• Embed Doc
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
 
FILEDU.S. COURT OF
 
APPEALSELEVENTH CIRCUITJAN 23, 2009THOMAS K. KAHNCLERK 
[PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALSFOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________  No. 08-10162 ________________________ D. C. Docket No. 07-00497-CV-GET-1PAMELA DAVIS,LORENZO DAVIS,Individually and on Behalf of the Estate of TYLER DAVIS, Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellees,versusLEE CARTER,PETER CARLSON,STACEY WILBORN,Defendants-Appellants. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Courtfor the Northern District of Georgia _________________________ 
(January 23, 2009)
Before BLACK, PRYOR and COX, Circuit Judges.BLACK, Circuit Judge:
 
This case involves an action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, filed by PamelaDavis and Lorenzo Davis individually and on behalf of the estate of their son,Tyler Davis, for alleged violations of his substantive due process rights under theFourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The gravamen centersaround Tyler Davis’s death the morning after a voluntary workout session for theRockdale County High School (RCHS) football team, where Plaintiffs allege Tyler Davis was subjected to an intense and unreasonable practice that caused him tocollapse and die the next morning. Plaintiffs sued Rockdale County PublicSchools, the State of Georgia, and various employees of RCHS, including threeRCHS football coaches: Lee Carter, Peter Carlson, and Stacey Wilborn (coaches).The district court dismissed all defendants except the coaches. The issue onappeal is whether the district court erred in denying the coaches’ motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity. We conclude the coaches were entitled to qualifiedimmunity and remand for the district court to enter judgment on behalf of coachesLee Carter, Peter Carlson, and Stacey Wilborn.I.On February 28, 2007, Plaintiffs filed a complaint individually and on behalf of the Estate of Tyler Davis in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. In their complaint, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983,
2
 
Plaintiffs allege the coaches violated their son’s substantive due process rightsduring a voluntary workout session for the high school football team.Specifically, Plaintiffs allege the coaches failed to provide enough water to keepDavis hydrated, ignored signs and Davis’s complaints that he was becomingdehydrated, subjected Davis to rigorous conditioning drills at the end of a two-hour practice, and failed to attend to Davis until after a team meeting, even thoughhe had collapsed in the middle of the drills. Plaintiffs allege the coaches’ actionsculminated in Davis’s death during the early morning hours the following day.Although the workout was admittedly voluntary, Plaintiffs allege that if a studentdid not perform all the exercises and activities in the workout, he would be subjectto further discipline from the coaches, such as additional drills, exclusion fromtryouts, or demotion to the junior varsity team.On April 2, 2007, the Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), arguing the complaint failed to state a claimand they were entitled to qualified immunity. On December 20, 2007, the districtcourt entered an order granting the motion for Rockdale County Public Schoolsand some officials, but denying it for coaches Carter, Carlson, and Wilborn. Indenying the motion to dismiss, the district court found the complaint sufficientlyalleges a constitutional violation under the Fourteenth Amendment and the
3
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...