Nicole Maddox v. Babette StephensNicole Maddox v. Babette Stephens
benefit of the Bank and thus the remaining members of the Consolidated Group. The parties intended that the Holding Company would promptly forward the refunds to the Bank so that the Bank could, in turn, forward them on to the Group’s members. In the Bank’s hands, the tax refunds occupied the same status as they did in the Holding Company’s hands—they were tax refunds for distribution in accordance with the TSA.
For these reasons, we reverse the Bankruptcy Court’s judgment and direct the Bankruptcy Court to vacate its decision declaring the tax refunds the property of the bankruptcy estate and to instruct the Holding Company to forward the funds held in escrow to the FDIC, as receiver, for distribution to the members of the Group in accordance with the TSA.9
SO ORDERED.
Susan Elizabeth Teaster, Samuel Scott Olens, Devon Orland, Kathleen M. Pacious, Attorney General‘s Office, Atlanta, GA, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before PRYOR and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges, and WALTER,* District Judge.
Plaintiff Nicole Maddox (“Maddox” or “mother“), individually, and as Next of Friend of J.O., a minor child, brought suit for violations of due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment pursuant to
After thorough review of the record, and with the benefit of oral argument, we reverse the district court‘s denial of qualified immunity to Stephens on Maddox‘s substantive due process claim and remand for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2
J.O. was born in early September 2008 to Maddox and Michael Olayiwola (“Mr. Olayiwola” or “father“). Maddox and Mr. Olayiwola were not married but were living together at the time in Gwinnett County, Georgia. They also lived with Mr. Olayiwola‘s mother, Veronica Olayiwola (“Ms. Olayiwola” or “grandmother“). As the unwed mother of J.O., Maddox was the only person who had legal custody of J.O. prior to court proceedings on February 12, 2009, pursuant to
On November 9, 2008, when J.O. was two months old, Maddox, Mr. Olayiwola, and Ms. Olayiwola took her to Children‘s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. (“Hospital“). J.O. was diagnosed with a rare, potentially life-threatening disease known as Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome. This is a chronic illness, and J.O. required 24-hour daily care. J.O. remained in the Hospital during many of the relevant events and was discharged on December 10, 2008, to the father and the grandmother.
Because both Mr. Olayiwola and Maddox worked, Ms. Olayiwola stayed with J.O. at the Hospital on a daily basis and received training on how to care for J.O.‘s medical needs. Maddox did not own a car and did not have a driver‘s license, so she relied on Mr. Olayiwola and other family
On November 12, 2008, Mr. Olayiwola and Maddox had a heated verbal argument. The argument continued as they arrived at the Hospital, and security officers were called to the scene. Both parties were advised that any future similar conduct would result in both being asked to leave the Hospital. Social workers at the Hospital then spoke with Mr. Olayiwola and Maddox regarding the dispute. During these meetings with the social workers, both parties made allegations of abuse and neglect against each other. Mr. Olayiwola alleged that Maddox was using drugs and would leave J.O. in the apartment unsupervised, and Maddox alleged that Mr. Olayiwola was physically abusive. Because of these allegations, the matter was referred to Gwinnett County DFCS. Stephens was the Social Services Caseworker responsible for after-hours referrals at this time. Stephens went to the Hospital the next day and spoke directly with Mr. and Ms. Olayiwola. She informed Mr. Olayiwola that just being J.O.‘s father did not give him any legal rights and explained the legitimization process. She later spoke with Maddox by telephone, and Maddox informed her that she was now temporarily staying with her sister in Fulton County, Georgia, after the argument.4 The matter was also referred to the Hospital‘s daytime social workеr, Tonya Brailey (“Brailey“).
On November 14, 2008, Stephens talked with Brailey about involving ChildKind, a placement service for medically fragile children, in the case. On November 19, 2008, Brailey again talked to Stephens regarding the placement with ChildKind, but Stephens had not completed the referral and stated she would look into it. Brailey also talked to Maddox and told her that J.O.‘s medical care was going to be intensive and that Maddox needed to be available to get training when J.O. was discharged from the Hospital. Maddox indicated that she would be getting a car in the next few weeks, but in the meantime she could use Medicaid transportation to make herself available for the training. The record does not reveal that Maddox began training to take care of J.O. at this time nor at any time prior to J.O.‘s release from the Hospital.
On November 25, 2008, Brailey and Stephens discussed the possibility of preparing a safety plan to avoid sending the child to a facility when J.O. was discharged, and they planned to meet with the parents and the grandmother on December 1. A safety plan is prepared by DFCS employees when there is an identified risk of safety to the child. It is an agreement between DFCS and the child‘s caregiver and addresses areas of concern regarding the health of the child.
Two days later, on November 27, 2008, there was a physical altercation involving the grandmother and Maddox at the Hospital. Maddox was expelled from the Hospital and told not to come back or she would be charged with criminal trespassing. Stephens spoke with Maddox regarding this incident on the following Monday (December 1). After speaking with Mad-
That same day, Stephens called Mr. Olayiwola to follow up on his efforts to seek custody of J.O. Although she testified that it was contrary to DFCS standard practices, Stephens called the Gwinnett County Superior Court at Mr. Olayiwola‘s request to ask about the status of his petition for legitimization and custody. The court informed her that the hearing likely would not be before January 2009 and thus that Mr. Olayiwola could not be legitimated before that time. Stephens again explained to the father that, as a non-married father, he had to go through court proceedings to establish his paternity.
On December 8 and December 9, Stephens informed Brailey that DFCS could not authorize custody or discharge to the father because the father had not been legitimated. Stephens also informed Brailey that, because she had recently learned that Maddox now resided in Fulton County, she did not believe that Gwinnett County DFCS could deprive the child and that she was transferring the case to Fulton County DFCS.
On December 9, Brailey notified Stephens that J.O. was to be released to the father during the upcoming week. After speaking with Hospital administration, Brailey was informed that the child could be released to the father despite the fact that DFCS could not authorize such release. On December 10, 2008, Hospital officials discharged J.O. to Mr. Olayiwola—knowing that Ms. Olayiwola, the only family member qualified to care for the child, would be living with him and providing care—because he was originally presented as the father of the child and because the child had not been deprived by DFCS. Neither the Hospital nor Stephens notified Maddox that J.O. was released. Stephens assumed, after notifying Fulton County DFCS that the child had been released, that Fulton County DFCS would notify Maddox.
After Stephens contacted Fulton County DFCS to advise them of J.O.‘s release, she spoke with Anne Rae (“Rae“), her supervisor, who advised her to prepare a safety plan (“Safety Plan“). The night J.O. was released from the Hospital, Stephens met with the grandmother at her residence and prepared the Safety Plan.5 While prepar-
The Safety Plan provides, in relevant part, that:
“[Grandmother] will contact Babette Stephens in the event Natural Mother, Nicole Maddox or anyone else attempt to remove [J.O.] from [grandmother‘s] care.”
“[Grandmother] will also contact Gwinnett P.D. immediately if anyone attempts to remove [J.O.] from [grandmother‘s] care.”
“[Grandmother] will assure [J.O.‘s] medical needs are met and follow the home care and follow-up appointment as instructed and explained at [J.O.‘s] release from the hospital 12/10/08.”
“Family will continue to cooperate with the Department during this investigation and follow recommendations as presented.”
“Family will notify Stephens and the Department of any changes in address and phone numbers immediately.”
This Safety Plan was signed by Ms. Olayiwola and Stephens. Maddox was not notified before the preparation of this Safety Plan and did not sign the Safety Plan.
Willa Wagner Howick, J.O.‘s guardian ad litem, testified, and it is undisputed for purposes of this appeal, that Maddox was not properly trained to take care of the child at the time of discharge. The only family member trained to care for the child at the time of discharge was the grandmother.
After Maddox called the hospital to check on J.O. and was informed that J.O. had already been discharged, Maddox called Stephens. Maddox asked Stephens how they could release J.O. without telling her and told Stephens that she wanted to go get J.O. from the grandmother‘s apartment. According to Maddox, Stephens told her “you can‘t go over there and get her and that it will only make things worse, that if the police are involved .... then [J.O.] could be taken away from both of the parents and that [J.O.] could be placed in a foster home.”
Despite Stephens’ advice, Maddox went to Mr. and Ms. Olayiwola‘s apartment. Ms. Olayiwola would not open the door and called the police and Stephens. Maddox also called the police. When the police arrived, an officer went insidе the apartment and Ms. Olayiwola provided the officer with a copy of the Safety Plan. The police officer then spoke with Stephens on the telephone. After the officer talked on the phone with Stephens, Maddox was not permitted to see the child. After the police showed Maddox a copy of the Safety Plan—the first time she had seen it—she left the apartment.
Nothing in the record indicates precisely what was said during the telephone call between the police officer and Stephens. However, taking all reasonable inferences in favor of Maddox, we assume that Stephens made statements on the telephone that night—to the police, to Maddox, and to the grandmother—that led them all to
After Stephens spoke with the grandmother and the police, she drove to the apartment but arrived after both the poliсe and Maddox had left. While at the apartment, Stephens talked to the grandmother, and also talked to Maddox on the telephone. Stephens asked Maddox why she was trying to see J.O. so late at night and why she had left. Maddox responded that she left because the police were there.
On February 5, 2009, in response to Mr. Olayiwola‘s Petition for Legitimization and Custody/Visitation, Maddox filed an Amended Answer, Counterclaim and Motion for Immediate Change of Custody and a Response to Plaintiff‘s Request for Full Custody. At a hearing that month, the Gwinnett County Superior Court approved Mr. Olayiwola‘s petition for legitimization, ordered that physical custody be with Mr. Olayiwola, ordered that temporary joint legal custody be with Mr. Olayiwola and Maddox, transferred the case to Gwinnett County Juvenile Court, and appointed a guardian ad litem “due to the child‘s frail health, need for constant medical attention, and a pending DFCS investigation.” Doc. 105-4 at 1-2.6 After this hearing, Maddox began attending J.O.‘s doctor‘s appointments and began training to provide care for J.O.
After аn August 17, 2009, hearing, the juvenile court held that “the child has been well-taken care of by the grandmother, who has undergone the training and education.” Id. at 6. The court continued that “[t]he child has continued to progress and stay safe with the grandmother and the medical care givers believe that the child is well-taken care of.” Id. Although the court was “deeply troubled by the procedural history of this case,” and although Maddox had “regularly and consistently attended the out patient appointments to learn how to care for her daughter and is continuing to learn procedures and the medication regimen,” the court granted emergency temporary custody to the grandmother because “the grandmother is the only person involved in the child‘s life who is capable of properly caring for the child at this time.” Id. at 6-7.
After a September 9, 2009, hearing, the juvenile court again held that “[t]he mother needs more parenting time to demonstrate to the Court and the medical team that she is capable of caring for her child on her own.” Dоc. 105-5 at 2. After a November 12, 2009, hearing, the court ordered that Maddox shall have both physical and legal custody of J.O.
Maddox subsequently filed her complaint under
Defendants filed a motion to dismiss on September 30, 2010. On November 19, 2010, the district court granted in part and denied in part Defendants’ motion to dismiss. As relevant to the instant appeal, the district court granted the motion to dismiss on Maddox‘s procedural due process claim against Stephens, but denied the motion to dismiss on Maddox‘s substantive due process claim against Stephens. With regard to the procedural due
After discovery, Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. On September 28, 2012,8 the district court entered an order granting in part and denying in part Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. As relevant to this appeal, the district court denied Stephens summary judgment on Maddox‘s substantive due process claim, finding that it could not concludе at the summary judgment stage that Stephens was entitled to qualified immunity. Stephens timely filed this interlocutory appeal, arguing that the district court erred by denying her qualified immunity on Maddox‘s substantive due process claim.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
We review de novo a district court‘s denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity, applying the same legal standards as the district court. Feliciano v. City of Miami Beach, 707 F.3d 1244, 1247 (11th Cir. 2013). Summary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
III. DISCUSSION
A.
The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects against deprivation by state action of a constitutionally protected interest in “life, liberty, or property” without the due process of law. Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 125, 110 S.Ct. 975, 983, 108 L.Ed.2d 100 (1990). The Due Process Clause provides two different kinds of constitutional protections: procedural due process and substantive due proсess. McKinney v. Pate, 20 F.3d 1550, 1555 (11th Cir. 1994) (en banc). A violation of either of these two kinds of protection may form the basis for a suit under
The Supreme Court has held that “parents have a constitutionally protected
However, “not every wrong committed by a state actor rises to the level of a ‘constitutional tort,’ sufficient to trigger a substantive due process violation,” Lee v. Hutson, 810 F.2d 1030, 1032 (11th Cir. 1987), as “the Constitution does not protect against all encroachments by the state onto the interests of individuals,” Robertson v. Hecksel, 420 F.3d 1254, 1262 (11th Cir. 2005). The Supreme Court has “previously rejected claims that the Due Process Clause should be interpreted to impose federal duties that are analogous to those traditionally imposed by state tort law,” Collins v. City of Harker Heights, Tex., 503 U.S. 115, 128, 112 S.Ct. 1061, 1070, 117 L.Ed.2d 261 (1992), and it is clear that “[m]ere negligence does not rise to the level of a Fourteenth Amendment violation,” Bendiburg v. Dempsey, 909 F.2d 463, 470 (11th Cir. 1990); see also Cnty. of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 849, 118 S.Ct. 1708, 1718, 140 L.Ed.2d 1043 (1998) (“[L]iability for negligently inflicted harm is categorically beneath the threshold of constitutional due process.“); Waddell v. Hendry Cnty. Sheriff‘s Office, 329 F.3d 1300, 1305 (11th Cir. 2003) (“We know for certain ... that a showing of negligence is insufficient to make out a constitutional due process claim.“). Instead, plaintiffs face a high bar when attempting to establish a substantive due process violation as “conduct by a government actor will rise to the level of a substantive due process violation only if the act can be characterized as arbitrary or conscience shocking in a constitutional sense.” Waddell, 329 F.3d at 1305. Even intentional wrongs seldom violate the Due Process Clause, id., and “only the most egregious official conduct can be said to be ‘arbitrary in the constitutional sense,‘” Cnty. of Sacramento, 523 U.S. at 846, 118 S.Ct. at 1716 (quoting Collins, 503 U.S. at 129, 112 S.Ct. at 1071). “Determinations of what is egregious conduct must not be made in the glow of hindsight; decisions made by a government actor must be egregious—that is, shock the conscience—at the time the government actor made the decision.” Waddell, 329 F.3d at 1305. Conduct intended to injure in some way that is unjustifiable by any government interest is the sort of official action most likely to rise to the conscience-shocking level, id., and we must conduct an “exact analysis of circumstances before any abuse of power is condemned as conscience shocking,” Cnty. of Sacramento, 523 U.S. at 850, 118 S.Ct. at 1718-19.
Even if we were to find that Stephens violated Maddox‘s constitutional rights, Stephens is not liable if she is protected by qualified immunity. Qualified immunity offers “complete protection for government officials sued in their individual capacities if thеir conduct ‘does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.‘” Vinyard v. Wilson, 311 F.3d 1340, 1346 (11th Cir. 2002) (quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)). The doctrine protects from suit “all but the plainly incompetent or one who is knowingly violating the federal law,” id. (quoting Lee v. Ferraro, 284 F.3d 1188, 1194 (11th Cir. 2002)), and prevents public officials from being intimidated—by the threat of lawsuits that jeopardize the official and her family‘s welfare personally—from doing their jobs, Foy v. Holston, 94 F.3d 1528, 1534 (11th Cir. 1996). It is a “muscular doctrine that impacts on the reality of the workaday world as long as judges remember that the central idea is this pragmatic one: officials can act without fear of harassing litigation only when they can reasonably anticipate—before they act or do not act—if their conduct will give rise to damage liability for them.” Id. (citing Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 195, 104 S.Ct. 3012, 3019-20, 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984)). “If objective observers cannot predict—at the time the official acts—whether the act was lawful or not, and the answer must await full adjudication in a district court years in the future, the official deserves immunity from liability for civil damages.” Id. (citing Elder v. Holloway, 510 U.S. 510, 513-15, 114 S.Ct. 1019, 1022, 127 L.Ed.2d 344 (1994)).
If the public official first shows that she was acting within thе scope of her discretionary authority—a burden undisputably met by Stephens here—the burden shifts to the plaintiff to establish that qualified immunity is not appropriate. Id. at 1532. To determine whether a plaintiff has met her burden, a court must both “decide whether the facts that a plaintiff has alleged ... make out a violation of a constitutional right” and “whether the right at issue was ‘clearly established’ at the time of defendant‘s alleged misconduct.” Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 232, 129 S.Ct. 808, 816, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009). A court may undertake these two inquiries in either order. Id. at 236, 129 S.Ct. at 818.
A right may be clearly established for qualified immunity purposes in one of three ways: “(1) case law with indistinguishable facts clearly establishing the constitutional right; (2) a broad statement of principle within the Constitution, statute, or case law that clearly establishes a constitutional right; or (3) conduct so egregious that a constitutional right was clearly violated, even in thе total absence of case law.” Lewis, 561 F.3d at 1291-92 (internal citations omitted). It is undisputed that only the third and final category is relevant to this appeal, and thus that Stephens is entitled to qualified immunity unless her conduct fits into this third category. This third category, however, is “narrow” and “encompasses those situations where ‘the official‘s conduct lies so obviously at the very core of what the [relevant constitutional provision] prohibits that the unlawfulness of the conduct was readily apparent to the official, notwithstanding the lack of case law.‘” Loftus, 690 F.3d at 1205 (quoting Terrell v. Smith, 668 F.3d 1244, 1257 (11th Cir. 2012)).
“The inquiry whether a federal right is clearly established ‘must be undertaken in light of the specific context of the case, not as a broad general proposition.‘” Id. at 1204 (quoting Coffin v. Brandau, 642 F.3d 999, 1013 (11th Cir. 2011) (en banc)). “The relevant, dispositive inquiry in determining whether a right is clearly established is whether it would be clear to a reasonable [state official] that [her] conduct was unlawful in the situation [she] confronted.” Id. (quoting Vinyard, 311 F.3d at 1350). “Violations of the right to family association are determined by a balancing of competing interests,” and we have held that “state officials who act to investigate or protect children where there are allegations of abuse almost never act within the contours of ‘clearly established law.‘” Foy, 94 F.3d at 1537.
B.
We stress that, on appeal, only Maddox‘s substantive due process claim is properly before us. And, after thorough review, we hold that, even assuming arguendo that Maddox has established a procedural due process violation and even assuming arguendo that Stephens violated Maddox‘s substantive due process rights, Stephens is entitled to qualified immunity because the law was not clearly established that Stephens’ actions were so conscience shocking as to violate Maddox‘s liberty interest in the care, custody, and management of J.O.
The precise factual context is important to understand our holding that the undisputed facts demonstrate that Stephens is entitled to qualified immunity on this substantive due process claim. First, a reasonable jury could not find that Stephens bore responsibility for the actual discharge of the child to the father and the grandmother. Stephеns told Brailey and the Hospital on December 8 and 9—two days and one day before J.O. was discharged from the Hospital—that neither she nor Gwinnett County DFCS could authorize the child‘s release to the father because the father had not been legitimated. Brailey responded that she was aware of this fact, but the Hospital administration nevertheless released the child to the father and grandmother on December 10 despite Stephens’ clear indications that Gwinnett
Second, it is undisputed that Stephens believed that Maddox had moved her domicile to Fulton County in December of 2008. Accordingly, before even being notified of J.O.‘s impending release, Stephens had begun initiating proceedings to transfer the case to Fulton County.9 The record confirms that Cheryl D. Ward, a Social Services Supervisor for Fulton County DFCS, received notification of this transfer at least by December 9, one day before J.O.‘s release from the Hospital. The record also reveals that Stephens had informed Brailey on December 8—prior to Stеphens learning that the child was going to be discharged that week—that the case was being transferred to Fulton County DFCS because the mother was no longer a resident of Gwinnett County. Brailey then spoke with Stephens on December 10, informed her that the child was to be released, and spoke with Ward (of Fulton County DFCS) to notify her of J.O.‘s discharge. The record indicates that Stephens and Rae believed that they were not able to authorize any deprivation proceedings because the mother was not residing in Gwinnett County, and Stephens also relayed this fact to Brailey.
Third, it is undisputed that J.O. had serious medical needs and that Maddox was not qualified to care for those needs. It is also undisputed that the grandmother was the only family member who was qualified to care for the medical needs of the child. And it is undisputed that serious risks to the health and safety of the child would have been posed if the child were under the sole care of Maddox. Maddox was not qualified to care for the child‘s needs because she had not received the necessary training before J.O.‘s discharge from the Hospital. On this summary judgment record, no reasonable jury could find otherwise with respect to these facts.
Fourth, no reasonable jury could find that Stephens bore responsibility for the fact that Maddox was not trained to take care of the medical needs of the child. A meeting had been scheduled for December 1, 2008, for Stephens, Brailey, the parents, and the grandmother to discuss arrangements for the care of J.O. upon her discharge from the Hospital.10 The evidence indicates that Maddox visited the child on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, and that an altercation occurred between Maddox and the grandmother. Hospital security investigated and imposed a ban on Maddox‘s presence at the Hospital. The next day, Brailey talked with Maddox and the grandmother, and advised Maddox that she would not be permitted to visit the Hospital, and furthermore that she was not sure that the December 1 meeting would still take place. Stephens was not involved in, and was not even aware of, any of these events until the following Monday, December 1. After talking with Maddox about the Thanksgiving Day incident on December 1, Stephens contacted both Brailey and Hospital security and
Considering these facts, the primary possible deficiency with respect to Stephens’ actions is the failure to trigger court action within seven days following the discharge to the father and grandmother pursuant to
Maddox‘s argument in support of finding a violation of her procedural due process rights proceeds along the following line.13 Maddox argues that, even if Stephens bore no responsibility for the initial discharge by the Hospital of the child to the father and grandmother, Stephens’ preparation of the Safety Plan, and her telephone conversations with the grandmother, Maddox, and the police officer on the night that Maddox appeared at the grandmother‘s residence and sought to take the child home with her at least contributed to the continued deprivation of her custodial right (as the only person with legal custody) to have physical custody of the child. Maddox argues that a reasonable jury could find that Stephens told the grandmother, Maddox, and the police officer in those telephone conversations that Maddox should not be permitted to take the child away from the grandmother be-
The argument against finding that Stephens violated a clearly established procedural due process right is that the procedures do not speak clearly to the situation here—where the grandmother has already been given custody of the child by a party other than the Department of Human Services—i.e., the Hospital. The argument continues that Stephens was faced with the following situation. The child was in the care of the grandmother, the only family member capable of providing appropriate care for the child‘s serious medical needs. Removal of the child from the care of the grandmother—i.e., remоval by Maddox
However, the foregoing does not respond to Maddox‘s argument that even if Stephens bore no responsibility for the initial discharge by the Hospital to the father and the grandmother, nevertheless her subsequent actions prolonged the deprivation of Maddox‘s custodial rights, and that Stephens was required to trigger court proceedings within seven days, as provided in
However, as noted above, Maddox‘s procedural due process claim is not before us. The arguments above are relevant only in that they reveal the facts relevant to Maddox‘s substantive due process claim, and the deficiencies with respect to Stephens’ actions that Maddox argues violated her clearly established substantive due process rights. Thus, we express no opinion at all with respect to any procedural due process claim because only Maddox‘s substantive due process claim is properly before us in this appeal. And, fоr purposes of addressing Maddox‘s substantive due process claim, we can assume arguendo that Stephens violated Maddox‘s procedural due process rights. We nevertheless hold that Stephens is entitled to qualified immunity because she did not violate any clearly established substantive due process rights of which a reasonable state official in Stephens’ shoes would have known during the pertinent time period.
We disagree with the district court that Stephens’ conduct “lies so obviously at the very core of what the [relevant constitutional provision] prohibits that the unlawfulness of the conduct was readily apparent to the official, notwithstanding the lack of case law.” See Loftus, 690 F.3d at 1205. As discussed in depth above, in order for Maddox to show a substantive due process violation, Stephens’ actions must be “characterized as arbitrary, or conscience shock-
Maddox‘s arguments that procedural due process cases clearly established a substantive due process violation are unpersuasive. None of the cases she cites come even remotely close to establishing that Stephens’ actions, at the time she was making them, were so conscience shocking that it would be clear to a reasonable state official that her conduct would violate Maddox‘s substantive due process rights. See Loftus, 690 F.3d at 1204. None of these cases, nor the provisions in the Georgia code, clearly provide for a situation where a party other than the State (the Hospital) has already released the child to the care of a third party (the grandmother). As Stephens argues, she did not release the child to the father and the grandmother—it was the Hospital that released the child to the grandmother. Stephens had advised the Hospital that neither she nor Gwinnett DFCS could authorize releasing the child to the father. And, after finding out that the child was being discharged to the father and the grandmother, Stephens contacted Rae and, at Rae‘s direction, prepared the Safety Plan to make sure that the child would remain safe with the only family member qualified to care for her special needs.
Importantly—perhaps most importantly—it is clear and undisputed that the mother was not fit to take care of this child at any time before the discharge or even in the months after the discharge. Given the fact that the child was to be released from the Hospital, and given the fact that the grandmother was undisputably the only family member qualified to take care of this child, we cannot hold that Stephens’ actions violated Maddox‘s clearly established substantive due process rights. Looking at the substance of what happened, the temporary placement of the child with the grаndmother was inevitable and it was clearly the most reasonable placement for the time being. In fact, allowing the medically fragile child to be placed in the custody of an individual not qualified to care for her serious medical needs—here the mother—would have been unthinkable. And this Court has previously held that “state officials who act to investigate or protect children where there are allegations of abuse almost never act within the contours of ‘clearly established law.‘” Foy, 94 F.3d at 1537.18 Given all of these circumstances, and even if Stephens’ actions were not “textbook perfect,” id. (quoting Manzano v. S.D. Dep‘t of Soc. Servs., 60 F.3d 505, 513 (8th Cir. 1995)), we must conclude that it would not be clear to a reasonable social worker that her conduct violated Maddox‘s substantive due process rights; stated another way, a reasonable social worker would not have been on notice that her behavior was “conscience shocking” or “arbitrary.” Even if we assume arguendo, although we expressly do not decide, that Stephens should have triggered court action within seven days of December 10, 2008, and even if we assume arguendo, although we ex-
IV. CONCLUSION
“Substantive due process is a doctrine that has been kept under tight reins, reserved for extraordinary circumstances.” Nix v. Franklin Cnty. Sch. Dist., 311 F.3d 1373, 1379 (11th Cir. 2002). Even conduct that is “untoward,” “unfortunate,” and “understandably upsetting” does not necessarily rise to the level of a substantive due process violation. See Tinker v. Beasley, 429 F.3d 1324, 1329 (11th Cir. 2005) (quoting Luckes v. Cnty. of Hennepin, Minn., 415 F.3d 936, 940 (8th Cir. 2005)). Here, we simply cannot hold that a reasonable social worker would have been on notice that her actions violated Maddox‘s substantive due process rights. Accordingly, we reverse the denial of qualified immunity to Stephens on Maddox‘s substantive due process claim and remand for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.