KD v. Douglas Cnty. Sch. Dist. No. 001

• Decision Date: 16 June 2021
• Docket Number: No. 20-1772,20-1772
• Citation: 1 F.4th 591
• Parties: KD, Parent, Natural Guardian and Next Friend of minor LD; JD, Parent, Natural Guardian and Next Friend of minor LD, Plaintiffs - Appellants v. DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 001, also known as Omaha Public Schools ; Daniel Bartels, Defendants - Appellees Joe Doe; Jane Doe, Defendants Brian Robeson, Defendant - Appellee
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

1 F.4th 591

KD, Parent, Natural Guardian and Next Friend of minor LD; JD, Parent, Natural Guardian and Next Friend of minor LD, Plaintiffs - Appellants

v.DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 001, also known as Omaha Public Schools ; Daniel Bartels, Defendants - Appellees

Joe Doe; Jane Doe, Defendants

Brian Robeson, Defendant - Appellee

No. 20-1772

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: March 18, 2021

Filed: June 16, 2021

David Domina, Brian E. Jorde, DOMINA LAW GROUP, Omaha, NE, Kathleen S. Pallesen, SPETHMAN & PALLESEN, Omaha, NE, for Plaintiffs - Appellants.

Jill Robb Ackerman, Leigh Campbell Joyce, Lindsay Lundholm, BAIRD & HOLM, Omaha, NE, for Defendant - Appellee Douglas County School District No. 001.

Clarence E. Mock, III, JOHNSON & MOCK, Oakland, NE, for Defendant - Appellee Daniel Bartels.

Brian Robeson, Pro Se.

Before SHEPHERD, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.

SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge.

This case arises from the sexual abuse of LD (a 13-year-old, female 7th-grade student) by her male Douglas County Nebraska Public School District teacher, Brian Robeson. After Robeson was convicted of first-degree sexual assault, KD and JD, LD's parents, brought this action against the Douglas County Nebraska Public School District (the District); Robeson; Daniel Bartels, the school principal; and Joe and Jane Doe. The district court¹ granted summary judgment in favor of the District and Bartels; entered a default judgment against Robeson; denied KD and JD's request for a jury trial on the issue of damages against Robeson; and awarded damages of $1,249,540.41 against Robeson. KD and JD now appeal: the district court's grant of summary judgment; the order denying their request for a jury trial on the issue of damages against Robeson; and the amount of damages. Having jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

I.

From August 14, 2013, to May 22, 2015, LD attended 7th and 8th grade at Alfonza Davis Middle School in Douglas County. During her 7th-grade year, LD was a student in Robeson's algebra and "Take Flight" classes.

In April 2014, a school staff member notified Bartels that Robeson was mentoring LD, one-on-one, in his classroom. All mentorship relationships within the District were facilitated by the TeamMates program, and this program required same-sex mentor-mentee pairings. At this time, Bartels informed Robeson that Robeson could not mentor LD without permission from LD's parents and without acceptance into the TeamMates program. Robeson subsequently emailed JD, LD's mother, providing updates about his mentorship of LD and requesting that JD and KD, LD's father, sign the requisite TeamMates program paperwork permitting Robeson to continue mentoring LD into LD's 8th grade year. Robeson included Bartels on this email. At the beginning of LD's 8th grade year (in the fall of 2014), Bartels asked Robeson if Robeson had been accepted into the TeamMates program, to which Robeson responded that he had been accepted. At some point, LD's parents gave consent for Robeson to have lunchtime meetings with LD, and Bartels instructed Robeson that all meetings with LD were to take place in the administrative offices.

In late April 2014, Robeson attended a school-sponsored, weekend field trip. While on that field trip, Robeson emailed Bartels and attached photographs of himself with students. LD was included in those photographs. Below the email containing photographs were pages of dialogue between Robeson and LD in which Robeson expressed his affection for LD. Robeson used language such as "sweetheart" and "Sunshine," and Robeson told LD, "I've never had a student mean this much to me." However, at this time, Bartels only noted the field trip photographs and did not notice the email chain containing dialogue between Robeson and LD.

In the fall of 2014, Jennie Meyer, a school employee, noticed LD (then an 8th grader) and several friends visiting the 7th-grade floor on which Robeson taught. Meyer reported this to the administration. Bartels responded by contacting JD, LD's mother, to let her know that LD was visiting Robeson's floor. On a separate occasion, Meyer found LD in Robeson's classroom, alone with Robeson and crying. At this time, Meyer made a second report to the administration. In response, the assistant principal visited Robeson's classroom and asked Robeson why he was alone with LD and why LD was crying. Robeson indicated that everything was okay, and LD continued to her next class. In November 2014, Bartels noticed LD and Robeson alone in Robeson's classroom eating lunch. Bartels stopped and asked the pair what they were doing, to which they responded that they were conducting a mentoring session. Bartels reminded them that all mentoring sessions were to take place in the administrative offices. Later that afternoon, Bartels met with Robeson individually and again reminded him that any mentoring sessions must take place in the administrative offices.

Later that school year, the school counselor told Bartels that a coach saw Robeson tie LD's shoe in the school hallway with other coaches and students present. When Bartels confronted Robeson about this, Robeson denied tying LD's shoe. Then, in March 2015, Bartels found an anonymous note in his school mailbox which read: "I find it curious that LD is absent on the same day as Mr. Robeson." Bartels showed this note to the assistant principal, but because neither administrator could determine who the note's author was, Bartels threw the note away. Nevertheless, Bartels called KD to determine the reason for LD's absence. KD indicated that LD was ill and at home for the day.

In April 2015, Bartels received a report from Chantalle Galbraith, a paraprofessional at the school, indicating that Robeson had grabbed LD's phone from the back pocket of her pants in the presence of other students and coaches. Bartels had recently hosted a professional development program with the school's faculty and staff in which he discussed the impropriety of possessing student property. When Galbraith voiced concern about Robeson grabbing LD's phone, she indicated that this was a violation of the professional development lesson Bartels had recently taught. When Bartels asked Robeson about this, Robeson admitted that he had grabbed LD's phone; Bartels warned Robeson against engaging in this type of behavior with students. Later that spring, Galbraith found LD and Robeson eating together in Robeson's classroom with the lights dimmed. After Galbraith reported this to Bartels, Bartels immediately dispatched the school's security officer to the classroom. However, when the officer arrived, the classroom appeared to be empty. Regardless, Bartels later met with Robeson, admonished Robeson for this behavior, and counseled Robeson regarding appropriate interactions with students.

In May 2015, a teacher and the school counselor copied Bartels on an email chain in which they expressed their concern about the amount of time that Robeson was spending with LD. The counselor agreed to call KD and JD to offer additional resources for difficulties LD was experiencing with her friendships and to alert them of the attention Robeson was giving LD. That same month, the teacher also sent a photo of Robeson hugging another student for a prolonged period of time. In response, Bartels thanked the teacher and indicated that if she believed Robeson was engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with students, she should report Robeson to Child Protective Services (CPS). The teacher reported Robeson to CPS, and in her report, she expressed concern about Robeson's behavior toward LD. Specifically, the teacher described witnessing Robeson "poking [LD] in the stomach in a hallway as well as touching her shoulder as if he was giving her a massage." CPS indicated that it would forward the report to the Omaha Police Department. The District's human resources department instructed Bartels to meet with Robeson to discuss the expectations of Robeson's employment, including his behavior towards students. Bartels met with Robeson in June of 2015. Then, in December 2015, the District was notified of Robeson's arrest for his sexual assault of LD. At that time, the District terminated Robeson's employment contract, deferred its then-ongoing investigation of Robeson (for conduct unrelated to LD) to the police department, and delivered a letter to Robeson evidencing the termination of his employment.

KD and JD (Appellants) filed a complaint with the district court, naming the District, Bartels, Robeson, and Joe and Jane Doe as defendants. Appellants brought six claims: (1) a 20 U.S.C. § 1681 (Title IX) claim against the District; (2) a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against Bartels, Robeson, and Joe and Jane Doe; (3) a Nebraska Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act claim against the District, Bartels, and Joe and Jane Doe; (4) a battery claim against Robeson; (5) an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim against Robeson; (6) and an aiding and abetting intentional infliction of emotional distress claim against Bartels and Joe and Jane Doe.² Appellants included a jury trial demand. After discovery, the District and Bartels each moved for summary judgment, and the district court granted both motions. Robeson failed to enter his appearance in the case, and the district court entered a default judgment against Robeson. The district court held a damages hearing, absent a jury, and awarded Appellants $1,249,540.41 in damages against Robeson.

II.

Appellants first argue that the district court erred in granting the District's and Bartels's summary judgment motions. "We review de novo a district court order granting summary judgment, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and drawing all reasonable inferences in their favor." K.C. v. Mayo, 983 F.3d 365, 368 (8th Cir. 2020). Summary judgment is appropriate where no genuine dispute of material fact exists. See Turner v. XTO Energy, Inc., 989 F.3d...