Torres v. Sugar-Salem Sch. Dist.
| Decision Date | 30 September 2019 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 4:17-cv-00178-DCN |
| Parties | MIRIAM TORRES, fka MIRIAM SEVY, Plaintiff, v. SUGAR-SALEM SCHOOL DISTRICT # 322, a political subdivision of the State of Idaho, and BRYCE OWEN, individually and in his capacity as a former employee of Sugar-Salem School District, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Idaho |
This matter comes before the Court on two separate motions for summary judgment. First, is Defendant Bryce Owen's Motion for Summary Judgment. Dkt. 46. Second, is Defendant Sugar-Salem School District #322's ("the District") Motion for Summary Judgment. Dkt. 47. The District has also filed a Motion to Strike the Declaration of Plaintiff Miriam Torres . Dkt. 57.
Torres claims that from the time she was sixteen years old Owen groomed her to have sex with him once she reached the age of majority. Dkt. 22, at 8-9. She also alleges that the District had notice of Owen's behavior and failed to report or take any action in response. Dkt. 22, at 5. Torres alleges violations of Title IX and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, as well as various counts of negligence against the defendants. Dkt. 22, at 9-16. The Court heard oral argument on April 12, 2019. For the reasons set forth below, the Court now GRANTS in PART and DENIES in PART the District's Motion for Summary Judgment, DENIES Owen's Motion for Summary Judgment, and DENIES the District's Motion to Strike.
Torres was a student at Sugar-Salem High School ("the high school") from August 25, 2010, until her graduation on June 4, 2014. Owen was hired as a Counselor at the District in 2011 and spent a few days each week working at Sugar-Salem High School.
Torres first met Owen in the beginning of her Sophomore year. It was 2011, and Torres was fifteen years old. Around September of 2011, Owen approached Torres and asked if she wanted to participate in counseling with him. Dkt. 22, at 3. At the time, Torres engaged in self-harming behavior and suspects that a friend made Owen aware of that. Dkt. 47-4, at 49. Owen's invitation made Torres uncomfortable, but she did not believe she could refuse the invitation due to Owen's position of authority at the school. Dkt. 22, at 3.
During their first counseling session (which occurred in the Fall of 2011) Owen positioned his chair in such a way that he and Torres' knees "almost touched." Dkt. 53-14, at 2; Dkt. 22, at 3. At this initial meeting, Torres told Owen that when she was fourteen, she had a sexual relationship with a thirty-two-year-old man named Jared Reid. Dkt. 53-1, at 6. Owen had her describe these sexual encounters in graphic detail—including what Reid did to her and how it made her feel. Id. However, Owen never indicated to Torres that such encounters were sexual abuse. Nor did he report Reid's actions to the school or theauthorities. Dkt. 53-6, at 27.
Torres estimates that Owen continued to pull her out of class for "counseling sessions" about twice weekly. Owen continued to elicit specific details of Torres' past sexual interactions during these sessions. Owen also gave Torres his personal cell phone number and told her to contact him anytime—even though the District had a policy regarding employee-student relations that stated employees were to "[r]efrain from electronically communicating with any student by any means including but not limited to texting." Dkt. 53-6, at 47, 102.
Nonetheless, Owen began texting Torres regularly. Torres' mother, Bernadine McCandless ("McCandless"), eventually discovered some of these messages and found them to be "flirty." Dkt. 53-7, at 3. McCandless reported Owen's inappropriate texts to the District's Superintendent Alan Dunn, Principal Jared Jenks, and Fred Wooley (another counselor at the high school), and insisted that Owen have no further contact with her children. Id. Although the District said the texting would stop, Torres claims that the texting and other contact continued. Dkt. 53, at 14. The next semester, McCandless again told the District that Owen should have no involvement or interaction with her kids. Id. at 5-6. This second request was made after McCandless learned Owen was still in contact with her daughter. Id. Despite these requests, Owen continued to contact and interact with Torres.
As Torres progressed through high school, Owen pulled her out of class more frequently. During their conversations, he revealed to Torres that he had previously engaged in sexual intercourse with clients. He also attempted to sow discord between Torres and her mother by telling Torres that McCandless was crazy and could not betrusted. Instead, Owen told Torres that she should only confide in him. He told her "what we talk about here stays in here." Dkt. 53-14, at 3. Throughout this period, Owen continued to elicit graphic details regarding Torres' past sexual encounters with Reid, as well as details of her sexual encounters with boys closer to her own age.
As Torres approached the age of eighteen, Owen increased the frequency of his contact with her. He told Torres he loved her and was planning on leaving his wife for her. He complained about the lack of sex in his marriage and bragged about his sexual prowess during his previous affairs. He also expressed his desire to have sex with Torres but explained that they had to wait until she was eighteen. Dkt. 53-14, at 3.
Shortly after Torres turned eighteen, Owen approached her while she was working alone in the high school's sound booth. He closed the door, pulled her pants down, and had sexual intercourse with her. After this initial encounter, Owen regularly pulled Torres out of class to have sex—often in his office. Dkt. 22, at 6. Owen also asked Torres to "sext" him on multiple occasions. Dkt. 53-14, at 4.
Owen documented some of these meetings as "counseling sessions" on Torres' school attendance records. Due to the frequency of the meetings, Torres missed numerous classes, which had a negative impact on her school performance. Torres claims multiple teachers and other District employees were aware of how frequently Owen pulled her out of class. Dkt. 53-1, at 9-10.
Torres began to feel increasingly depressed, withdrawn, suicidal, and experienced panic attacks due to her relationship with Owen. She expressed her suicidal feelings to Owen, and he simply responded that he sometimes felt that way too. Dkt. 22, at 7. Duringher senior year, Owen told Torres a number of times: "If I wasn't with you, I would just kill myself." Dkt. 47-4, at 49.
Following Torres' graduation from high school, she moved to Utah for the summer. Owen met her there once and they had sex a final time. This occurred sometime between June and August of 2014. Shortly afterwards, the relationship ended. Dkt. 22, at 8.
Torres began dating someone else, and ultimately married her husband in January 2015. She gave birth to her daughter in November of 2015. After giving birth, Torres began to again experience renewed feelings of depression and anxiety. That same month, Torres told her mother about Owen's relationship with her. McCandless explained that what Owen had done was abuse. Torres contends that this was the first time she had any inclination that Owen had been manipulating and abusing her. Up until that point, she believed it had been a real relationship and that Owen loved her. Dkt. 22, at 8.
McCandless immediately reported Owen's conduct to Superintendent Dunn. Torres also reported Owen to the police. In January 2016, Torres began meeting with another counselor who helped her understand that Owen had groomed her from the time she was sixteen years old to have sex with him once she turned eighteen. Dkt. 22, at 8-9.
Torres filed a notice of tort claim with the District on April 11, 2016. She filed her Complaint on April 26, 2017 (Dkt. 1), and subsequently filed her Amended Complaint on March 20, 2018 (Dkt. 22). Torres' Amended Complaint includes nine counts. Count One (Violation of Title IX), Count Two (Sex Discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983), and Count Nine (Negligent Supervision) are brought only against the District. The remaining claims are brought against both the District and Owen. These claims include:Count Three (Negligence per se), Count Four (Tort of Child Abuse), Count Five (Negligence), Count Six (Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress), Count Seven (Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress), and Count Eight (Assault and Battery). Dkt. 22. In her Memorandum in Opposition to Summary Judgment, Torres voluntarily dismissed Count Four (Tort of Child Abuse). Dkt. 53, at 30.
Summary judgment is proper "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The Court's role at summary judgment is not "to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Zetwick v. Cty. of Yolo, 850 F.3d 436, 441 (9th Cir. 2017) (citation omitted). In considering a motion for summary judgment, the Court must "view[] the facts in the non-moving party's favor." Id. To defeat a motion for summary judgment, the respondent need only present evidence upon which "a reasonable juror drawing all inferences in favor of the respondent could return a verdict in [his or her] favor." Id. (citation omitted). Accordingly, the Court must enter summary judgment if a party "fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). The respondent cannot simply rely on an unsworn affidavit or the pleadings to defeat a motion for summary judgment; rather the respondent must set forth the "specific facts," supported by evidence, with "reasonable particularity" that preclude summary judgment. Far Out Productions, Inc. v. Oskar, 247 F.3d 986, 997 (...
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