable police closed the case on March 27, 2001, due to insufficient grounds to proceed criminally against Thomas. Def.'s Stat., Ex. J, at 2.

In early March 2001, Day telephoned the Hunters with an offer to put Sharon on another bus. Pls.' Stat. ¶ 35. Since February 14, the Hunters had driven Sharon to and from school. Compl. ¶¶ 22, 25. The Hunters did not consider this a viable option as it seemed inequitable to phnish the victim and not the perpetrator. Pls.'s Stat., Ex. 2, at 136. Instead, on March 8, 2001, the Hunters outlined their own demands, which included placing a monitor on the bus, placing two empty rows of seats between the children with disciplinary problems and the kindergarten students, and removing Thomas to another school bus. Def.'s Stat. ¶ 36. Scully responded that he would forward the request for the bus monitor to the Barnstable Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Russell Dever ("Dever"), but that removing Thomas would depend on the police investigation. Id., Ex. H, at 1. Dever and Scully resolved not to agree to these demands, but did agree to a later request by the Hunters to call home immediately at the request of Sharon. Def.'s Stat., Ex. O, at 105-06 & Ex. R, at 1.

The Complaint alleges that the response by Scully and Devers to the allegations of sexual harassment was inadequate. See Compl. ¶¶ 58-60. In addition, the Hunters argue that Barnstable's failure to take more stringent action resulted in further harassment. See id. ¶ 46. Specifically, the Hunters point to interactions that Sharon had with Thomas the following year in the school hallways and during gym class. Id. As a result, during the 2001-02 school year, Sharon did not use the public school bus, would not participate in gym class, and suffered from an atypical number of absences. See Pls.' Stat., Addendum, ¶¶ 6, 7.

B. Procedural History

On April 3, 2002, the Hunters, on behalf of their minor daughter Sharon, filed a four-count complaint alleging violations of: (1) Title IX of the Education Act Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq. against Barnstable; (2)-(3) federal and state civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 12, sections 11H and 11I against Barnstable and Dever; and (4) discrimination in attendance at school under Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 76, section 5 against Barnstable. Compl. ¶¶ 51-69,

On August 2, 2004, Barnstable and Dever moved to dismiss [Doc. No. 20] all four counts. The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, per Judge Keeton, allowed the motion as to the two state law claims and as to the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim. The Title IX claim against Barnstable survived the Motion to Dismiss.

On May 31, 2006, Barnstable moved for summary judgment [Doc. No. 30] and filed a supporting memorandum [Doc. No. 31] ("Def.'s Mem.") as to the sole remaining claim. The case was subsequently reassigned to this Court on June 15, 2006. The Hunters responded to the motion for summary judgment with a Memorandum in Opposition [Doc. No. 34] ("Pls.Mem.") on July 31, 2006. Barnstable then filed a reply [Doc. No. 38].

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is warranted if, after reviewing the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, no genuine issues of material fact remain and the moving party is entitled to judgment as matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Calero-Cerezo v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 355 F.3d 6, 19 (1st Cir.2004). A "genuine" issue of fact is one that a reasonable jury, on the record before the court, could resolve in favor of, either party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A fact is material when it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Hayes v. Douglas Dynamics, Inc., 8 F.3d 88, 90 (1st Cir.1993) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505).

In making its determination, this Court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all reasonable inferences in its favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The movant has the initial burden of production, which it can meet either by offering evidence to disprove an element of the plaintiffs case or by demonstrating an "absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Once the movant has met its burden, the non-moving party must "go beyond the pleadings and by [its] own affidavits, or by the depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (internal quotation marks omitted). Genuine factual conflicts will necessitate a trial where the resolution of a disputed fact holds the potential to change the outcome of the case. Calero-Cerezo, 355 F.3d at 19.

B. Title IX Claim

Title IX provides, with exceptions not at issue here, that: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a). The statute provides for an administrative regulatory scheme directly to enforce the statutory provisions. Gebser v. Lago Vista. Indep. Sch. Dist., 524 U.S. 274, 280, 118 S.Ct. 1989, 141 L.Ed.2d 277 (1998). In Cannon v. University of Chicago, however, the Supreme Court recognized that Title IX was also enforceable through an implied private right of action. 441 U.S. 677, 717, 99 S.Ct. 1946, 60 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). The Supreme Court subsequently held that monetary damages are available, Franklin v. Gwinnett County Schs., 503 U.S. 60, 76, 112...