Murphy v. Timberlane Regional School Dist., Civ. No. 90-265-SD.

Decision Date26 May 1994
Docket NumberCiv. No. 90-265-SD.
Citation855 F. Supp. 498
PartiesKevin W. MURPHY, By and Through his legal guardians, Kevin C. and Janice MURPHY v. TIMBERLANE REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of New Hampshire

Michael R. Chamberlain, Manchester, NH, for plaintiffs.

Gerald M. Zelin, Salem, NH, for defendant.

ORDER

DEVINE, Senior District Judge.

This order addresses the motion filed by plaintiff Kevin W. Murphy, who proceeds by and through his parents and legal guardians Kevin C. Murphy and Janice Murphy, to enforce the judgment upon this court's May 10, 1993, order as to plaintiff's claim for compensatory education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (codified at 20 U.S.C. § 1400, et seq.).1 Plaintiff's motion requests that this court (1) enforce its May 10, 1993, order awarding plaintiff two years of compensatory education and (2) award additional relief for harm caused by defendant's failure to comply with said order.2 Defendant Timberlane Regional School District objects.

A federal court may assert ancillary jurisdiction when necessary to give effect to its judgment. E.g., Finley v. United States, 490 U.S. 545, 551, 109 S.Ct. 2003, 2007-08, 104 L.Ed.2d 593 (citing Local Loan Co. v. Hunt, 292 U.S. 234, 239, 54 S.Ct. 695, 697, 78 L.Ed. 1230 (1934); Julian v. Central Trust Co., 193 U.S. 93, 112-14, 24 S.Ct. 399, 407-08, 48 L.Ed. 629 (1904)). Accordingly, this court has ancillary jurisdiction to enforce the judgment upon the May 10, 1993, order.

The court has reviewed the testimony, exhibits, and legal memoranda provided during and after the hearing held on May 3-4, 1994, with respect to plaintiff's motion.

1. Background
Kevin W. Murphy was born on July 9, 1968. He is a disabled individual who is entitled to special educational services under the Act. Kevin's disabilities include spastic paraplegia, cortical blindness (difficulty processing visual stimuli), tactile agnosia (difficulty processing tactile input), and mild mental retardation.
In 1976, the Murphys moved to Plaistow, New Hampshire, which is in the Timberlane Regional School District (Timberlane or the district). In September 1981, Kevin was transferred from his previous placement to a special program at Charlotte Avenue School, a public elementary school in Nashua, New Hampshire. Although Kevin's parents had originally agreed to this new placement, they soon became concerned about the appropriateness of the placement, and expressed their objections to Kevin's teacher and to Timberlane's special education administrators. In December 1981, Kevin suffered a seizure at home, and his parents decided not to return Kevin to school after the winter break.
In January 1982, the school superintendent authorized the director of special education to provide tutorial services to Kevin in his home. A year later, the State Department of Education strongly recommended that the district provide Kevin with home-based instruction. No such services were ever provided.
Mr. Murphy wrote letters to Timberlane in January and February 1982, notifying the school district of his decision to keep Kevin at home, complaining that Kevin was being denied an education, and threatening to bring an action against the district. Kevin remained at home throughout 1982 and 1983.
Between January 1982 and January 1984, numerous IEP Individualized Education Program3 meetings were held between Kevin's parents and district officials in an attempt to develop an appropriate program for Kevin. Although the parties' accounts of the facts differ on who was cooperative and who was obstinate, it is clear that there were a number of disagreements over the appropriateness of different proposed placements and evaluations. The Murphys rejected a number of IEPs presented to them by the district. In June 1982, Kevin attended school in a third grade classroom for the last two weeks of the school year. The purpose of this placement was to allow Timberlane an opportunity to evaluate Kevin and assess his needs so that an appropriate IEP could be developed for the following school year.
In November 1982, the district initiated truancy proceedings against Kevin's parents because of Kevin's absence from school. These proceedings were never completed. In January 1984, the Pupil Placement Team finally agreed on a placement for Kevin in the Get Set Program at Pinkerton High School. Although Kevin's May 1985 IEP indicated that Kevin might complete the Get Set Program as early as June 1987, Kevin remained in the program through the end of 1988-89 school year.
In May 1988, Kevin's Pupil Placement Team met to develop an IEP for the 1988-89 school year. Although Kevin would turn 21 in July 1989, there was evidence that the Team assumed that this was not the final IEP to be developed for Kevin and that Kevin would be permitted to continue his education until he completed the program at Pinkerton High School. In November 1988, Mr. Murphy met with Timberlane's Superintendent, Terrance Holmes, to discuss whether Timberlane would provide schooling beyond Kevin's 21st birthday. Mr. Holmes agreed to present Mr. Murphy's request to the School Board. On January 5, 1989, the Superintendent recommended to the School Board that Kevin be allowed to continue at Pinkerton High School beyond his 21st birthday. The Board rejected the recommendation by a vote of six to three.
Kevin turned 21 on July 9, 1989. On July 24, 1989, George Wright, Timberlane's local education agency representative and a member of Kevin's IEP team, wrote to Kevin's parents enclosing an Annual Statement of Placement discharging Kevin as a special education student.

Murphy I, supra, 973 F.2d at 14-15.

Kevin is now twenty-five years of age and no longer entitled to a free public education under New Hampshire law. See N.H.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 186-C:9 (disabled "child shall be entitled to continue in an approved program until such time as the child has acquired a high school diploma or has attained the age of 21, whichever occurs first"); see also id. § 186-C:2 (similar). In August 1989 less than one month after Kevin had been discharged, the Murphys requested an administrative hearing. The Murphys maintained that Kevin was entitled to compensatory educational services beyond age twenty-one as a consequence of Timberlane's failure to provide special education during the two-year period from January 1982 through January 1984. The Murphys specifically alleged that Timberlane had violated the IDEA by failing either to propose an IEP acceptable to all IEP team members or to initiate administrative proceedings to resolve the IEP impasse in accordance with N.H.Code Admin.R.Ed. 1125.01(b)(3)-b ("section 1125").4
The administrative hearing officer determined that the Murphys' claim for compensatory educational services was barred by laches. The United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire granted summary judgment in favor of Timberlane, affirming the administrative decision. We vacated the district court decision and remanded for further findings relating to the laches defense. Murphy I, 973 F.2d at 18. On remand, after receiving evidence and argument on both the laches defense and the cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court in its May 10, 1993, order rejected Timberlane's laches defense, denied its motion for summary judgment based on a statute of limitations defense, and granted summary judgment for the Murphys. Murphy v. Timberlane Regional Sch. Dist., 819 F.Supp. 1127 (D.N.H.1993) ("Murphy II").

Murphy III, supra, 22 F.3d at 1188-89 (footnote omitted).

In granting summary judgment for the Murphys, this court found "that there is no genuine issue regarding the fact that defendant failed to provide Kevin with a free, appropriate public education during 1982 and 1983, years in which he was entitled to such under the Act." Murphy II, supra, 819 F.Supp. at 1136. Accordingly, the court ordered defendant "to provide Kevin with two years of compensatory education beginning at the commencement of the school year which starts in September 1993." Id. Said order included the following instructions and warning. "Kevin's program for each of the two years is to be determined according to the IEP procedures set forth in the Act at 20 U.S.C. § 1401(a)(20) (Supp.1993).5 Delays in this process resulting from bad faith on the part of either party will be addressed using the full range of equitable powers available to the court." Id. (emphasis added).

Pursuant to the May 10, 1993, order, the parties agreed upon the formation of an IEP team to be composed of the following individuals: (1) Colleen Bovi, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Timberlane Regional School District; (2) Dr. Bruce Cushna, Associate Director, Developmental Evaluation Clinic, The Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Adjunct Associate Professor in Special Education, Boston College; Principal Associate in Pediatrics (Psychology), Member of the Faculty of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; (3) Francis C. Driscoll, Kevin W. Murphy's Special Needs Teacher at the Get Set Program; (4) Janice Murphy; and (5) Kevin C. Murphy.

On August 13, 1993, Ms. Bovi, Mr. Driscoll, and Mr. and Mrs. Murphy met to discuss the implementation of the May 10, 1993, order. Transcript of August 13, 1993, Meeting (Plaintiff's Exhibit 14). The same four team members met again on August 23, 1993. Transcript of August 23, 1993, meeting (Plaintiff's Exhibit 15).

On September 24, 1993, all five team members met to develop an IEP for Kevin. Transcript of September 24, 1993, Meeting (Plaintiff's Exhibit 16). The full team met once again on October 29, 1993, with Mr. Driscoll participating by telephone. Transcript of October 29, 1993, Meeting (Plaintiff's Exhibit 17). No further team meetings occurred.

Team members Dr. Cushna, Mr. Driscoll, and Mr. and Mrs. Murphy approved an IEP which recommended, inter alia, placement in a residential program; specifically, the...

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