Oldfield v. Benavidez

Decision Date12 January 1994
Docket NumberNo. 21534,21534
Citation116 N.M. 785,867 P.2d 1167,1994 NMSC 6
PartiesJacque M. OLDFIELD, Gilbert L. Oldfield, Jessica Rose Oldfield, a minor, and Shamra Michelle Oldfield, a minor, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Salvador BENAVIDEZ, Cibola County Sheriff, in his individual capacity, Arthur Fuldauer, social worker, in his individual capacity, and Georgia Sanchez, supervisor of the Grants, New Mexico, office of HSD, in her individual capacity, Defendants-Appellants.
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
OPINION

BACA, Justice.

Defendants-Appellants, Salvador Benavidez, Arthur Fuldauer, and Georgia Sanchez (Defendants), petition the Supreme Court to issue a Writ of Error based on the district court's denial of their motion for summary judgment on the issue of qualified immunity. This case arose out of an incident in which the Plaintiff children, Jessica and Shamra Oldfield, were removed from their home for a period of one week and subsequently monitored by the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD). This action was predicated upon a report of physical and emotional abuse made by Jessica Oldfield. After the children were returned to their custody, Plaintiffs-Appellees, the Oldfields, filed a complaint for damages under 42 U.S.C. Sections 1983 and 1988. The Oldfields alleged violations of their right to familial integrity under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and their right to criticize and complain about public officials under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. They also alleged violations of procedural and substantive due process rights secured under New Mexico law.

Defendants moved for summary judgment on grounds of qualified immunity arguing there was no clearly established right to familial integrity. The court found, however, that there was a clearly established right to familial integrity and denied Defendants' motion. Pursuant to our decision in Carrillo v. Rostro, 114 N.M. 607, 845 P.2d 130 (1992), we review whether the district court erred in denying summary judgment on Defendants' qualified immunity defense.

I

The material facts in this case, construed in a light most favorable to the Oldfields are as follows: On January 30, 1991, Jessica Oldfield wrote a note to her teacher, Jeanette Rhoderick, following a lecture to the class on the dangers of drugs which stated: "Mrs. Rhoderick This is very sad to say but My mom and Dad use mariwana [sic]! I did not wont [sic] to tell Because I was scrade [sic] to Because my dad will wip [sic] me so hard Ill never be able to sit down agian [sic]. Please help, Please!!" Jessica's teacher, Mrs. Rhoderick, subsequently had a conversation with Jessica about the note. During the discussion, Jessica confirmed that she was afraid of being physically abused by her step-father, Mr. Oldfield, and revealed that she previously had been abused.

Rhoderick reported the possibility that Jessica was being physically abused to the school principal, Loretta Miller. Miller and Rhoderick, together, informed HSD. They did this according to New Mexico law that requires school teachers and school officials to report abuse or neglect if they have "reasonable suspicion" that a child is being abused or neglected. See NMSA 1978, Sec. 32-1-15 (Repl.Pamp.1989) (repealed and recodified as NMSA 1978, Sec. 32A-4-3 (Repl.Pamp.1993)). HSD conducted three separate interviews before deciding to petition for an ex parte custody order. Georgia Sanchez, an HSD supervisor, interviewed Jessica twice on January 31. The first interview was with Jessica, Rhoderick, Miller, and a school counselor. The second interview was between Sanchez and Jessica only. Jessica was interviewed again on February 6 by Arthur Fuldauer, the caseworker assigned to investigate her allegations. Subsequent to these interviews, Fuldauer met with another HSD staff member and a member of the Sheriff's Department (who is not named as a Defendant) to discuss Jessica's situation. After the meeting, HSD presented a petition and an affidavit for an ex parte custody order which was granted by the District Court. The order required the Sheriff's Department to take Jessica Oldfield and her sister, Shamra Oldfield, from the Oldfield home and deliver them into HSD's custody. The order stated that because Jessica and Shamra were alleged to be neglected and abused it was necessary for their protection that they be placed in the custody of HSD.

Because the Oldfields lived outside the city limits and within the jurisdiction of Cibola County, the Sheriff's department was the party authorized by law to serve the order. The Oldfields were served with the order at the Sheriff's office because HSD previously had been informed by personnel at Jessica's school that on a prior occasion Mr. Oldfield had physically and verbally threatened the staff at the school. Consequently, school officials specifically requested that the ex parte custody order not be served on school premises. It was decided, based upon this information, that the order be served upon the Oldfields at the Sheriff's office in order to allow for a maximum amount of safety for the children and others. The entire Oldfield family was brought to the Sheriff's office and Mr. and Mrs. Oldfield were served with the order. The children were placed in foster care and the Oldfields were notified of the upcoming ten-day custody hearing regarding the children.

Subsequently, Fuldauer conducted a videotaped interview of Jessica and again she reported that her mother and step-father used drugs. She also reported that she had been hit with a belt many times by Mr. Oldfield. She was scared that he would seriously hurt her if she went home. A clinical psychologist, Michael Rodriguez, also interviewed Jessica and Shamra and Jessica again reported abuse. Rodriguez concluded that Jessica's fear was "genuine" and that a "hasty return home does not appear to be appropriate."

At the custody hearing, the district court entered an order stating that there was "probable cause to believe that the children will be subject to injury by others if not placed in the custody of the department." The order provided that legal custody of the children would remain with HSD pending adjudication and that physical custody of the children would be returned to the parents. The order also provided that Gilbert Oldfield should undergo counseling and that Jessica should complete her evaluation with Dr. Rodriguez. After the children returned, the Oldfields decided to send one child to each set of grandparents, one to Farmington and one to California, for the remainder of the school year and for an indefinite time after that. Due to the absence of the children and Gilbert Oldfield's compliance with counseling, HSD moved to dismiss the action and the district court granted the motion.

The Oldfields filed a complaint against Sheriff Benavidez, Arthur Fuldauer and Georgia Sanchez alleging that Defendants conspired to petition for the ex parte custody order as retaliation against them for the Oldfields complaining about Sheriff Benavidez's alleged sexual harassment of Jacque Oldfield. The Oldfields contended that prior to Jessica reporting abuse to her teacher, Sheriff Benavidez, while still a deputy, visited the Oldfield home several times when Gilbert Oldfield was not present and solicited sexual intercourse from Jacque Oldfield. She rejected these advances and Gilbert Oldfield met with Ed Craig, who was the sheriff of Cibola County at the time, to complain. Craig testified in his deposition that he reprimanded Benavidez. Benavidez then allegedly threatened Gilbert that he would get even.

The Oldfields also alleged that Fuldauer "unprofessionally and unlawfully coached the children prior to their interrogations, misrepresented what they had stated in his testimony in the custody hearing, excluded evidence which was contrary to his predisposed hostility to the parents and drafted his reports with the intention of insuring that the children would be taken from the parents." The Oldfields alleged that Sanchez was aware of Fuldauer's conduct and failed to take any action to correct it. Finally, the Oldfields contended that HSD should have conducted further investigation before applying for an ex parte order and that the ex parte order was obtained by using false information from Benavidez and Fuldauer. In summary, the Oldfields alleged that Defendants conducted their investigation and made their decisions on the basis of retaliation and their predispositions against Plaintiff parents. Defendants' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity was denied by the district judge and they appeal to this Court.

II

We first address whether the district court erred in denying Defendants' motion for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. Summary judgment is appropriate only when "there is no genuine dispute over a material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Frontier Leasing, Inc. v. C.F.B., Inc., 96 N.M. 491, 493, 632 P.2d 726, 728 (1981). All factual disputes and inferences are construed in favor of the non-moving party. See Wheeler v. Board of County Comm'rs, 74 N.M. 165, 171, 391 P.2d 664, 668 (1964).

Defendants argue that the trial court erred in denying their motion for summary judgement because they are entitled to qualified immunity. Plaintiffs, on the other hand, argue that Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity because Defendants conspired to temporarily remove their children from the home as retaliation for complaining about Sheriff Benavidez's harassment of Jacque Oldfield, and in so doing, violated their right to familial integrity. We cannot agree with Plaintiff's contentions.

The granting of qualified immunity results in immunity from suit rather than a mere defense to...

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