MEMORANDUM OPINION
Granting the Defendants’ Motion to Alter or Amend Interlocutory Judgment; Denying the Plaintiffs’ Cross-Motion to Alter or Amend Interlocutory Judgment
1. INTRODUCTION
The plaintiffs, a student with disabilities (“C.A.”) and her mother, Chanda Alston,
This matter is now before the court on the parties’ cross-motions to alter or amend the court’s March 30, 2010 ruling. In their motion, the defendants ask the court to grant them summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ surviving claims. 1 The plaintiffs, in turn, ask the court to amend the portions of its earlier March 30, 2010 ruling granting the defendants summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ claims that the defendants had violated the ADA and Rehabilitation Act by failing to provide C.A. an appropriate residential placement in 2006. Because the plaintiffs have not raised a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether C.A.’s disability was the sole or motivating factor for the denial of benefits that occurred in the summer of 2005, the court grants the defendants’ motion to alter or amend and enters summary judgment for the defendants on these claims. Furthermore, because the plaintiffs have presented no persuasive evidence or argument that the court erred in granting summary judgment to the defendants on the plaintiffs’ claims concerning C.A.’s 2006 residential placement, the court denies their cross-motion to alter or amend.
II. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
C.A. was born to Chanda Alston in 1992. Defs.’ Statement of Material Facts ¶¶ 1, 2. In 1998, C.A. was identified as disabled for purposes of the IDEA and has been on an Individualized Education Plan (“IEP”) since that time. Id. ¶4. Over the last thirteen years, the plaintiffs and the defendants have litigated numerous disputes surrounding C.A.’s receipt of a FAPE. Mem. Op. (Mar. 30, 2010) at 2-7. The court briefly recounts below the events pertinent to the motions presently before the court. 2
Prior to the summer of 2005, C.A.’s IEP called for her placement in an instructional day program at Cabin John Middle School (“Cabin John”) in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Id.
¶ 6. The defendants, how
In addition to the placement at Cabin John, C.A.’s IEP called for her placement in a residential program at the Grafton School (“Grafton”), a private residential facility in Rockville, Maryland. Id. ¶ 5. Grafton announced in late 2005 that it would be closing, and ultimately closed its doors in February 2006. Mem. Op. (Mar. 30, 2010) at 4. Months after the closure, DCPS still had not arranged for a new residential placement for C.A. (“the 2006 Exclusion”), which prompted her mother to pursue various administrative and legal remedies. See id. at 4-5. Ultimately, the plaintiffs applied to have C.A. enroll at Woods Services, a residential facility in Pennsylvania, and C.A. enrolled there in November 2006. Id. at 5.
The plaintiffs filed a complaint in this court on March 22, 2007, asserting claims against multiple individual and municipal defendants under the IDEA, the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (“DCHRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and provisions of the D.C. Code. See generally Compl. These claims concerned events spanning from 2001 to 2007, including the Summer 2005 Exclusion and the 2006 Exclusion. The court resolved many of these claims in rulings issued in June 2008 and March 2009. See generally Mem. Op. (Jun. 19, 2008); Mem. Op. (Mar. 20, 2009).
In August 2009, the defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ remaining claims. See generally Defs.’ Mot. for Summ. J. First, the defendants argued that insofar as the plaintiffs’ remaining claims were premised on events that had occurred before September 2005, those claims were barred by various procedural limitations such as res judicata and failure to exhaust administrative remedies. See id. at 9-13. Second, the defendants asserted that based on the evidence in the record, no reasonable jury could find for the plaintiffs on their remaining claims. See id. at 13-15. In their cross-motion for summary judgment, the plaintiffs argued that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law on their discrimination and retaliation claims, brought pursuant to the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, concerning the exclusions that C.A. had experienced from 2001 to 2006. See Pis.’ Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. at 9-11.
On March 30, 2010, the court issued a memorandum opinion granting in part and denying in part the defendants’ motion for summary judgment and denying the plain
On May 10, 2010, the parties jointly filed a status report in which the defendants requested leave to file a supplemental motion for summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims premised on the Summer 2005 Exclusion and the plaintiffs requested leave to file a motion to alter the court’s ruling on their ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims premised on the 2006 Exclusion. See generally Joint Status Report (May 10, 2010). On June 1, 2010, the court granted the parties leave to file motions to alter or amend the court’s rulings on the claims that the parties identified. Minute Order (June 1, 2010). Accordingly, the defendants have filed a motion seeking summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ ADA and Rehabilitation claims premised on the Summer 2005 Exclusion. See generally Defs.’ Mot. The plaintiffs have filed a cross-motion to alter or amend in which they request that the court grant them summary judgment on their ADA and Rehabilitation claims premised on the 2006 Exclusion. See generally Pis.’ Cross-Mot. These motions are now ripe for adjudication.
III. ANALYSIS A. Legal Framework
1. Legal Standard for Altering or Amending an Interlocutory Judgment
A district court may revise its own interlocutory decisions “at any time before the entry of judgment adjudicating all the claims and the rights and liabilities of all the parties.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b);
see also Childers v. Slater,
By contrast, relief upon reconsideration of an interlocutory decision pursuant to Rule 54(b) is available “as justice requires.”
Childers,
2. Legal Standard for Summary Judgment
Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings and evidence show “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.CrvP. 56(a);
see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,
In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must draw all justifiable inferences in the nonmoving party’s favor and accept the nonmoving party’s evidence as true.
Anderson,
The nonmoving party may defeat summary judgment through factual representations made in a sworn affidavit if he “support[s] his allegations ... with facts in the record,”
Greene,
B. The Court Grants the Defendants’ Motion to Alter or Amend
1. The Defendants Have Established Their Entitlement to Summary Judgment on the Plaintiffs’ Discrimination Claims Premised on the Summer 2005 Exclusion
The defendants contend that the plaintiffs have failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to the viability of their discrimination claims premised on the Summer 2005 Exclusion. Defs.’ Mot. at 9. Specifically, the defendants 'assert that “[a]ll plaintiffs have shown is that DCPS failed to promptly authorize payment for C.A. to attend Cabin John,” and that “C.A.’s IEP was not met for approximately one month.” Id. at 7. Furthermore, the defendants assert that the month-long delay before the defendants authorized payment for Cabin John in the summer of 2005 “demonstrates nothing more than a breach of C.A.’s IEP.” Id. Because this evidence cannot, as a matter of law, satisfy the causation requirements of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, the defendants argue, the court should revisit its earlier ruling and grant summary judgment to them on these discrimination claims. Id. at 6-7.
The plaintiffs counter by first asserting that the denial of a FAPE, standing alone, constitutes actionable discrimination under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. Pis.’ Opp’n at 3-4. Thus, the plaintiffs argue, by excluding C.A. from part of her IEP for the first month of the 2006 school year, the defendants denied C.A. her FAPE and, as a result, discriminated against her in violation of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. Id. Alternatively, the plaintiffs argue that even if the denial of C.A.’s FAPE does not, in and of itself, give rise to a cause of action under the two statutes, the defendants engaged in systematic misconduct between 2002 and 2006 designed to deny C.A. her legal right to a FAPE. Id. at 10-11. According to the plaintiffs, this evidence raises a dispute of fact as to whether the defendants discriminated against C.A. because of her disability. Id. at 1.
The ADA provides that “no qualified individual with a disability shall,
by reason of such disability,
be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.” 42 U.S.C. § 12132 (emphasis added). To show that the exclusion was “by reason of’ his or her disability, an individual must establish that the disability “actually play[ed] a role in the ... decision making process and [had] a determinative influence on the outcome.”
Pinkerton v. Spellings,
The standard of causation differs, however, under the Rehabilitation Act because “the causative link between discrimination and adverse action is significantly dissimilar.”
Baird v. Rose,
The plaintiffs’ first argument— that the denial of a FAPE, standing alone, establishes a violation of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act — merits little discussion. As noted, the Circuit has squarely held that the mere denial of a FAPE cannot give rise to a Rehabilitation Act violation.
See Lunceford,
The plaintiffs also argues that even if the mere denial of a FAPE does not give rise to an ADA or Rehabilitation Act violation, the defendants’ systematic misconduct from 2002 to 2006 elevates the defendants’ conduct to actionable discrimination.
6
The plaintiffs, however, have presented the court with no evidence indicating a nexus between C.A.’s disability and the defendants’ failure to fund her placement at Cabin John in September 2005.
See Pinkerton,
Nor does this evidence raise a genuine dispute regarding the plaintiffs’ discrimination claim under the Rehabilitation Act. The Rehabilitation Act’s requirement that plaintiffs prove “something more” than a denial of a student’s FAPE imposes an “extraordinarily high” burden on the plaintiff.
Doe v. Arlington Cnty. Sch. Bd„
In sum, the defendants have demonstrated the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact with respect to the plaintiffs’ ADA and Rehabilitation Act discrimination claims premised on the Summer 2005 Exclusion. In light of the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact as to the claims at issue, the court concludes that amending the portion of its earlier ruling denying the defendants summary judgment on these claims is both necessary and appropriate under the relevant circumstances.
See Cobell,
2. The Defendants Have Established Their Entitlement to Summary Judgment on the Plaintiffs’ Retaliation Claims Premised on the Summer 2005 Exclusion
The defendants also contend that they are entitled to summary judgment on the plaintiffs’ retaliation claims concerning the Summer 2005 Exclusion because the plaintiffs have offered no evidence of a causal connection between the Summer 2005 Exclusion and the plaintiffs’ involvement in any protected activity. Defs.’ Mot. at 8. The defendants assert that the last protected activity that the plaintiffs
“To make out a prima facie case of retaliation, an ADA plaintiff must show first, that she ‘engaged in protected activity’; second, that she ‘was subjected to adverse action by the employer’; and third, that ‘there existed a causal link between the adverse action and the protected activity.’ ”
Mayers v. Laborers’ Health & Safety Fund of N. Am.,
As a threshold matter, the court concurs with the plaintiffs that filing due process complaints, writing letters requesting action by the District and participating in due process hearings qualify as protected activities under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.
See Corrales v. Moreno Valley Unified Sch. Dist.,
Yet none of the protected activities cited by the plaintiffs occurred with sufficient temporal proximity to the Summer 2005 Exclusion to support an inference of causation. The Summer 2005 Exclusion lasted from August 29, 2005 — when C.A. was unable to begin school at Cabin John because DCPS had not authorized payment — to September 28, 2005 — when DCPS finally authorized payment and C.A. began school.
See
Defs.’ Statement of Material Facts ¶¶ 10, 14. The two-year gap between the 2003 due process hearing and the Summer 2005 Exclusion is too great to suggest a causal link.
See, e.g., Williams v. Phila. Hous. Auth. Police Dep’t,
C. The Plaintiffs Have Not Established That They Are Entitled to Summary Judgment on Their Discrimination Claims Premised on the 2006 Exclusion
In their cross-motion to alter or amend, the plaintiffs assert that the court erred in granting summary judgment to the defendants on their discrimination claims premised on the 2006 Exclusion. 8 Pis.’ Cross-Mot. at 20. The plaintiffs contend that in their motion for summary judgment and supporting statement of material facts, the defendants “admitted” facts that revealed their bad faith or gross misjudgment with respect to the 2006 Exclusion. Id. at 10-12. The plaintiffs argue that these facts indicate that: the defendants failed to implement C.A.’s IEP; the defendants repeatedly violated the orders of hearing officers and this court; and the defendants attempted to provide educational services to C.A. that various authorities had previously “deemed inadequate.” Id. at 12-13. Therefore, the plaintiffs argue that the court should amend its previous denial of summary judgment and grant summary judgment to the plaintiffs with respect to the discrimination claims premised on the 2006 Exclusion. Id. at 20.
The defendants respond that “none of the purported ‘admissions’ listed by plaintiffs can be properly attributed to [the defendants]” because they are “mischaracterizations of defendants’ statements regarding findings from other proceeding[s].” Defs.’ Opp’n. at 3. In addition, the defendants argue that those admissions “at best establish a breach of C.A.’s IEP,” which is insufficient to show that the defendants violated the anti-discrimination provisions of the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act. Id. Accordingly, the defendants assert that the court should not disturb this portion of its March 30, 2010 ruling. Id. at 5.
The record is clear that C.A.’s IEP required that she be provided a residential placement in addition to an instructional day program.
See
Pis.’ Mot. at 11; Dep. of Dierdre Council-Ellis (Apr. 28, 2009) at 93. The defendants, however, left C.A. without a residential placement between February 14, 2006 — when Grafton closed— and November 23, 2006 — when C.A. enrolled at Woods Services. Mem. Op. (Mar.
As previously discussed, however, the mere denial of a FAPE does not, standing alone, constitute actionable discrimination under the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act. See swpra Part III.B.l. Rather, to survive summary judgment, the plaintiffs must offer evidence from which a reasonable juror could conclude either that C.A.’s disability played a determining role in the defendants’ actions or the defendants’ actions amounted to bad faith or gross misjudgment.
As with their discrimination claims premised on the Summer 2005 Exclusion, the plaintiffs’ attempt to bolster their discrimination claims concerning the 2006 Exclusion with other incidents of alleged misconduct by the defendants — namely, the defendants’ alleged failure to comply with an HOD issued in August 2003 that ordered the District to fund C.A.’s residential placement and rejected Kramer Middle School as a suitable placement for C.A. Pis.’ Cross-Mot. at 11-13. Again, however, these incidents amount to little more than denials of C.A.’s right to a FAPE and do not suggest that C.A.’s disability had a determinative influence on the denial of services at issue as necessary to establish an ADA violation.
See Pinkerton,
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the court grants the defendants’ motion to alter or amend and denies the plaintiffs’ cross-motion to alter or amend. An Order consistent with this Memorandum Opinion is separately and contemporaneously issued this 21st day of March, 2011.
Notes
. The defendants style their motion as a supplemental motion for summary judgment on the plaintiffs' ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims regarding the alleged denial of benefits in the summer of 2005. See generally Defs.' Supplemental Mot. for Summ. J. ("Defs.’ Mot.”). This court had, however, ordered the defendants to file a motion to alter or amend addressing these claims, rather than a supplemental motion for summary judgment, see Minute Order (June 1, 2010), as the court had previously denied summary judgment to the defendants on those claims, Mem. Op. (Mar. 30, 2010) at 20-22. The court therefore construes the defendants' motion as a motion to alter or amend an interlocutory judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). See infra Part III.A.
. A more detailed presentation of the factual and procedural background of this case may be found in the court's memorandum opinion on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. See Mem. Op. (Mar. 30, 2010) at 2-7.
. This court had ordered "stay put” relief two days earlier requiring C.A. to remain at Cabin John pending a due process hearing.
See Laster v. Dist. of Columbia,
. Specifically, the District agreed to provide C.A. with 305 additional hours of academic tutoring, among other relief, to compensate C.A. for the month of classes she missed at Cabin John. Defs.' Statement of Material Facts ¶ 16.
. In their opposition and in their cross-motion, the plaintiffs fail to cite any authority for the proposition that the denial of a FAPE, standing alone, constitutes actionable discrimination under the ADA.
See generally
Pis.’ Opp’n; Pis.’ Mot. And although the plaintiffs have cited several cases which they claim stand for the proposition that such a denial establishes a violation of the Rehabilitation Act,
see, e.g., Andrew M.
v.
Del. Cnty. Office of Mental Health & Mental Retardation,
. The court notes that the period of the Summer 2005 Exclusion specifically refers to the defendants’ failure to authorize payment for C.A. to attend Cabin John, which ended on September 23, 2005 when the school received payment.
Laster v. Dist. of Columbia,
.The only instance of alleged misconduct that arguably rises above mere negligence is the plaintiff's claim that DCPS official Martin Cherry forged documents and made misrepresentations to hearing officers and the court. See Pis.’ Opp’n at 11-12. Yet the plaintiffs have offered no evidence indicating any connection between Cherry’s alleged forgery and the Summer 2005 Exclusion that would indicate that the latter incident was the result of discriminatory animus. See generally Pis.’ Opp’n. The alleged forgery occurred in the summer of 2003, more than two years before the Summer 2005 Exclusion. See Hearing Officer Determination (Aug. 22, 2003) at 6. Furthermore, Cherry resigned his position in September 2003 and had no involvement with the Summer 2005 Exclusion. See Decl. of Melissa Phillips (Sep. 7, 2005) at 2 (identifying DCPS officials Arthur Fields and Dierdre Council-Ellis as the principal officials most involved with C.A.’s case). Accordingly, this isolated incident of alleged misconduct does not raise a genuine dispute as to whether the Summer 2005 Exclusion was the result of disability discrimination.
. In its March 30, 2010 memorandum opinion, the court also granted summary judgment to the defendants on the plaintiffs' 2006 claims arising under the anti-retaliation provisions of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. See Mem. Op. (Mar. 30, 2010) at 27-30. The plaintiffs have not challenged this portion of the court’s ruling in their cross-motion to alter or amend. See generally Pis.' Mot. to Alter or Amend ("Pis.' Mot.”).