Jennings v. University of N. Car at Chapel Hill

• Decision Date: 13 November 2002
• Docket Number: No. 1:99-CV-400.,1:99-CV-400.
• Citation: 240 F.Supp.2d 492
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of North Carolina
• Parties: Melissa JENNINGS and Debbie Keller, Plaintiffs, v. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL, Anson Dorrance, individually and as Women's Soccer Coach at UNC, William Palladino, individually and as Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at UNC, Chris Ducar, individually and as Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at UNC, Tracy Ducar, individually and as Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at UNC, Bill Prentice, individually and as Athletic Trainer at UNC, the estate of Michael Hooker, individually and as former Chancellor at UNC, Susan Ehringhaus, individually and as Assistant Chancellor at UNC, Richard Baddour, individually and as Director of Athletics for UNC, Beth Miller, individually and as Senior Associate Director of Athletics at UNC, and John Swofford, individually and as former Director of Athletics for UNC, Defendants.

240 F.Supp.2d 492

Melissa JENNINGS and Debbie Keller, Plaintiffs, v. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL, Anson Dorrance, individually and as Women's Soccer Coach at UNC, William Palladino, individually and as Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at UNC, Chris Ducar, individually and as Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at UNC, Tracy Ducar, individually and as Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at UNC, Bill Prentice, individually and as Athletic Trainer at UNC, the estate of Michael Hooker, individually and as former Chancellor at UNC, Susan Ehringhaus, individually and as Assistant Chancellor at UNC, Richard Baddour, individually and as Director of Athletics for UNC, Beth Miller, individually and as Senior Associate Director of Athletics at UNC, and John Swofford, individually and as former Director of Athletics for UNC, Defendants.

No. 1:99-CV-400.

United States District Court, M.D. North Carolina.

November 13, 2002.

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Marvin Schiller, Raleigh, NC, Louis Anthony Varchetto, Ray Hunter Rittenhouse, Marcelline Defalco, Mulherin Rehfeldt &

Varchetto, P.C., Wheaton, IL, for Plaintiffs.

Thomas J. Ziko, Sylvia Hargett Thibaut, Celia Grasty Lata, Raleigh, NC, Frederic J. Artwick, Sidley & Austin, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

TILLEY, Chief Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motions to Dismiss under Rules 12(b)(1), 12(b)(2), and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure [Doc. # 44]. For the reasons stated below, the Defendants' motions are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I.

The facts of this case, stated in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs, are as follows. The Plaintiffs, Melissa Jennings and Debbie Keller, are former members of the women's intercollegiate soccer team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("UNC"). The Plaintiffs have brought this suit against the following, all of whom are current or former employees of UNC, which is also a Defendant: Anson Dorranee, the head coach of the women's soccer team; William Palladino, an assistant coach; Chris Ducar, an assistant coach; Tracy Ducar, an assistant coach; Bill Prentice, an athletic trainer; the estate of Michael Hooker;¹ Susan Ehringhaus, an assistant chancellor; John Swofford, a former athletic director; Richard Baddour, the current athletic director; and Beth Miller, an assistant athletic director. The individual Defendants are sued both individually and in their official capacities as employees of UNC.

The Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Dorrance repeatedly interrogated them about their personal lives, including but not limited to their sexual activities, coerced and intimidated them to report the sexual activities of their teammates, made lewd and degrading comments regarding other team members in their presence, repeatedly placed unwanted and uninvited telephone calls to Ms. Keller for the purpose of monitoring her personal activities, repeatedly made inappropriate and uninvited physical contact with Ms. Keller by touching her head and stroking her hair, and made uninvited, sexually explicit comments to Ms. Keller regarding a teammate.

The Plaintiffs also allege that in October of 1996 and again in 1998, Mr. Dorrance coerced Ms. Keller into meeting with him, at which times he made uninvited sexual advances. In 1996, plaintiff alleges that Mr. Dorrance coerced Ms. Keller to join him in secluded bleachers where he professed his affection for her and suggested that she should be intimate with as many people as possible. In 1998, plaintiff alleges that Mr. Dorrance coerced Ms. Keller to join him at a restaurant where he again professed his affections and blamed Ms. Keller's parents for keeping Mr. Dorrance and Ms. Keller apart.

According to the Plaintiffs, Mr. Palladino participated with Mr. Dorrance in uninvited sexual harassment, witnessed other such conduct in which he did not participate, and failed to report any of his own, or Mr. Dorrance's, conduct to UNC. In addition, the Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Ducar, Ms. Ducar, and Mr. Prentice witnessed some of Mr. Dorrance's conduct and failed to report any of the conduct to UNC.

The Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Dorrance encouraged Ms. Jennings, while she was a minor, to ingest alcohol, knowing that the consumption of alcohol was against her religious beliefs. On September 7, 1996, Mr. Dorrance also allegedly coerced Ms Jennings into spending $400 of her own money to purchase supplies for her teammates and for members of the opposing team.

According to the Plaintiffs, Chancellor Hooker, Ms. Ehringhaus, Mr. Baddour, Ms. Miller, and Mr. Swofford received numerous complaints about Mr. Dorrance on behalf of the Plaintiffs, but failed to intervene or prohibit his actions. Further, in alleged retaliation for the complaints made against him, Mr. Dorrance released Ms. Jennings from the soccer team in 1998. Finally, Ms. Keller alleges that Mr. Dorrance induced the coach of the women's national soccer team to exclude her from the team.

Plaintiffs have brought eight claims. The first claim is brought against all Defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and alleges violations of Plaintiffs' constitutional rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The second claim is also brought against all Defendants and alleges violations of Plaintiffs' rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. The third claim is brought against Mr. Dorrance for intentional interference with Ms. Keller's contractual relationship with the United States Soccer Federation. The fourth claim is brought against Mr. Dorrance by Ms. Keller for assault. The fifth claim is brought against Mr. Dorrance by Ms. Keller for battery. The sixth claim is brought against Mr. Dorrance and UNC by Ms. Jennings for constructive fraud. The seventh claim is brought against UNC by both Plaintiffs for negligent retention of Mr. Dorrance. The eighth claim is brought against Mr. Dorrance and UNC by both Plaintiffs for invasion of privacy. Defendants contend that all of these claims should be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(1) or 12(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for lack of jurisdiction, or alternatively, under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

II.

Defendants base their motion to dismiss in part on 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In support of dismissal, the Defendants assert that: (1) personal jurisdiction does not exist with respect to the majority of the claims, (2) this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the claims, and (3) the Defendants have Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity.

Title 28 U.S.C. § 1331 gives federal district courts "original jurisdiction over all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States." Plaintiffs allege violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (" § 1983") under Count I and violation of 20 U.S.C. § 1681 ("Title IX") under Count II, both federal laws. Therefore, the claims under Count I and Count II both arise under federal law satisfying the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

Title 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) gives district courts original jurisdiction of civil actions where the amount in controversy is $75,000 and is between citizens of different states. The Plaintiffs' claims under North Carolina law, Counts III—VIII, each seek relief in excess of $75,000. The sum claimed by the Plaintiff controls if the claim is made in good faith. St. Paul Mercury Indem. Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 288-89, 58 S.Ct. 586, 82 L.Ed. 845 (1938). The Plaintiffs allege, and the Defendants have not disputed, that the Plaintiffs are citizens of Illinois and the Defendants are citizens of North Carolina. Since the Defendants have not challenged the Plaintiffs' jurisdictional allegations, the facts are assumed as pled. Adams v. Bain, 697 F.2d 1213, 1219 (4th Cir.1982). Therefore, Plaintiffs' Counts III-VIII meet the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

In the alternative, the Defendants contend that the Plaintiffs' claims should be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. A Rule 12(b)(6) motion should be granted only if, after accepting all wellpleaded allegations in the Plaintiffs' complaint as true, it appears certain the Plaintiffs cannot prove any set of facts in support of their claim that entitles them to relief. Edwards v. City of Goldsboro, 178 F.3d 231, 244 (4th Cir.1999). When a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is testing the sufficiency of a civil rights complaint, a complaint should not be dismissed unless it is certain that the Plaintiffs are not entitled to relief under any legal theory that might plausibly be suggested by the facts alleged. Mylan Labs. Inc. v. Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1134 (4th Cir.1993).

A.

First, Defendants move to dismiss the claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Defendants argue that the § 1983 claims against Defendant UNC are barred under the Eleventh Amendment. This amendment provides that "[t]he Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State" or by foreign nationals. However, the immunity is not absolute. States may waive it, and Congress may override it when legislating pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment, though it has rarely done so. See, e.g., Quern v. Jordan, 440 U.S. 332, 342, 99 S.Ct. 1139, 59 L.Ed.2d 358 (1979) (holding that Congress did not intend to abrogate Eleventh Amendment immunity in enacting 42 U.S.C. § 1983).

Nonetheless, the basic rule is that "in the absence of consent a suit in which the State or one of its agencies or departments is named as the defendant is proscribed by the Eleventh Amendment. U.S. Const, amend. XI. This jurisdictional bar applies regardless of the nature of the relief sought." Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v....