Jane Doe v. Willits Unified School Distric

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT JUN 08 2012
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
JANE DOE, a minor; KRISTEN D., No. 10-16786
Guardian ad Litem,
D.C. No. 3:09-cv-03655-JSW
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
v. MEMORANDUM*
WILLITS UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT; WILLITS CHARTER
SCHOOL; SALLY RULISON; CLINT
SMITH,
Defendants - Appellees.
JANE DOE, a minor; KRISTEN D., No. 10-17880
Guardian ad Litem,
D.C. No. 3:09-cv-03655-JSW
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
v.
WILLITS CHARTER SCHOOL; SALLY
RULISON,
Defendants - Appellees,
and
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
CLINT SMITH; WILLITS UNIFIED
SCHOOL DISTRICT,
Defendants.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Jeffrey S. White, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted May 16, 2012**
San Francisco, California
Before: THOMAS, McKEOWN, and W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges.
Jane Doe, through her guardian ad litem, Kristen D., appeals the district
court’s summary judgment in favor of Willits Unified School District, Willits
Charter School, and Sally Rulison, the Director of the school (collectively
“Willits”). Doe’s action stems from a sexual relationship between Doe and her
high school math and science teacher. After the relationship was made public, Doe
filed suit alleging claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a), as well as under state law for negligent
hiring and supervision. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we
affirm.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
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Although Doe advances multiple grounds for relief, her appeal fails because
she is unable to meet a key threshold requirement: that the school’s response to the
alleged injuries was deliberately indifferent. Damages under Title IX are available
only if an official with authority to address the alleged discrimination and institute
corrective measures has actual knowledge of the discrimination and fails to
adequately respond—i.e., acts with deliberate indifference. Gebser v. Lago Vista
Indep. Sch. Dist., 524 U.S. 274, 290 (1998). The test for deliberate indifference is
“whether a reasonable fact-finder could conclude that the [school]’s response was
clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances.” Oden v. N. Marianas
Coll., 440 F.3d 1085, 1089 (9th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citation
omitted). To meet this high standard there must, in essence, be an official decision
not to remedy the violation and this decision must be clearly unreasonable. Davis
v. Monroe Cnty. Bd. of Educ., 526 U.S. 629, 649 (1999). Summary judgment is
proper when a school’s response to the harassment was not clearly unreasonable as
a matter of law. Even a showing of heightened negligence is insufficient to prove
deliberate indifference. See Bd. of the Cnty. Comm’rs v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397,
411-12 (1997) (discussing deliberate indifference as it applies to § 1983 cases).
Doe argues that during the summer and fall of 2008, the school should have
noticed warning signs of an inappropriate relationship. Those warning signs,
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however, do not amount to actual notice and, as the district court stated, “[t]here
is . . . no admissible evidence that anyone, including Plaintiff’s mother, informed
the school administration” of some of those warning signs. Construing all the
admissible evidence in Doe’s favor, she fails to establish either actual knowledge
prior to January 8, 2009, or deliberate indifference. Rumors of the teacher favoring
Doe in his classes did not reach Rulison until December 2008. In response,
Rulison called the teacher and Doe, separately, into her office to make inquiries but
both vehemently denied any favoritism or inappropriate relationship.
As soon as Rulison was told of the sexual relationship, on January 8, 2009,
she took immediate and appropriate action. She reported the relationship to Child
Protective Services and followed up when she did not hear back promptly,
contacted the Sheriff, turned the case over to the Willits Police Department, and
placed the teacher on mandatory administrative leave. Rulison’s response cannot
be characterized as deliberately indifferent, and Doe fails to establish that Rulison
or the school had actual knowledge of the sexual relationship prior to January 8,
2009. The district court did not err in granting summary judgment.
AFFIRMED.
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