Kuhlmeier v. Hazelwood School Dist.

• Decision Date: 02 November 1984
• Docket Number: No. 83-2039C(1).,83-2039C(1).
• Citation: 596 F. Supp. 1422
• Parties: Cathy KUHLMEIER, Leslie Smart, Leanne Tippett v. HAZELWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT, Charles Sweeney, Joseph Donahue, Gwen Gerhardt, August Busch, Jr., Ann Gibbons, James Arnac, Dr. Thomas Lawson, Robert E. Reynolds, Howard Emerson, and Dr. Francis Huss.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri

596 F. Supp. 1422

Cathy KUHLMEIER, Leslie Smart, Leanne Tippett v. HAZELWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT, Charles Sweeney, Joseph Donahue, Gwen Gerhardt, August Busch, Jr., Ann Gibbons, James Arnac, Dr. Thomas Lawson, Robert E. Reynolds, Howard Emerson, and Dr. Francis Huss.

No. 83-2039C(1).

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, E.D.

November 2, 1984.

Leslie D. Edwards, B. Stephen Miller, III, American Civil Liberties Union, St. Louis, Mo., for plaintiffs.

Robert P. Baine, Jr., Susan E. Kaiser, St. Louis, Mo., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM

NANGLE, Chief Judge.

This case is now before this Court on defendants' motion for summary judgment. Defendants argue that, because plaintiffs received a grade for their "Journalism II" class and because they graduated from Hazelwood East High School subsequent to filing their complaint in this action, plaintiffs' claims for relief are now moot.

This case arises out of defendants' refusal to publish certain articles in the May 13, 1983, issue of Spectrum, the student newspaper published by Hazelwood East High School. The facts and allegations underlying this action were summarized in this Court's prior Order and Memorandum and need not be repeated herein. See Kuhlmeier v. Hazelwood School District, 578 F.Supp. 1286 (E.D.Mo.1984). Defendants contend, by way of a motion for summary judgment, that plaintiffs' claims for relief are moot in view of the fact that all three (3) plaintiffs have now graduated from Hazelwood East High School.

Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a movant is entitled to summary judgment if he can "show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that he is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). See also Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., 368 U.S. 464, 82 S.Ct. 486, 7 L.Ed.2d 458 (1962). In passing on a motion for summary judgment, a court is required to view the facts and inferences that may be derived therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Buller v. Buechler, 706 F.2d 844, 846 (8th Cir.1983); Vette Co. v. Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., 612 F.2d 1076, 1077 (8th Cir.1980). The burden of proof is on the moving party and a court should not grant a summary judgment motion unless it is convinced that there is no evidence to sustain a recovery under any circumstances. Buller, 706 F.2d at 846. However, under Rule 56(e), a party opposing a motion for summary judgment may not rest upon the allegations of his pleadings but "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). See also 10A Wright, Miller and Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d, § 2739 (1983).

The mootness doctrine is derived from the requirement in Article III of the United States Constitution that the federal judicial power be exercised only in "cases or controversies." U.S. Const., Art. III. The requirement of a case or controversy serves "two complementary" purposes. Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 95, 88 S.Ct. 1942, 1949, 20 L.Ed.2d 947 (1968). These purposes are, as follows:

It limits the business of federal courts to "questions presented in an adversary context and in a form historically viewed as capable of resolution through the judicial process," and it defines the "role assigned to the judiciary in a tripartite allocation of power to assure that the federal courts will not intrude into areas committed to the other branches of government."

United States Parole Commission v. Geraghty, 445 U.S. 388, 396, 100 S.Ct. 1202, 1208, 63 L.Ed.2d 479 (1980), quoting Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 95, 88 S.Ct. 1942, 1949, 20 L.Ed.2d 947 (1968). A case is moot "when the issues presented are no longer `live' or the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome." Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 496, 89 S.Ct. 1944, 1950, 23 L.Ed.2d 491 (1969); Carson v. Pierce, 719 F.2d 931, 933 (8th Cir.1983).

Defendants argue that plaintiffs' claims for relief are moot because each of the plaintiffs has now graduated from Hazelwood East High School and each received the highest grade possible for their work in "Journalism II." Plaintiffs seek three (3) types of relief. First, plaintiffs seek a declaration by this Court that the alleged conduct of defendants violated plaintiffs' rights under the first and fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Second, plaintiffs pray for an injunction: 1) ordering defendants to print the articles in question; 2) enjoining defendants from engaging in their allegedly unlawful conduct; 3) requiring defendants to implement a plan and submit regulations that constitutionally govern the publication of student articles in Spectrum; and 4) preventing defendants from taking reprisals against plaintiffs with respect to this action. Finally, each plaintiff seeks compensatory damages of $5,000.00 and punitive damages of $25,000.00.

I. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

In the opinion of this Court, plaintiffs' graduation rendered their claims for injunctive relief moot. In Indianapolis School Commissioners v. Jacobs, 420 U.S. 128, 95 S.Ct. 848, 43 L.Ed.2d 74 (1975), several high school students brought an action challenging school regulations that governed the distribution of a student newspaper. Although each of the named plaintiffs had graduated from the high school by the time the case came to trial, the District Court ruled on the merits and held that the regulations were unconstitutional. On appeal to the Supreme Court certiorari was granted and the Court, in a per curiam opinion, vacated the District Court's judgment and ordered that the complaint be dismissed on the ground of mootness. The Court explained its holding, as follows:

At oral argument, we were informed by counsel for petitioners that all of the named plaintiffs in the action had graduated from the Indianapolis school system; in these circumstances, it seems clear that a case or controversy no longer exists between the named plaintiffs and the petitioners with respect to the validity of the rules at issue. The case is therefore moot....

Id. at 129, 95 S.Ct. at 849 (emphasis added). See also Pasadena City Board of Education v. Spangler, 427 U.S. 424, 430, 96 S.Ct. 2697, 2702, 49 L.Ed.2d 599 (1976) (desegregation case moot as to named plaintiffs who had graduated from the school system), on remand, 549 F.2d 733 (9th Cir.1977). Other courts, in the context of a student's civil rights action for injunctive relief against a school, have held that such a claim becomes moot on the student's graduation from the school. See, e.g., Gibson v. DuPree, 664 F.2d 175, 176 (8th Cir. 1981) (student's claim for injunctive relief against school's attendance policy mooted by student's graduation); Williams v. Spencer, 622 F.2d 1200, 1204 (4th Cir.1980) (claims for injunctive relief with respect to school's seizure and restraint of student newspaper mooted by students' graduation); Zeller v. Donegal School District Board of Education, 517 F.2d 600, 601 n. 1 (3d Cir. en banc 1975) (student's claim for injunctive relief against school's hair length requirement mooted by student's graduation); Hollon v. Mathis Independent School District, 491 F.2d 92, 93 (5th Cir.1974) (students' claim for injunctive relief against school rule banning married students from extracurricular activities mooted by their graduation); Truesdale v. District of Columbia, 436 F.2d 288, 290 (D.C.Cir.1970) (student's claim for injunctive relief against local education statute mooted by his graduation); Zentgraf v. Texas A&M University, 509 F.Supp. 183, 186 (S.D.Tex.1981) (college students' claim for injunctive relief mooted by graduation). Thus, the weight of authority supports a finding that plaintiffs' claims for injunctive relief are moot.

Plaintiffs press several arguments on this Court in support of their position that their claims for injunctive relief were not mooted by their graduation. First, plaintiffs argue that their claims fall within the exception to the mootness doctrine for claims which are "capable of repetition, yet evading review ...." Southern Pacific Terminal v. Interstate Commerce Commission, 219 U.S. 498, 515, 31 S.Ct. 279, 283, 55 L.Ed. 310 (1911). In Weinstein v. Bradford, 423 U.S. 147, 96 S.Ct. 347, 46 L.Ed.2d 350 (1975), the Court identified two (2) requirements that must be met for the Southern Pacific exception to apply:

(1) the challenged action was in its duration too short to be fully litigated prior to its cessation or expiration, and (2) there was a reasonable expectation that the same complaining party would be subjected to the same action again.

Id. at 149, 96 S.Ct. at 348 (emphasis added). See also Illinois State Board of Elections v. Socialist Workers Party, 440 U.S. 173, 187, 99 S.Ct. 983, 990, 59 L.Ed.2d 230 (1979); First National Bank v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765, 774, 98 S.Ct. 1407, 1414, 55 L.Ed.2d 707 (1978). Assuming, without deciding, that the first requirement is met here, it is clear that the second requirement is not met. The "complaining parties" in the case at bar are the three (3) named plaintiffs. Plaintiffs allege that Spectrum is published "as an adjunct to the school's journalism curriculum." First Amended Complaint, Count I at ¶ 7. Because plaintiffs have graduated, it is not possible that they will "be subjected to the same action again." Plaintiffs argue that the father of plaintiff Smart has a son who may attend Hazelwood East High School and "be subjected to the same action again." However, Mr. Smart's son is not a party herein and Mr. Smart is suing only as a next friend. As a next friend, Mr. Smart is only a nominal part and his daughter is the real party in interest. 6 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil § 1548 at 673 (1971). See also Infants, 42 Am.Jur.2d § 161 (1969). Moreover, the minority of the named plaintiffs has expired and with it expired the authority of the next friends to represent them in this action. Infants, 42...