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Fitzpatrick v. Town of Falmouth8/10/2005
Reporter of Decisions
Argued: June 14, 2005
Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and CLIFFORD, DANA, ALEXANDER, CALKINS, and LEVY, JJ.
[ ] Gayle A. Fitzpatrick and Charles A. Rankowski appeal from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Humphrey, C.J.) denying their request for a preliminary and permanent injunction and from a summary judgment in favor of the Town of Falmouth and the other defendants, who are school officials with the Falmouth School Department. Fitzpatrick and Rankowski are the parents of J.R., who has been diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder Autism. They challenged the actions of the school officials in suspending J.R. from using the Plummer School playground. Although the parents alleged several claims in both the federal district court and the Superior Court, the only claims remaining on appeal were brought pursuant to the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA). 5 M.R.S.A. §§ 4592, 4601 (2002). The parents contend that the Superior Court erred and abused its discretion in concluding that they were required to exhaust administrative remedies before they could bring their claim for education discrimination. They further argue that the court erred in finding that the school officials did not discriminate against J.R. on the basis of his disability and in finding that J.R.'s behavior posed a significant risk to the health and safety of others, which meant that the school officials did not unlawfully deny the use of public accommodations to him. We affirm the judgment.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Procedure
[ ] J.R.'s parents brought a complaint against the school officials in the Superior Court in February 2004 challenging the suspension of their son from the Plummer School playground. The complaint alleged several federal and state claims, both constitutional and statutory.
[ ] The school officials removed the case to the federal district court, which dismissed the federal claims. The primary basis for the dismissal was the parents' failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The court concluded that the requested relief, that is, the restoration of J.R.'s playground privileges, was relief available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C.A. §§ 1400-1482 (West 2000 & Supp. 2005), and IDEA requires exhaustion of administrative remedies for claims seeking relief that is available under it, even when the action is brought pursuant to another federal statute. Fitzpatrick v. Town of Falmouth, 321 F. Supp. 2d 119, 127-28 (D. Me. 2004). The federal court remanded the state claims back to the Superior Court. Fitzpatrick v. Town of Falmouth, 324 F. Supp. 2d 95, 100 (D. Me. 2004).
[ ] In the Superior Court, J.R.'s parents amended the complaint to delete the federal claims. The remaining state law claims included two claims under the MHRA: a claim for education discrimination, pursuant to 5 M.R.S.A. § 4601, and a claim for public accommodations discrimination, pursuant to 5 M.R.S.A. § 4592. A third claim alleged a violation of the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Maine Constitution. The only relief requested for these three claims was a preliminary and permanent injunction. In addition, the parents alleged two claims for the intentional infliction of emotional distress, which requested damages.
[ ] The school officials filed a motion for summary judgment accompanied by a statement of material facts. While that motion was pending, the court held an evidentiary hearing on the parents' request for an injunction. The court consolidated the hearing on the request for a preliminary injunction with a hearing on the request for a permanent injunction. See M.R. C
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