King-White v. Humble Indep. Sch. Dist.

• Decision Date: 20 October 2015
• Docket Number: No. 14–20778.,14–20778.
• Citation: 803 F.3d 754
• Parties: Mary KING–WHITE; A. W., Plaintiffs–Appellants v. HUMBLE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT; Amanda Michelle Feenstra; Guy Sconzo; Charles Ned ; Juan Melendez; Tammy McHale; Craig Stowers; Alicia Narcisse, Defendants–Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

803 F.3d 754

Mary KING–WHITE; A. W., Plaintiffs–Appellants

v.HUMBLE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT; Amanda Michelle Feenstra; Guy Sconzo; Charles Ned ; Juan Melendez; Tammy McHale; Craig Stowers; Alicia Narcisse, Defendants–Appellees.

No. 14–20778.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Oct. 20, 2015.

Aubrey Dale Pittman (argued), Pittman Law Firm, P.C., Dallas, TX, for Plaintiffs–Appellants.

Lisa A. Brown, Esq. (argued), Rebecca Bailey Weimer, Thompson & Horton, L.L.P., James Lloyd Mount, Mount Law Firm, P.C., Houston, TX, for Defendants–Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before BENAVIDES, CLEMENT, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges.

Opinion

FORTUNATO P. BENAVIDES, Circuit Judge:

In this case we determine the Texas statute of limitations that applies to Title IX and § 1983 claims involving sexual abuse. Plaintiffs–Appellants Mary King–White and her daughter, A.W. (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), appeal the 12(b)(6) dismissal of their Title IX and § 1983 claims against Humble Independent School District (“HISD”) and several of its employees. Plaintiffs' claims stem from the alleged sexual molestation of A.W. by her teacher, Amanda Feenstra (“Feenstra”). Feenstra was hired as a dance instructor at Humble High School in 2009, and Plaintiffs allege that Feenstra sexually abused A.W. continuously from 2009 through 2011 while A.W. was her student. Feenstra pled guilty to a criminal charge of improper relationship with a student in 2013, and Plaintiffs then brought the instant lawsuit against Feenstra, HISD, and various HISD administrators/employees (the “School Officials”) in their official and individual capacities. Plaintiffs asserted Title IX and § 1983 claims—as well as several state-law causes of action—against HISD and the School Officials, alleging that they knew about Feenstra's abuse and failed to stop it. HISD and the School Officials moved to dismiss the Title IX and § 1983 claims as untimely, among other things, and the district court granted their motions. Finding the claims barred by the relevant statute of limitations, we now AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs allege that Feenstra used her position as A.W.'s dance instructor at Humble High School to establish a domineering, sexually abusive relationship with A.W. Plaintiffs claim that soon after Feenstra was hired by HISD in 2009, she began meeting with A.W. frequently outside of school. According to Plaintiffs, these meetings led to inappropriate sexual advances and ultimately, beginning in the spring of 2009 when A.W. was 16 years old, to repeated instances of sexual abuse. It is also undisputed that at some point, with the permission of King–White, A.W. moved into Feenstra's home. Plaintiffs contend that Feenstra continued to abuse A.W., both at home and on school premises, until A.W.'s graduation from Humble High School in 2011.

Plaintiffs additionally claim that the School Officials named in the complaint (HISD's superintendent and Humble High School's principal, vice principals, and counselor) had knowledge of Feenstra's abuse, both because (1) inappropriate touching and other troubling behavior occurred in plain view, and (2) a number of parents, including King–White herself, complained to administrators about the relationship between Feenstra and A.W. Despite these indications of abuse, Plaintiffs assert that the School Officials did not scrutinize Feenstra or limit her interactions with A.W. Plaintiffs also allude to certain HISD “policies” that ostensibly allowed Feenstra's abuse to continue, including the endorsement of off-campus teacher-student interactions and unchaperoned school trips.

Sometime after graduation, A.W. told a former teacher about Feenstra's abuse, and the teacher reported Feenstra to school authorities. Around March of 2013, Feenstra was arrested and charged with a felony of improper relationship with a student. On October 23, 2013, Feenstra pled guilty and was sentenced to ten years of deferred adjudication and probation.

Plaintiffs filed the present suit on December 4, 2013, alleging violations of their civil and constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Title IX of the Education Act of 1972. Plaintiffs also asserted various tort claims under Texas state law. Named as defendants in the original complaint were Feenstra, HISD, and the School Officials. HISD and the School Officials moved to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims against them pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), arguing that the federal claims were time-barred, the pleadings were insufficient, and the individual Defendants were entitled to qualified immunity.¹ The district court granted the motions to dismiss, concluding (as relevant to this appeal) that the § 1983 and Title IX claims were untimely. Plaintiffs now argue that the district court erred in determining that these claims were time-barred.² Plaintiffs contend that, rather than applying Texas's general two-year personal injury statute of limitations, the district court should have applied the five-year exception for sexual assault claims. Plaintiffs also argue that (1) the district court incorrectly determined accrual of the federal claims for purposes of calculating whether the limitations period had expired, and (2) the court abused its discretion in refusing to apply certain equitable tolling principles. Finally, Plaintiffs contest the district court's rulings with respect to complaint sufficiency, qualified immunity, and leave to amend the complaint.

We conclude that the district court did not err in finding that Plaintiffs' Title IX and § 1983 claims are time-barred. Accordingly, we do not reach the remaining issues.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

“A statute of limitations may support dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) where it is evident from the plaintiff's pleadings that the action is barred and the pleadings fail to raise some basis for tolling or the like.” Jones v. Alcoa, Inc., 339 F.3d 359, 366 (5th Cir.2003). We review a district court's dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6)de novo, “accepting all well-pleaded facts as true and viewing those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs.” Gonzalez v. Kay, 577 F.3d 600, 603 (5th Cir.2009) (quoting Dorsey v. Portfolio Equities, Inc., 540 F.3d 333, 338 (5th Cir.2008) ). When the district court declines to “exercise its equitable discretion to toll,” however, “we review [that] decision[ ] on the pleadings only for abuse of discretion.” Teemac v. Henderson, 298 F.3d 452, 456 (5th Cir.2002). In conducting our review, “we assume the pleaded facts as true, and we will remand if the plaintiff has pleaded facts that justify equitable tolling.” Id.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Selecting the Appropriate Statute of Limitations

When a federal statute does not contain a limitations period (as is the case for Title IX and § 1983 ), the settled practice is to borrow an “appropriate” statute of limitations from state law.³ See Goodman v. Lukens Steel Co., 482 U.S. 656, 660, 107 S.Ct. 2617, 96 L.Ed.2d 572 (1987), partially superseded by statute as stated in Jones v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369, 371, 124 S.Ct. 1836, 158 L.Ed.2d 645 (2004) ; see also 42 U.S.C. § 1988. The district court in this case dismissed Plaintiffs' Title IX and § 1983 claims after determining that both claims were governed by Texas's two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions, which is set out in Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Section 16.003 states in relevant part:

Except as provided by Sections 16.010, 16.0031, and 16.0045, a person must bring suit for trespass for injury to the estate or to the property of another, conversion of personal property, taking or detaining the personal property of another, personal injury, forcible entry and detainer, and forcible detainer not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues.

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 16.003(a). Reference to Section 16.0045 of the statute, however, reveals that causes of action stemming from sexual assault are governed by a longer, five-year limitations period.⁴See id. § 16.0045(b). Plaintiffs argue on appeal that, because their Title IX and § 1983 claims are based on the sexual abuse of A.W., the district court should have applied the longer limitations period from Section 16.0045 to those claims. We disagree.

In Wilson v. Garcia, the Supreme Court held that § 1983 claims are subject to state personal injury statutes of limitations. 471 U.S. 261, 280, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985), partially superseded by statute as stated in Jones, 541 U.S. at 377–80, 124 S.Ct. 1836. Then, in Owens v. Okure, the Supreme Court refined Wilson and held that “where state law provides multiple statutes of limitations for personal injury actions, courts considering § 1983 claims should borrow the general or residual statute for personal injury actions.” 488 U.S. 235, 249–50, 109 S.Ct. 573, 102 L.Ed.2d 594 (1989). Following Wilson and Owens, we have recognized that Texas's two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions applies to § 1983 claims filed in the state. See Piotrowski v. City of Houston, 51 F.3d 512, 515 n. 5 (5th Cir.1995). As a preliminary matter, we must now determine whether Title IX claims should be treated like § 1983 claims and governed by state statutes of limitations for personal injury actions. If so, we must address Plaintiffs' argument that properly applying the Texas personal injury statute to the claims in this case means applying the longer period from Section 16.0045 rather than the two-year period from Section 16.003.

1. The Statute of Limitations Applicable to Title IX Claims

While this court has not yet considered the appropriate limitations period for Title IX claims, every other circuit to have considered the matter in a published opinion has concluded that Title IX is subject to the same limitations period as § 1983. See, e.g., Varnell v. Dora Consol. Sch. Dist., 756 F.3d 1208, 1212–13...