Riddick v. Sch. Bd. City of Portsmouth

• Decision Date: 05 May 2000
• Docket Number: PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS,DEFENDANT-APPELLEE,No. 99-1318,99-1318
• Citation: 238 F.3d 518
• Parties: (4th Cir. 2000) KATHRYN RIDDICK, AN INFANT, WHO SUES BY HER MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, NETTIE RIDDICK; KELLEE CHAMBERS; TRACEE BYNUM; LAVINA FALZONE, AN INFANT, WHO SUES BY HER MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, VINA FALZONE; NETTIE RIDDICK; VINA FALZONE; JONELLE WHITLEY; LATASHA WILSON,, v. SCHOOL BOARD OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH,, AND RICHARD D. TRUMBLE, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PORTSMOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOLS; LINDELL WALLACE, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS FORMER PRINCIPAL AT WILSON HIGH SCHOOL, DAVID WILLETT, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS FORMER ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT WILSON HIGH SCHOOL; JOHN W. CRUTE, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS A FORMER TEACHER AND ATHLETIC COACH AT WILSON HIGH SCHOOL, PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, DEFENDANTS. . Argued:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 518

238 F.3d 518 (4th Cir. 2000)

KATHRYN RIDDICK, AN INFANT, WHO SUES BY HER MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, NETTIE RIDDICK; KELLEE CHAMBERS; TRACEE BYNUM; LAVINA FALZONE, AN INFANT, WHO SUES BY HER MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, VINA FALZONE; NETTIE RIDDICK; VINA FALZONE; JONELLE WHITLEY; LATASHA WILSON, PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS, v. SCHOOL BOARD OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, DEFENDANT-APPELLEE, AND RICHARD D. TRUMBLE, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PORTSMOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOLS; LINDELL WALLACE, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS FORMER PRINCIPAL AT WILSON HIGH SCHOOL, DAVID WILLETT, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS FORMER ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT WILSON HIGH SCHOOL; JOHN W. CRUTE, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS A FORMER TEACHER AND ATHLETIC COACH AT WILSON HIGH SCHOOL, PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, DEFENDANTS.

No. 99-1318.

U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued: May 5, 2000.

Decided: September 21, 2000.

As amended December 15, 2000.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk.

Rebecca Beach Smith, District Judge. (CA-97-435-2, CA-97-1207-2)

Argued: Andrew Michael Sacks, Sacks & Sacks, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellants. Jeff Wayne Rosen, Adler, Rosen & Peters, P.C., Virginia Beach, Virginia, for Appellee. On Brief: Lisa Ehrich, Adler, Rosen & Peters, P.C., Virginia Beach, Virginia, for Appellee.

Before Luttig, Williams, and King, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge King wrote the majority opinion, in which Judge Williams joined. Judge Luttig wrote a dissenting opinion.

OPINION

King, Circuit Judge.

In this appeal, we review an order of the district court, entered on January 26, 1999, granting summary judgment in favor of the School Board of the City of Portsmouth ("Board") in this action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. For the reasons explained below, we affirm the district court's judgment for the Board.

I.

Kathryn Riddick (an infant who sues by her mother, Nettie Riddick), Kellee Chambers, Tracee Bynum, Lavina Falzone (an infant who sues by her mother, Vina Falzone), Nettie Riddick, Vina Falzone, Jonelle Whitley, and Latasha Wilson (collectively the "Riddick plaintiffs"), filed civil actions in the Eastern District of Virginia against multiple defendants, including Wilson High School coach John Crute, the Board, Superintendent Richard D. Trumble, Principal Lindell Wallace, and Athletic Director David Willett.

The complaints alleged, inter alia, that the Board was subject to liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for Crute's actions taken in the course of his employ as track coach. Specifically, the complaints asserted that the Board knew of Crute's propensity to behave inappropriately towards female students and yet allowed Crute to continue his inappropriate behavior by failing to take immediate and decisive action to end such conduct, resulting in the violation of the Riddick plaintiffs' constitutional rights. The Board moved for summary judgment, contending that it could not be held liable for Crute's actions. From the bench, the district court granted the Board's motion for summary judgment, subsequently memorializing the ruling in its January 26, 1999 order. The Riddick plaintiffs now appeal.¹

II.

In July 1995, school administrators at Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, discovered a hidden video camera in a storage room adjoining the women's locker room. An investigation revealed that John Crute, a teacher and women's track coach, had been using the camera, beginning in late 1991 or early 1992, to secretly videotape members of the track team in various stages of undress (the "1995 incident").

The Riddick plaintiffs, track team members videotaped by the hidden camera, filed suit against the Board pursuant to section 1983, alleging a deprivation of their rights under color of state law.² In support of this claim, Riddick relied on a prior incident also involving Crute, in which the parents of Lakesha Coletrain, a former member of the women's track team, complained that Crute inappropriately videotaped their daughter posing in her track uniform (the "1989 incident"). After a practice session in early 1989, Crute videotaped Ms. Coletrain in her track uniform for a portfolio Crute was purportedly preparing for each team member. During the videotaping session, Coach Crute instructed Ms. Coletrain to stretch her legs on the floor and over a hurdle. He told her that if the stretching hurt, she could grunt because it would not be heard on the videotape since he would talk over it. In total, Crute videotaped Ms. Coletrain modeling eight different track uniforms. Each time Ms. Coletrain changed into a different uniform, she went into a classroom alone and closed the door behind her. When Ms. Coletrain donned a uniform that was cut particularly high in the pubic area, Crute asked her to remove her underpants because, he said, the uniform did not look good with the underpants showing.

When Ms. Coletrain's father learned of the videotaping session, he obtained a copy of the tape from Coach Crute. In a separate state court proceeding, Ms. Coletrain's father testified that the videotape showed Ms. Coletrain stretching and modeling different uniforms while Crute, who was manually operating the camera, "zoom[ed] in on her crotch, [and] zoomed in on her rear." J.A. 472. Additionally, Ms. Coletrain's father indicated that Crute was doing "a lot [of] moaning and groaning." J.A. 474.

The Coletrains immediately voiced their concerns to then-Principal Judith Kirman, who referred the matter to then-Superintendent Dr. Thomas Mack Cherry. In turn, Dr. Cherry instructed Principal Kirman to conduct an investigation to ascertain "whether or not we could corroborate that story with any other kind of behavior that would substantiate that there was any kind of improper action on anyone's part." J.A. 665. As part of her investigation, Principal Kirman instructed the then-Athletic Director, Bruce Phelps, to obtain copies of similar videotapes made by Coach Crute of each team member. Kirman proceeded to view these tapes during separate interviews with the team members and their parents or guardians. During the course of the investigation, another parent, Nettie Stephenson, expressed her discomfort with Coach Crute's videotaping. Additionally, Ms. Stephenson, whose daughter was also a member of the track team, indicated to Principal Kirman that she felt it inappropriate for Coach Crute to drive girls home after track practice.

Although the Coletrains and Ms. Stephenson considered Coach Crute's actions to be inappropriate, certain other parents did not. In late January 1989, Dr. Cherry and Principal Kirman completed the investigation and concluded that Crute's behavior was not objectionable. Nevertheless, because of the potential appearance of impropriety, Kirman directed Coach Crute to: (1) confine his videotaping of team members to track meets; (2) refrain from driving team members home after practices; and (3) take a female chaperone to all track meets outside the school district. The 1989 incident was the first complaint against Crute, and in accordance with the Board's disciplinary policy, no record of the incident was placed in his personnel file.

III.

We review an award of summary judgment de novo, viewing the facts and the inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-movant. Myers v. Finkle, 950 F.2d 165, 167 (4th Cir. 1991). Summary judgment is appropriate only "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c).

IV.

A.

The Riddick plaintiffs assert that the Board's decision to retain Crute as a teacher and track coach after the 1989 incident, and its related failure to implement sufficient precautionary measures to prevent future improper conduct by him, resulted in the deprivation of their constitutional rights in connection with the 1995 incident. Based on the 1989 incident, the Riddick plaintiffs assert that the Board knew of Crute's propensity to behave inappropriately towards female students and yet allowed Crute to continue his inappropriate behavior by failing to take immediate and decisive action to end such conduct. Specifically, they contend that "final policymaking authority" in the area of teacher discipline was delegated by the Board to the superintendent, the school principals, and other school officials. Accordingly, the Riddick plaintiffs maintain that: (1) Superintendent Cherry, Principal Kirman, Director Hinton, and Athletic Director Phelps are municipal officials whose acts may fairly be said to represent official municipal policy; and (2) these officials established, through their inaction, an official municipal policy "of being deliberately indifferent to [Crute's] perverse sexual harassment, invasion of privacy rights, and other sexually abusive conduct towards female students in the school." Br. of Appellants at 22.

B.

In order to properly review and consider this appeal, it is necessary to understand the applicable legal authorities governing such a case. First, it is well established that a municipality cannot be held liable simply for employing a tortfeasor. Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 691 (1978).³ On the other hand, a municipality may be subject to liability under section 1983 if the alleged injury was caused by an identifiable municipal policy or custom. Board of the County Comm'rs of Bryan County v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 403 (1997). A government policy or custom need not have received formal approval through the municipality's official decisionmaking channels to subject the municipality to liability. Rather when an alleged constitutional deprivation is caused by the...