Pethtel et al v. State of Tennessee Department of Children's Services et al

Filing 324

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER, the motions to dismiss 213 , 215 , 233 , 257 , 282 , 284 , 286 are GRANTED. Federal claims against the defendants are DISMISSED with prejudice; plaintiffs will not be granted leave to address the deficiencies in their complaint. State law claims are DISMISSED without prejudice. Clift, Omni, and Pediadvocates's requests for attorney's fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 are DENIED without prejudice. McKinley, Pete rs, and Solution Sources Motion to Compel 292 and Motion for Summary Judgment 294 ; the Childrens Center, Durgin, and Pratts Motion to Exclude or Limit the Testimony and Opinions of Plaintiffs Experts 291 and plaintiffs Motion for Leave to Fi le Excess Pages and Extension of Time to File Answer to doc 291 303 , 304 are DISMISSED as moot. Plaintiffs Motion to for Leave to Amend Pleadings and Add Parties Based on Newly Discovered Information 297 is DENIED. As the Court has issued a ruling on all pending dispositive motions 302 , the stay in this case is hereby LIFTED. The remaining defendants in this matter are: Anderson County CASA, Diane Renfroe, Steven Abner, Josh Cardwell, Joseph Gilvin, Harold J. Crowley, Wiley Maloney, Jason Leach, Jonathan Acker, Wally Braden, and Paul White. Signed by District Judge Thomas A. Varlan on 11/20/20. (ADA)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
KATHLEEN ELAINE PETHTEL, et al.,

)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
)
STATE OF TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT )
OF CHILDREN SERVICES, et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
)

No.:

3:10-CV-469-TAV-HBG

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Defendants State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, District Attorney
General David Clark, Clinch Valley Children’s Center, Foothills Care, Inc., Solution
Source, Omni Vision, Shannon Forrester, Helen Burleson, Katie Butler, Cynthia Koehler,
Samantha Cardwell, Erin Schad, Sean Morehead, Julie Rotella, Pamela Becker, Margaret
Durgin, Gail Clift, Stephanie Huckabey, Jay Huckabey, Hazel Bumgardner, Martha Ruff,
Stephen Ruff, Kimbra McKinley, Ryan Peters, Stacey Pratt, Leigh Anne Goldstine, Stella
Hamilton, Anderson County Health Department, Pediadvocates, Heather Poster, and Terry
Ryan have moved to dismiss plaintiffs’ claims against them for various reasons [Docs. 213,
215, 233, 257, 282, 284, 286]. All of plaintiffs’ claims against these defendants must be
dismissed, and the Court will therefore GRANT defendants’ motions. The additional
motions by dismissed parties and plaintiffs’ motions related to those parties [Docs. 291,
292, 294, 303, 304] will be DISMISSED as moot. Plaintiffs have moved for leave to
amend the complaint [Doc. 297], which for the reasons discussed below, will be DENIED.

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I.

Background
Plaintiffs in this civil rights action have sued forty-five (45) defendants, forty-two

(42) of whom remain,1 seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive
relief [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 538–44]. Plaintiffs’ 114-page complaint2 contains 544 paragraphs, many
of which include multiple subparts [Id.]. Plaintiffs assert various claims, including claims
under § 1983 for violations of the First, Second, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to
the United States Constitution; § 1985 for conspiracy to commit § 1983 violations; the
Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act as amended by the Adoption and Safe Families
Act of 1997; the Americans with Disabilities Act; the Tennessee Constitution; Tenn. Code
Ann. §§ 29-24-101 to -104 (libel and slander); Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-101 (asserting
negligence per se pursuant to the penal statute for assault); and the common law
(intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and invasion of privacy) in
addition to claims asserting violations of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services’
policies and the Brian A. Settlement Agreement [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 330–531].
Due to the lengthy nature of the factual background and complaint in this case,
details of relevant allegations and facts will be addressed as needed. As a brief overview,3
plaintiffs Tobias and Kathleen Pethtel adopted seven (7) minor children [Doc. 6 ¶ 1]. One

The Court dismissed Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and Drs. Palmer and Radu
[Docs. 253, 319].
1.

“Complaint” is used herein to refer to Document 6, the plaintiffs’ amended complaint
filed in March of 2011.
2

3

For the purpose of a motion to dismiss, the Court takes all the factual allegations in the
complaint as true. Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265 (1986).
2

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of the minor Pethtel children made a 911 prank call on November 10, 2009, which drew
officers from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department to the Pethtel home [Id. ¶¶ 2–3].
Some of the deputies reportedly saw a bruise on the face of one of the children, which the
child explained as a bruise from a bicycle accident [Id. ¶ 5]. The deputies called the State
of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) to the plaintiffs’ home [Id.].
That same day, after some investigation, six (6) of the minor children were removed from
the home and placed in two (2) different homes [Id. ¶ 13]. DCS also removed the seventh
minor child from military school in Florida [Id.]. DCS, through defendant Koehler, filed
a Petition for Dependency and Neglect and a Protective Custody Order in the Anderson
County Juvenile Court, alleging the Pethtel children were neglected [Id. ¶ 15]. The plaintiff
parents were later found guilty of one count of misdemeanor child abuse in Anderson
County criminal court and sentenced; they filed a waiver of the right to appeal and right to
a new trial [Doc. 206 p. 2; Doc. 220-1].
All of plaintiffs’ claims arise out of this law enforcement visit to the home of
plaintiffs and ensuing actions by local law enforcement, DCS, and other individuals and
agencies named in the complaint for their treatment of plaintiffs and involvement in
plaintiffs’ familial relationships.
II.

Motions to Dismiss
A.

Legal Standard

Many defendants have brought motions to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure 8(a) and 12(b)(6). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) sets out a liberal
3

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pleading standard. To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint need contain only a “short
and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, ‘in order to
give [the opposing party] fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which
it rests.’” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson,
355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)). This is to “avoid situations . . . wherein the pleading is so verbose
that the Court cannot identify with clarity the claim(s) of the pleader and adjudicate such
claim(s) understandingly on the merits.” Harrell v. Directors of Bureau of Narcotics &
Dangerous Drugs, 70 F.R.D. 444, 446 (E.D. Tenn. 1975). Detailed factual allegations are
not required, but a party’s “obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief
requires more than labels and conclusions.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). “[A]
formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do,” nor will “an
unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S.
662, 678 (2009).
In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a court must construe the complaint
in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, accept all factual allegations as true, draw all
reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff, and determine whether the complaint
contains “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550
U.S. at 570; Directv, Inc. v. Treesh, 487 F.3d 471, 476 (6th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted).
This assumption of factual veracity, however, does not extend to bare assertions of legal
conclusions, Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, nor is the Court “bound to accept as true a legal
conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286 (1986).
4

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“A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads the factual content that
allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the
misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. “Determining whether a complaint states a
plausible claim for relief will . . . be a context-specific task that requires th[is Court] to
draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. at 679.
The Court will evaluate defendants’ motions pursuant to these standards.
B.

Analysis
1.

Introduction and Approach

Due to the defendants’ general confusion regarding what claims plaintiffs allege
against whom,4 and the varied organization of claims across the defendants’ motions, the
Court will discuss its approach in addressing the various motions to dismiss in this case
and its analysis of the complaint.

As defendants Solution Source, McKinley, and Peters state in their briefing, “[i]t
is confusingly unclear from the Amended Complaint to whom many of these allegations
are directed . . . . Ambiguity is heaped upon ambiguity” [Doc. 216 p. 5–6]. On behalf of
the Clinch Valley Defendants:
4

To highlight the point, and as detailed below, the Clinch Valley Defendants, in
drafting the instant Motion, were forced to resort to a chart provided by Plaintiffs
in their Response to the State Defendants’ original Motion to Dismiss, which
outlined Plaintiffs’ claims and their respective defendants, in order to gain some
clarity as to the claims Plaintiffs purport to bring against the Clinch Valley
Defendants. In short, neither Clinch Valley Defendants nor the other 42 defendants
have ‘fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’ See
F.R.P. Grp., 657 F. Supp. at 966-67
[Doc. 283 p. 15]. Defendants Foothills, Goldstine, and Hamilton stated that they made a “good
faith attempt to address each claim” due to the confusion in matching facts with lists of elements
in the complaint [Doc. 233 p. 3]. Defendant Clift said she “will assume that the Plaintiffs intend
to allege all such theories of liability as to her” and briefed more claims than the complaint supports
[Doc. 285 p. 2].
5

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The Court has conducted an extensive and careful review of the complaint,
construing it in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. However, even under this standard,
the complaint is deficient in many areas, particularly in its specificity with which it alleges
claims against the many defendants. To attempt to clarify matters, in response to the state
defendants’5 first motion to dismiss [Doc. 121], plaintiffs filed a claim chart with “many
of the state defendants and many of the causes of action against them” [Doc. 140. p. 18;
Doc. 141-1]. This chart is a word document “not meant as an exhaustive list of all claims
or defendants” that places an X where plaintiffs assert they alleged a claim for the claims
in each column against defendants in each row [Doc. 140-1 p. 4].
Plaintiffs’ complaint is structured with many factual or “general” allegations at the
beginning, and then, beginning on page fifty-nine (59), puts together the elements of claims
and begins their substantive legal counts.6 However, plaintiffs’ chart sometimes includes
claims against persons not at all mentioned in the legal claims of the complaint. The
complaint often states “defendants” took particular actions, with no indication as to which
of the forty-five (45) defendants plaintiffs are referring. Plaintiffs state in their response to
defendants Goldstine, Hamilton, and Foothills Care, Inc.’s motion that “defendants” refers

“State defendants” as used herein refers to those defendants included in State Defendants’
Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint [Doc. 257], that is: Anderson County Health Department,
Pamela Becker, Hazel Bumgardner, Helen Burleson, Katie Butler, Samantha Cardwell, David
Clark, Shannon Forrester, Jay Huckabey, Stephanie Huckabey, Cynthia Koehler, Sean Morehead,
Heather Poster, Julie Rotella, Martha Ruff, Stephen Ruff, Terry Ryan, Erin Schad, and DCS.
5

6

References in this opinion to the legal or substantive claims or counts refer to the portions
of the complaint from page fifty-nine (59) onward that allege the elements of the causes of action
or state the claims or counts.
6

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to all defendants because repeating all defendants’ names would have made the complaint
too lengthy [Doc. 247 p. 2]. However, plaintiffs did not define the term “defendants” to
refer to all defendants in the complaint.7 Additionally, plaintiffs use the term “defendants”
to refer to various groupings. Thus, “defendants” is not used consistently such that the
Court or parties could deduce plaintiffs’ definition. Sometimes, plaintiffs make statements
like, “these defendants and their employer agencies,” or “defendants herein are employees
of the State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, the Anderson County
Sheriff’s Department, Anderson County Health Department, Clinch Valley Children's
Center, Omni Visions, Solution Source, CASA of Anderson County, and Foothills Care,
Inc., Pediadvocates” when the agencies themselves and employers listed are also
defendants [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 313, 333]. Plaintiffs use the terms “state-actor Defendants, private
Defendants and the private agencies employing Defendants” in addition to “defendant
agencies” [Id. at ¶¶ 334, 342]. Such issues could have been avoided had plaintiffs used
more specific wording, defined the term “defendants,” or simply stated “all defendants”
instead of just “defendants.”

Plaintiffs also use “state actors” as a term without clearly defining it. For example, in
paragraph 350, plaintiffs state many defendants “were state actors within the meaning of 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983” [Doc. 6]. This however does not specify a definition that “state actor” as used in the
complaint will be defined as those defendants but is an allegation toward listing the elements of a
§ 1983 claim. The later claims that “state actors seized” the plaintiffs and “state actors performed
an intrusive and intimate medical search” are vague because “state actors” is not a defined term
[Doc. 6 ¶ 352(f)(4)]. Additionally, this follows the same problem as the general use of
“defendants” as not all defendants have performed such action, and state actors could thus not
possibly refer to all listed state actors.
7
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Additionally, plaintiffs make statements like “Defendant’s actions had no valid
secular purpose” [Id. ¶ 458], “Defendants have censored Plaintiffs from expressing their
religious beliefs” [Id. ¶ 455], and “The Defendants acted as to the Plaintiffs, with conduct
a reasonable person would describe as extreme and outrageous” [Id. ¶ 380]. Such
statements could not possibly refer to all defendants, as each defendant’s alleged
involvement in the large number of events giving rise to this case is unique. Additionally,
plaintiffs do not properly allege that all defendants are involved for all counts under the
complaint.

Plaintiffs’ assertion that “defendants” indicates all defendants is also

inconsistent with their claim chart. If the use of the word “defendants” refers to all
defendants in paragraphs 458 and 455 of the complaint, their claim chart would include an
X for the first amendment column as to all defendants. It does not.
Plaintiffs’ statement that “defendants” refers to all defendants is also contradicted
by its usage in the complaint to refer to any number of defendants, either specifically listed
as individuals or in varied groupings. Their argument is further belied by the complaint in
one instance, clarifying that “defendants” refers to all: “The Defendants, each of them,
acted with conduct to the Plaintiffs which was callously indifferent and so reckless as to
demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury resulted” [Doc. 6 ¶ 394
(emphasis added)]. This gives rise to the implication that in the other instances, where it
is not so clarified, that “defendants” means something different.
When internal references to a previous specification of defendants are in close
enough proximity to later use of the general term “defendants,” it may be inferred the
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definition is the same. However, plaintiffs rely heavily on some variant of the phrase the
“general allegations [preceding the current section are repeated] as if fully set forth herein”
[See, e.g., Doc. 6 ¶ 355]. This incorporation of facts into the substantive claims does not
place the factual allegations as to specific defendants in close enough proximity to the
vague use of “defendants” later on to allow the Court or defendants to infer which
defendants are referenced. This is especially true in light of plaintiffs’ association of
various claims and violations with specific defendants in some instances. When there are
particular defendants listed as to the claims and counts, those who are unlisted cannot be
considered to have notice of claims against them just because facts regarding statements
said or actions taken had been previously alleged.
Additionally, plaintiffs use the passive voice after having referred to a variety of
defendants for separate events: “The Pethtel children were allowed to watch movies with
sexually explicit and graphically violent material. . . . The Pethtel children were allowed to
wear immodest clothing, such as bikinis, miniskirts, and padded bras when bras were not
even necessary. The Pethtel children were allowed to look at magazines and were intrigued
by photos of scantily clad people” [Doc 6. ¶¶ 434–36]. The complaint neither directly, nor
through context or inference, indicates which defendants made these allowances.
The complaint must be more than a “the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me
accusation” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. To state only facts and later to assert claims against
other defendants or to “defendants” with no further specificity is akin to such an accusation.
Such a bare-bones complaint does not allow the parties or the Court to make the inference
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connecting general discussion about all defendants to the acts previously outlined in the
facts. It is not enough that plaintiffs allege facts with the possibility of misconduct,
actionable if properly pled.
As defendants Foothills, Goldstine, and Hamilton stated, “[i]nstead of supporting
certain causes of action with specific facts, the Amended Complaint alleges the facts within
the General Allegations section and then simply pleads the elements of each cause of
action, leaving it to the Defendants and the Court to determine which facts support each
cause of action” [Doc. 233 p. 3]. This structure of the complaint, unless otherwise specified
as to which defendants are matched with a cause of action, does not meet “plaintiff’s
obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief’ [which] requires more
than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of a cause of action’s elements will
not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 545.
In many instances, plaintiffs emphasize the length of the complaint and their
inclusion of many facts. Plaintiffs appear to argue that because the Rules do not require
detailed facts to state a claim, the complaint must be sufficient to survive a motion to
dismiss given its lengthy listing of factual allegations. Plaintiffs state, “Under Rule
12(b)(6), a party can move to dismiss a complaint based on the fact that the complaint
either alleges a cause of action that does not exist, or a cause of action that has a factual
defect. Basically, the idea is that under no set of facts would the complaining party be
entitled to a judgement” [Doc. 250 p. 5]. Their focus is that Rule 8 does not require
“detailed factual allegations” to support a claim. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. However, the
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issue here is that plaintiffs have alleged many facts and asserted many claims, but the
complaint provides no connection between the two.
Twombly held that the party must have “fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the
grounds upon which it rests.” 550 U.S. at 555. Plaintiffs’ focus on the facts speaks to the
second part of Twombly, the “grounds” upon which the claim rests. Their focus on the
sufficiency of the facts assumes a claim has been properly alleged as to specific defendants
and that the inquiry is whether such a claim has been supported. The deficiency at issue is
not the supportive facts, but the fair notice of what the claim is. Plaintiffs have “failed to
allege with any degree of specificity which of the named defendants were personally
involved in or responsible for each of the alleged violations of [their] federal rights.”
Frazier v. Michigan, 41 F. App’x 762, 764 (6th Cir. 2002). The vagueness and lack of
specificity has created a disconnect between the facts and claims that is insufficient to put
unspecified defendants on notice.
All of these considerations combine together to create added difficulties on the part
of any reader to determine what claims are being alleged against whom. For the reasons
set forth above, the complaint is insufficient to allege claims as to many defendants.
Defendants need not perform such logical gymnastics to determine what has been alleged
against them, nor should the Court be required to do so. As a result, and in this opinion,
the Court therefore does not purport to affirmatively state all claims properly alleged
against each party but takes the following approach.

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The opinion first addresses several claims as to all relevant parties. Next, the Court
addresses a few parties as to all claims. Third, the opinion addresses the § 1983 claims.
The § 1983 claims are discussed first on two (2) theories as to all relevant parties and then
party by party as the issues become more specific. Finally, because the Court has dismissed
all federal claims, it declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state
claims. Parties are discussed in roughly the groupings in which they filed their motions or
have been grouped together by the Court because of similar legal issues. In this opinion,
references to “defendants,” unless otherwise stated, means the defendants who have filed
motions to dismiss presently before the Court and who are being addressed in that section
heading. The same applies with qualifiers like “only”; for example, to say there is only
one claim remaining means one claim as to the defendants addressed in that section.
The Court herein explicitly addresses all arguably viable claims. By negative
inference, some claims are not addressed because either a party has been dismissed in its
entirety for another reason, or the claim as alleged in the claim chart, response to a motion,
or otherwise are hereby dismissed as insufficient to state a claim as to other defendants for
the reasons explained above. Some parties took guesses as to what claims were alleged
against them and briefed all claims to ensure they had covered the appropriate material.
The Court finds it unnecessary to address and dismiss each claim specifically when it was
briefed out of an abundance of caution and unsupported by the complaint.
2.

Americans with Disabilities Act

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In the section of the complaint titled “ADA Title II: State and Local Government
Activities,” plaintiffs state “Defendants violated the Plaintiff’s M.P.’s ADA rights as
follows below” and proceed to mention defendants DCS, Cindy Koehler, and foster parents
Martha and Stephen Ruff [Doc. 6, ¶¶ 526–31].
Title II of the ADA prohibits public entities from discriminating against disabled
individuals, stating “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. A public entity is defined as “any State or local government”
and “any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State
or States or local government.” 42 U.S.C. § 12131(1)(A)–(B). Accordingly, the “proper
defendant is that ‘entity.’” Williams v. McLemore, 247 F. App’x 1, 8 (6th Cir. 2007).
However, DCS, a public entity as a department of Tennessee, is dismissed from the case,
as discussed in Part II.B.7. And the claims as to Koehler and the Ruffs must be dismissed
because the ADA applies to employers, places of public accommodation, and organizations
and therefore “does not permit public employees or supervisors to be sued in their
individual capacities.”

Williams v. McLemore, 247 F. App’x 1, 8 (6th Cir. 2007);

see Sullivan v. River Valley Sch. Dist., 197 F.3d 804, 808 n.1 (6th Cir.1999); Walker v.
Snyder, 213 F.3d 344, 346 (7th Cir. 2000).
Especially in light of plaintiffs’ association of this count with specific defendants in
the complaint, plaintiffs’ statement that they “incorporate by reference the allegations
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contained in [all preceding sections of the complaint]” [Doc. 6 ¶ 526] and general statement
that “Defendants violated the Plaintiff’s . . . ADA rights” [Id. ¶ 527] fails to give other
defendants “fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.”
Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Because DCS, Koehler, and the Ruffs are the only defendants
specifically mentioned, DCS has immunity, and the others are sued in their individual
capacities [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶¶ 22, 33, 34], all ADA claims must be DISMISSED.
3.

Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act as amended by the
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997

Plaintiffs seek relief under the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980,
as amended by the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, 42 U.S.C. § 670 et seq.
(collectively “ASFA”).8 They allege that a petition for termination of their parental rights
was filed prior to their conviction and before a judicial determination that reasonable efforts
to reunify the family were unnecessary [Doc. 6 ¶ 485–90], contrary to the requirements
found in 42 U.S.C. § 671(a)(15).
Plaintiffs do not assert a valid claim under the ASFA because the statute does not
provide a private right of action. Indeed, this statute explicitly states, and the Supreme
Court has held, that it does not provide a private right of action. 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-2

The amended complaint refers to the “Family Safe Act of 2003,” but the quoted portions
are ASFA provisions. Compare [Doc. ¶ 486], with Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, Pub.
L. No. 105-89, § 401, 111 Stat. 2115, 2133–34, and Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of
2003, Pub. L. No. 108-36, 117 Stat. 800 (a federal law regarding victims of domestic violence).
Additionally, plaintiffs allege violations of the “Child Welfare Act of America” without citing any
specific statutory provision [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 517–22]. To the extent this is a reference to the Adoption
Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, it is part of the ASFA as presently amended.
14
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(“[S]ection 671(a)(15) of this title is not enforceable in a private right of action.”); Suter v.
Artist M., 503 U.S. 347, 364 (1992) (“Congress did not intend to create a private remedy
for enforcement of the ‘reasonable efforts’ clause.”). Therefore, all claims under the ASFA
must be DISMISSED.
4.

Brian A. Settlement Agreement

The complaint includes a section entitled “Violations Against Principles of the Brian
A. Settlement Agreement” [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 491–516]. Plaintiffs do not identify the version of
the settlement agreement to which they refer, but the state defendants included the
January 2009 Modified Settlement Agreement as an attachment to their original motion to
dismiss [Doc. 122-3]. Plaintiffs restate twelve (12) of the fourteen (14) guiding principles
of the settlement agreement and allege ways in which various state defendants violated
such principles. After the list of principles, the settlement agreement lists many action
steps and standards with metrics to measure compliance during the monitoring process.
Plaintiffs do not allege failure to comply with any of the specific terms of the settlement
agreement. Instead, they argue state defendants violated the spirit of the rules.
The settlement agreement also contains provisions on enforcement of the
agreement, which plaintiffs do not follow. While “[a]ll of the provisions in this Settlement
Agreement are separately and independently enforceable, as set forth in this Settlement
Agreement,” “Plaintiffs agree not to seek judicial relief for isolated, technical, or
de minimis, violations . . . or for violations relating solely to an individual child [other than
a named plaintiff]” [Doc. 122-3 p. 56 (emphasis original)]. As plaintiffs here bring claims
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for violations related only to their individual cases and not as to the class for broader
violations, they fail to comply with the enforcement provision. Additionally, enforcement
of this agreement requires that “plaintiffs shall notify the defendants in writing if they
believe defendants are out of compliance with any provisions of this Settlement
Agreement,” and “[t]he parties shall engage in a 30 day period of good faith negotiations
in an effort to resolve the non-compliance issues and shall utilize the Monitor to facilitate
this process” [Id. at 57]. Per the terms of the agreement, plaintiffs may only bypass this
process and “seek immediate relief in court if plaintiffs clearly demonstrate that DCS action
or inaction in contravention of this Settlement Agreement caused or is likely to cause an
immediate and substantial risk of serious harm to children in the class” [Id.].
Plaintiffs do not allege that they have followed these procedures, nor do they claim
that they qualify for the bypass provision. Plaintiffs also offer no basis for bringing up a
monitoring and compliance dispute in this court, as opposed to raising it in the original
court, where the Middle District of Tennessee has “continuing jurisdiction of this action to
ensure compliance with the terms of this Settlement Agreement for as long as the
Settlement Agreement remains in effect” [Id. at 4]. While that court has since terminated
jurisdiction, finding that defendants fulfilled their obligations,9 it still had jurisdiction at
the time this case was filed in 2010.

9

Order Dismissing Case with Prejudice and Terminating Jurisdiction, Brian A. v. Haslam,
No. 3:00-cv-445, Doc. 601 (M.D. Tenn. Feb. 25, 2019).
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Plaintiffs fail to provide a legal basis for enforcement of this claim in this court.
They seek to bring a claim on behalf of individuals instead of the class and otherwise fail
to comply with the terms of the settlement agreement as to dispute resolution. Accordingly,
they fail to state a claim under this agreement, and claims regarding the Brian A. Settlement
Agreement must be DISMISSED.
5.

DCS Policy

The complaint contains a section of “Violations to DCS Policy” [Doc. 6. ¶¶ 523–
25], which lists various DCS policies and factual allegations related thereto. In their
motion to dismiss, the state defendants argue that these claims must fail as a matter of law.
The Court agrees. Plaintiffs cannot assert a § 1983 claim for violations of state policy or
state law, as § 1983 only protects federally created rights. Harrill v. Blount Cty., 55 F.3d
1123, 1125 (6th Cir. 1995); Fredrickson v. Bedford Cty. Jail, No. 4:15-CV-024-HSMCHS, 2018 WL 1768067, at *3 (E.D. Tenn. Apr. 12, 2018) (“As claims may be brought
under § 1983 only for violations of constitutional rights, however, violation of state policy
is insufficient to state a claim under § 1983.”) (citing Pyles v. Raisor, 60 F.3d 1211, 1215
(6th Cir. 1995)).
In response, plaintiffs state that this section of the complaint does not seek to enforce
DCS policies as a federal right but that these paragraphs are offered as “evidence that DCS
did not treat [plaintiffs] in the manner it treats others” [Doc. 277 p. 57]. However, in the
complaint itself, plaintiffs do not connect these violations of policy to claims of

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discrimination. As these violations do not create a federally enforceable right, such claims
based on violations of DCS policy are DISMISSED.
6.

Section 1985

Plaintiffs attempt to bring a civil conspiracy claim under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985(3) 10 and
1986 against many defendants.

Section 1985 creates a private cause of action for

conspiracy to deprive a citizen of his or her civil rights, and Section 1986 is the
corresponding cause of action for aiding or abetting the conspiracy. Plaintiffs claim
various defendants conspired and/or agreed to, and acted in furtherance of, a common
objective with the state actors to influence the familial and parental relationships of the
plaintiffs [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 359–61]. However, plaintiffs do not allege any specific facts in the
context of this claim [Id. at ¶¶ 355–63].
To prove a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3), a plaintiff must establish:
“(1) a conspiracy involving two or more persons (2) for the purpose of
depriving, directly or indirectly, a person or class of persons of the equal
protection of the laws and (3) an act in furtherance of the conspiracy (4)
which causes injury to a person or property, or a deprivation of any right or
privilege of a citizen of the United States.”
Johnson v. Hills & Dales Gen. Hosp., 40 F.3d 837, 839 (6th Cir. 1994). Plaintiffs must
also demonstrate that the conspiracy was motivated by class-based animus. Id. Section
1983(3) requires intent to deprive of equal protection, meaning a showing of “some racial,
or perhaps otherwise class-based, invidiously discriminatory animus behind the

10

Although plaintiffs do not specify a claim under § 1985(3) and generally assert § 1985
claims, the first two sub-sections of § 1985 relating to preventing an officer from performing duties
and obstruction of justice are inapplicable here.
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conspirators’ action;” it is not intended to apply to all tortious, conspiratorial interferences
with others’ rights. Griffin v. Breckenridge, 403 U.S. 88, 102 (1971).
Plaintiffs allege no facts to support class-based discrimination.

Rather, the

complaint alleges a narrow, private purpose as to these particular persons and relationships,
not a larger class. Plaintiffs include a paragraph in the complaint tracking each of the
Johnson elements of a § 1985 claim [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 359–62] and state as to the second element
that “the common objective” of the conspiracy was “to influence the familial and parental
relationships of the parents,” not to deny equal protection as a result of class-based
discrimination [Doc. 6 ¶ 360]. In the response to the state defendants’ motion to dismiss,
they claim the conspiracy is motivated by discrimination against their religion [Doc. 277
p. 49] of “Biblical Christian[ity]” [Doc. 6 ¶ 440]. But the § 1985 section of the complaint
does not contain the words “discrimination” or “religion” nor does it even hint of references
to religion, and plaintiffs may not amend the complaint through this response. 11 Car
Carriers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 745 F.2d 1101, 1107 (7th Cir. 1984). The “failure to

“[I]t is axiomatic that the complaint may not be amended by the briefs in opposition to a
motion to dismiss.” Car Carriers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 745 F.2d 1101, 1107 (7th Cir. 1984)
(citing Jacobson v. Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., 445 F. Supp. 518, 526 (S.D.N.Y.1977));
Sansom Comm. v. Lynn, 366 F. Supp. 1271, 1278 (E.D. Pa. 1973); Chambliss v. Coca-Cola
Bottling Corp., 274 F. Supp. 401, 409 (E.D. Tenn. 1967), aff’d on other grounds, 414 F.2d 256
(6th Cir. 1969)); see, e.g., Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Bank, Inc. v. Bernhardt, 385 F. Supp.
3d 16, 20 (D.D.C. 2019) (holding plaintiffs could not present new fact in response to motion to
dismiss); State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Slade Healthcare, Inc., 381 F. Supp. 3d 536, 573 (D.
Md. 2019) (holding plaintiffs could not allege new fact in brief in opposition to motion to dismiss);
Ullery v. Raemisch, No. 18-CV-00839-STV, 2019 WL 529570, at *12 (D. Colo. Feb. 9, 2019)
(finding plaintiff could not add new claim in response to motions to dismiss).
19
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establish discriminatory animus . . . dooms [the] § 1985 claim.” Pahssen v. Merrill Cmty.
Sch. Dist., 668 F.3d 356, 368 (6th Cir. 2012).
Plaintiffs assert in their response to the state defendants’ motion that they did in fact
allege discrimination in paragraphs 312 through 320 in the continuing wrongs section and
that the § 1985 section “incorporates all other listed averments into the conspiracy
allegations, including those that clarify discrimination based on their religion and
traditional lifestyle” [Doc. 277 p. 49]. Paragraphs 312 through 320 describe discrimination
“motivated by endemic animus and retaliation for the Plaintiffs not readily capitulating to
Defendants’ manipulative and fraudulent claims of child abuse” [Doc. 6 ¶ 319]. The
complaint only contains some form of the words “discrimination” and “religion” in one
paragraph of the 114 page complaint and do not allege a § 1985 conspiracy in connection
with that allegation.12 Moreover, nowhere in the relevant section of the complaint do
plaintiffs point to specific instances of discrimination on the basis of religion. Instead, they
state that all previous allegations are incorporated by reference as discussed and determined
insufficient above in Part II.B.1. There is a complete lack of notice in the § 1985 section
as to religious discrimination, and the complaint itself states a singular, distinct purpose of
the conspiracy. Accordingly, defendants were not on notice of the grounds upon which the
claims against them rest. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. All claims under §§ 1985 and 1986
must therefore be DISMISSED.

“DCS further violated Policy 14.12 by subjecting the family to discriminatory religious
remarks from the officers and DCS/CPS workers on scene” [Doc. 6 ¶ 19].
20
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7.

Department of Children’s Services and District Attorney General
David Clark

All of plaintiffs’ claims against defendants DCS and District Attorney General
David Clark (“General Clark”) in his official capacity must be dismissed on the basis of
sovereign immunity. The Eleventh Amendment bars suits against a state as well as its
agencies and departments in federal court unless the state has waived immunity or
Congress has abrogated it. Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 276 (1986); Kentucky v.
Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 167 n.14 (1985); Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v. Halderman, 465
U.S. 89, 100 (1984). Tennessee has not waived its immunity from suit. Tenn. Code Ann.
§ 20-13-102(a); Berndt v. Tennessee, 796 F.2d 879, 881 (6th Cir. 1986) (noting the
Tennessee statute impliedly extends to suits brought in federal court).

Contrary to

plaintiffs’ assertions, Congress has not abrogated immunity in the contexts of § 1983
generally13 and the ADA in this case.14
Title II of the ADA validly abrogates sovereign immunity where the underlying
conduct “actually violates the Fourteenth Amendment.” United States v. Georgia, 546

13

Congress has not abrogated immunity for § 1983 claims. Will v. Michigan Dep’t of
State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 66 (1989) (in passing § 1983, Congress had no intention of disturbing
Eleventh Amendment immunity); Quern v. Jordan, 440 U.S. 332, 345 (1979) (noting § 1983 does
not by clear and explicit language nor by its legislative history indicate intent to abrogate
immunity).
14

The Court need not discuss whether Congress has abrogated immunity for the AFSA,
Brian A. Settlement Agreement, DCS Policy, or Section 1985 claims because they are being
dismissed as to all defendants. Section 1983 is the only claim for which the analysis is defendantspecific, and immunity applies here as addressed above. The ADA claim is only properly alleged
against DCS as a public entity. 42 U.S.C. § 12131(1)(A)–(B). Sovereign immunity for an ADA
claim is dependent upon the merits of the claim and will be addressed in this section. United States
v. Georgia, 546 U.S. 151, 159 (2006).
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U.S. 151, 159 (2006). To make this determination, the Supreme Court has created a threepart test to be applied on a case-by-case basis: a court should look at “(1) which aspects of
the State’s alleged conduct violated Title II; (2) to what extent such misconduct also
violated the Fourteenth Amendment; and (3) insofar as such misconduct violated Title II
but did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment, whether Congress’s purported abrogation
of sovereign immunity as to that class of conduct is nevertheless valid.” Id.
This claim may be resolved at the first part of the test because plaintiffs fail to
identify conduct that violates the ADA.15 To state a claim under Title II, Part A of the
ADA, a plaintiff must show she is: “(1) disabled under the statute, (2) ‘otherwise qualified’
for participation in the program, and (3) being excluded from participation in, denied the
benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under the program by reason of his or her
disability.” S.S. v. E.K. Univ., 532 F.3d 445, 453 (6th Cir. 2008).
In the complaint, plaintiffs assert M.M.P. was not provided the proper medical care
[Doc. 6 ¶ 529(bb)], and in their response to the state defendants’ motion to dismiss,
plaintiffs assert M.M.P. was denied appropriate treatment while in the foster care program.
However, plaintiffs fail to that show any of DCS’s actions were by reason of her disability
[Doc. 6 ¶¶ 526–31]. Plaintiffs mention the following conduct on behalf of DCS: not
providing the proper medical or mental health care [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 529(bb), (ee)]; accusing
M.M.P. of lying about her seizures [Id. ¶ 529(dd)]; putting M.M.P. in a home with stairs

Plaintiff also has a section of the complaint alleging “Procedural Due Process
Violations” as to all plaintiffs without naming any defendants [Doc. 6 ¶ 352(e)]. Such claims are
insufficient as discussed in Part II.B.1.
22
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when the Pethtels normally had her sleep on the ground floor [Id. ¶ 530(ii)]; and requiring
an alarm be put on her door as an alleged sexual perpetrator [Id. ¶530(jj)].16 None of these
actions, even taken as true, indicate differential treatment based on or because of M.M.P.’s
disability. In fact, plaintiffs state: “M.M.P. was not provided the proper medical care by
DCS in this matter. They were more concerned of finding her as a sexual perpetrator then
[sic] meeting her REAL medical needs of her handicap” [Id. ¶ 529(bb)]. Thus, plaintiffs
allege a reason for the denial of proper medical care that is wholly unrelated to the alleged
disability.
Failure to prove violative conduct under the ADA is dispositive under part one of
the Georgia test, and Congress has not abrogated sovereign immunity under its § 5 power
of the Fourteenth Amendment. Babcock v. Michigan, 812 F.3d 531, 539 (6th Cir. 2016).
Thus, Congress has not abrogated immunity for any claims raised here. Overall, DCS is
protected by sovereign immunity, and all claims against it must be DISMISSED.
General Clark is similarly protected. Claims against state officials acting in their
official capacity are treated as suits against the state itself and are therefore barred. Will,
491 U.S. at 71. Any claim against General Clark for money damages must therefore be
dismissed. Thiokol Corp. v. Dep’t of Treasury., 987 F.2d 376, 381 (6th Cir. 1993).
Plaintiffs appear to seek injunctive relief against General Clark regarding discovery
disputes in Anderson County Juvenile Court from proceedings occurring ten (10) years ago

16

In their response, plaintiffs make claims of due process violations by DCS in violation
of the ADA, citing to paragraph 529 of the complaint [Doc. 277 p. 50]. This paragraph makes no
allegations of due process violations.
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[Doc. 6 ¶ 211–44, 543(kk)]. However, this Court lacks jurisdiction because plaintiffs fail
to allege any ongoing violations of federal law. Under Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123
(1908), a federal court is not prohibited from issuing an injunction against a state official
to prevent future constitutional violations and compel compliance with federal law. Quern,
U.S. at 337. Plaintiffs here do not allege any ongoing violations, nor do they seek
prospective relief as required. Verizon Md., Inc. v. Pub. Serv. Comm’n of Md., 535 U.S.
635, 645 (2002). The discovery allegation is not ongoing, and the only other possible
violation is plaintiffs’ claim that General Clark “manipulated the Grand Jury into indicting”
the Pethtels [Doc. 6 ¶ 70]. Such an allegation is not ongoing as the criminal case has
concluded. Thus, the Ex parte Young exception does not apply, and injunctive relief is
barred under the Eleventh Amendment. Because both injunctive and monetary relief are
barred against this defendant, all claims against General Clark must be DISMISSED.
8.

Omni Visions, Inc.

Plaintiffs assert claims against Omni Visions, Inc. (“Omni”) “under the legal theory
of Respondeat Superior” [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 18]. Foothills Care, Inc (“Foothills”) is a
subsidiary of Omni that is also being sued “under the legal theory of Respondeat Superior”
[Id. ¶ 16]. Plaintiffs state in their response that they are suing Omni for: negligence,
emotional distress, conspiracy, failure to properly train and monitor employees who
violated plaintiffs’ constitutional rights of free speech, free exercise, due process, and equal
protection [Doc 238 p. 20–21]. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a
claim [Doc. 213], plaintiffs responded [Doc. 238], and defendants replied [Doc. 241].
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Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim against Omni upon which relief can be granted.
Omni’s memorandum in support of its motion correctly identifies that Omni is only
mentioned in the complaint seven (7) times to state it is being sued under respondeat
superior [Doc. 6, Parties 18], Foothills is a subsidiary [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 291, 301], Foothills and
Omni are responsible for the training of their employees [Id. ¶¶ 292, 302], and Omni is a
private person acting in collaboration and/or conspiracy with state actors or are private
persons and their agencies [Id. ¶¶ 333, 358]. Plaintiffs do not allege any employee, agent,
servant, or representative relationship between Omni and any actor for which it could be
liable. The complaint expressly alleges that defendants Goldstein and Hamilton were
employed by, therapists for, or representatives of Foothills, not Omni [Id. ¶¶ 38, 39, 64,
262, 263, 290, 300]. Liability is thus premised upon Omni’s ownership of Foothills.
Plaintiffs attempt to bolster their claims against Omni in their response, adding
factual allegations related to “[t]herapists,” “[s]upervisors,” and “employees” of Omni
[Doc. 238 p. 2]. Additionally, plaintiffs now say “[t]he facts listed in the Complaints give
detailed explanation as to how Omni, Foothills, and their agents Hamilton and Goldstine
participated in this” action and that they “clearly claimed that Goldstine and Hamilton . . .
were contracted/employed by Foothills as well as Omni,” without pointing to where in the
complaint such facts are alleged [Id. p. 9, 11]. As previously discussed in this opinion,
plaintiffs may not amend the complaint through their response to a motion to dismiss. Car
Carriers, Inc., 745 F.2d at 1107; see supra, note 11.

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Plaintiffs argue in their response that Omni “may be held liable for his or her own
actions by inadequately selecting, training, or supervising such employees or volunteers if
a constitutional violation occurs” and “this type of liability, at times called ‘supervisory
liability,’ accrues against the individual government administrator, and is based on his or
her personal responsibility for the constitutional violation” [Doc. 238 p. 16]. However,
plaintiffs have not sued Omni for direct liability. Since plaintiffs brought their claims under
a theory of vicarious liability, the claims are brought for responsibility as the employers or
principals of others. Since the plaintiffs have not properly alleged direct liability and do
not allege any relevant relationships for which Omni could be liable, plaintiffs have failed
to state a claim.
Additionally, plaintiffs failed to state a claim to overcome the corporate
separateness of Omni and Foothills. The sole allegation as to the relationship between the
two (2) companies is that Foothills is a subsidiary of Omni [Id. ¶¶ 291, 301]. A corporation
is presumed to exist separately from its shareholders, officers, and directors as a distinct
entity. Gordon v. Greenview Hosp., Inc., 300 S.W.3d 635, 650–51 (Tenn. 2009). Courts
decline to disregard this presumption “in the absence of the parent corporation’s
domination of the day-to-day business decisions of the subsidiary corporation.” Id. at 652.
Neither does one being wholly owned by the parent or the fact that the two (2) have the
same directors and officers suffice to qualify as alter egos. Id. Instead, “the presumption
of corporate separateness may be overcome by demonstrating that the parent corporation
exercises complete dominion over its subsidiary, not only of finances, but of policy and
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business practice in respect to the transaction under attack, so that the corporate entity, as
to that transaction, had no separate mind, will or existence of its own.” Id. (quotations
omitted). Here, plaintiffs do not allege that the subsidiary is a sham or dummy, that the
two are alter egos, or that the subsidiary is an agent or adjunct of the parent. Id. at 653.
They provide no basis for disregarding the presumption of corporate separateness. In their
response, plaintiffs purport that a relationship exists between Omni and Foothills on the
grounds that the two (2) share the same address for registered agents [Doc. 238 p. 18]. But
regardless of how that may impact the analysis, this was not alleged in the complaint and
may not be amended here.
Additionally, plaintiffs outline the case law and factors for piercing the corporate
veil in their response but do not provide any analysis as to why it should be done in this
case. They have therefore failed to overcome the presumption of corporate separateness
in this case.
Because plaintiffs have not alleged a proper claim under respondeat superior and
have not overcome the presumption that Foothills and Omni are separate entities, plaintiffs
fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. All claims against Omni Visions are
DISMISSED. To the extent that Omni asks for attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 1988, defendant’s request is cursory and does not provide a basis for relief. Their
request is DENIED without prejudice with leave to refile with necessary and appropriate
fee requests and briefing.
9.

Solution Source, LLC, Ryan Peters, and Kimbra McKinley
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Defendants Solution Source, LLC (“Solution Source”), Ryan Peters, and Kimbra
McKinley jointly filed a Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 215], plaintiffs responded [Doc. 239],
and defendants replied [Doc. 243].
When given the opportunity through their response to identify which paragraphs in
the complaint properly allege their desired claims against these defendants, plaintiffs repeat
the strategy of taking broad strokes as to all defendants to explain the facts of the case.
Plaintiffs repeat nearly the same language from their response to Omni’s motion to dismiss
[Doc. 238 p. 11–14] in that for defendants’ motion [Doc. 240 p. 15–18]. There are a few
formatting and small wording differences between the two (2) that refer to whole sections
of the complaint and thus provide no clarification. Plaintiffs state, “These Defendants
violated” and then lists various claims and cites to the complaint where claims are asserted
as to “The Defendants” without clarification as to which specific defendants or grouping
of defendants are referenced [Doc. 240 p. 16–17]. That plaintiff “asserts it has clearly set
out in its Complaint the involvement of Defendants in this plot/miscarriage of justice that
has been hoisted on Plaintiffs” does not assist the Court in identifying specific claims
asserted against defendants [Doc. 240 p. 15]. Though plaintiffs do allege various facts
involving defendants McKinley, Peters, and their employment or work with Solution
Source [See, e.g. Doc. 6 ¶ 63, 65, 245–256], they do not adequately state a claim. That
claims could potentially be made based on certain facts does not mean that alleging those
facts also raises the associated claims. A party needs still to connect those facts to law and
properly assert legal bases for relief, as discussed in Part II.B.1.
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The only claims alleged in the complaint arise under conspiracy. In the section
entitled “Actions Under the Color of State Law,” plaintiffs state Solution Source is a
“private person[] acting in collaboration and/or conspiracy with state actors [Doc. 6 ¶ 333].
In the § 1985 section, defendants are each named as “private persons and their agencies”
[Doc. 6 p. 358]. These are the only places where defendants are specifically listed in a
legal claim. Other instances where plaintiffs state “defendants” as a whole allegedly
violated plaintiffs’ rights are insufficient to put the defendants on notice of the claims
against them. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. As the § 1985 claims have already been
dismissed in this opinion, there are no other federal claims against defendants, and the
Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims, there are no
remaining claims against these defendants and they must be DISMISSED.
10.

Section 1983 Claims

Section 1983’s purpose is to guard against the “[m]isuse of power, possessed by
virtue of state law and made possible only because the wrongdoer is clothed with the
authority of state law.” Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 184 (1961) (quoting United States
v. Classic, 313 U.S. 325, 326 (1941)). It provides, in pertinent part:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom,
or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or
causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within
the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or
immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party
injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for
redress. . . .

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42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiffs must plead and prove two (2) elements to state a cause of
action: (1) that a person has deprived him of a federal right, and (2) that the person has
done so under color of state law. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 150 (1970).
Plaintiffs here have alleged a variety of § 1983 claims. The Court initially addresses the
claims under the Second Amendment and Free Exercise Clause and then proceeds
defendant by defendant, ultimately dismissing all § 1983 claims.
a.

Second Amendment

Plaintiffs make several allegations that various defendants violated their Second
Amendment rights: (1) defendant Burleson made “negative remarks” about Mr. Pethtel
exercising his Second Amendment right to carry firearms [Doc. 6 ¶ 192]; (2) Anderson
County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Paul White, and the foster parents released
information or made comments that plaintiff Tobias Pethtel was always armed [Id. ¶ 471–
72]; (3) one of the Pethtel children was asked about weapons in the home [Id. ¶ 473]; (4)
Koehler reported there were targets in the basement [Id. ¶ 474]; (5) DCS restricted the
Pethtels’ activities while in the DCS office and told the Pethtels they would be subject to a
search [Id. ¶¶ 475-79]; and (6) Mr. Pethtel received a letter from the Tennessee Department
of Safety suspending his handgun carry permit because he had been falsely charged with a
felony [Id. ¶ 480].
Additionally, plaintiffs in their response allege Mr. Pethtel was “deprived of his
right to carry a handgun due to malicious prosecution” and that they were maliciously
prosecuted by state defendants who “[knew] the criminal felony charge would prevent him
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from exercising his right to carry a firearm.” [Doc. 277 p. 47]. The complaint only
mentions “false charges,” but offers no particularity as to this theory of malicious
prosecution with the purpose of firearm deprivation [Doc. 6 ¶ 480]. And as the Court has
noted, complaints may not be amended “by the briefs in opposition to a motion to dismiss.”
Car Carriers, Inc., 745 F.2d at 1107; see supra note. 11.
Under the Second Amendment, “[a] well regulated Militia, being necessary to the
security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.” U.S. Const. amend. II. The Second Amendment guarantees “an individual
right to keep and bear arms” and for “law-abiding, responsible citizens to use arms in
defense of hearth and home.” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 595, 635
(2008).17 However, there are some limitations. In Heller, the Court cautioned that “nothing
in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession
of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in
sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions
and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.” Id. at 626–27.
Plaintiff fails to state a claim for violation of the Second Amendment. The first four
(4) allegations are general comments, and nothing more, about the Pethtels’ firearm

17

Plaintiff makes this claim based on the holding in Heller that individuals have the right
to bear arms [Doc. 277 p. 47]. However, it was not applicable to the states during the relevant time
period, as it was not applicable until the Court decided McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561, U.S.
742 (2010) in June of 2010. The case though is useful here as it more clearly articulates the
“presumptively lawful regulatory measures” and “longstanding prohibitions.” Heller, 443 U.S. at
627.
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ownership and do not allege infringement of plaintiffs’ right to bear arms. Mere references
to or questions about gun ownership do not infringe on plaintiffs’ rights. The fifth
allegation that plaintiffs had certain restrictions while in the DCS office falls within the
limitations permitted for “sensitive places such as . . . government buildings.” Id. The
sixth allegation that plaintiff’s handgun carry permit was suspended due to his felony
charge also falls within the Heller limitations. Id. (stating the holding does not cast doubt
on the prohibitions against possession of firearms by felons). Additionally, the Tennessee
Department of Safety, not any defendant in this case, suspended his permit, and the charges
against him apparently were not false, as he was actually convicted of child abuse by a jury
[Doc. 220-1].18 Accordingly, plaintiffs have failed to state a Second Amendment claim,
and the claim must be DISMISSED as to all defendants.
b.

First Amendment Right to Free Exercise of Religion

Plaintiffs fail to state a claim as to free exercise of religion under the First
Amendment. Plaintiffs allege violations against Koehler, Forrester, Stephanie Huckabey,
Children’s Center, Hazel Bumgardner, Goldstine, Hamilton, and “foster parents” [Doc. 6
¶¶ 428–56]. Some of the allegations include: Koehler refusing to place the plaintiff
children in their pastor’s home [Id. ¶ 429]; Forrester stating there were “red flags in that
church or with anyone of that religion” and that “the father is extremely controlling of the
children” after he exhibited concern about the family’s religious convictions [Id. ¶ 430,

18

See Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 486–87 (1994) (holding that a plaintiff cannot
bring a civil rights action if a ruling on a claim would imply the invalidity of a conviction, unless
that conviction has already been determined wrongful).
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438]; the Children’s Center showing the children anatomically correct drawings when the
children had not yet been exposed to such pictures [Id. ¶ 432]; Goldstine stating “You think
you are head of your house? Then you have a problem,” “I am so surprised ya’ll [sic] sat
here and sang hymns about faith,” and telling an attorney that plaintiffs’ family was in a
“sex cult” [Id. ¶ 444–45, 452]; various defendants “belittled” plaintiffs’ support groups [Id.
¶ 446]; and a variety of statements that the children were allowed, by unspecified persons,
to take certain actions [Id. ¶¶ 434–36].19
In the second to last paragraph of this section in the complaint, plaintiffs state,
“Defendants have censored Plaintiffs from expressing their religious beliefs, in violation
of Plaintiff’s right to the free exercise of her religious beliefs” [Id. ¶ 455]. In the response
to Foothills, Goldstine, and Hamilton’s motion, plaintiffs say “State Defendants20 violated
the Pethtels’ constitutional right to the free exercise of their religion by preventing the
Pethtels from raising their children within their family religion” [Doc. 247 p. 22].
Plaintiffs use the word “censored” but fail to identify or allege any facts wherein
they were prevented from exercising their religion. Moreover, these instances are not a
result of a policy, law, regulation, or action against plaintiffs. Rather, the complained-of
actions were mere comments made to them or another about them. Nothing alleged

There is an additional allegation that “The Children were baptized without permission
of their parents with no regard as to what Religion the parents were, DCS gave permission for the
foster parents to baptize the children, knowing that the Plaintiffs would oppose” [Doc. 6 ¶ 439].
DCS has been dismissed from the case as discussed in Part II.B.7.
19

20

This is another instance of recycled briefing wherein plaintiffs copied text from filings
of other defendants, herein calling Goldstine and Hamilton “state defendants,” which is a term
both the parties and the Court have used for a different set of defendants.
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involves direct action toward plaintiffs: “What is absent from this case is the critical
element of compulsion to affirm or deny a religious belief or to engage or refrain from
engaging in a practice forbidden or required in the exercise of a plaintiff's religion.” Mozert
v. Hawkins Cty. Bd. of Educ., 827 F.2d 1058, 1069 (6th Cir. 1987) (holding that compelling
students to read and discuss material in a textbook and hear other students’ interpretations
did not violate the First Amendment).
As to the allegation that Koehler refused to place the children in their pastor’s home,
this similarly does not allege such compulsion as the children may practice their religion
elsewhere.21 Placing the children in other homes and exposing them to different ideas,
without requiring they disavow their beliefs, is akin to Mozert wherein the introduction of
new viewpoints to plaintiff children was held not to violate the First Amendment. Id.
Additionally, “the Supreme Court has never considered whether the Free Exercise clause
prevents states from placing children with foster families whom state officials know, or
have reason to know, will subject the children to practices at odds with their religious
upbringing.” BK v. Toumpas, 909 F. Supp. 2d 60, 64 (D.N.H. 2012). The Sixth Circuit
similarly has not addressed the issue. Abdulsalaam v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Comm’rs, 637

21

Plaintiffs cite Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972), wherein Old Order Amish
parents had been charged, tried, and convicted for declining to send their children to public or
private school past the eighth grade. In that case, the Supreme Court held that it was the parents’
free exercise rights that had been violated. Id. at 230–31. Plaintiffs aver that because the Supreme
Court held the state’s interest in education was not sufficient to override the plaintiffs’ free exercise
rights that the state’s interest here similarly should not outweigh plaintiffs’ rights. However, Yoder
is distinguished because the plaintiffs therein had been criminally prosecuted and for exercise of
their religion. Here, plaintiffs are not being compelled by any law to take or refrain from taking
religious action.
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F. Supp. 2d 561, 583–84 (S.D. Ohio 2009), aff’d, 399 F. App’x 62 (6th Cir. 2010) (stating
plaintiffs could not “cite a single precedent establishing that . . . Defendants acts—
placement in a Christian foster home, refusal to place them in a Muslim foster home, refusal
to provide them with a list of Muslim leader's phone numbers, or falsely reporting in FCCS’
administrative file that they did not want to practice Islam—interfered with their right to
free exercise”).
“Government compulsion either to do or refrain from doing an act forbidden or
required by one’s religion, or to affirm or disavow a belief forbidden or required by one’s
religion, is the evil prohibited by the Free Exercise Clause.” Mozert, 827 F.2d at 1066.
“The lesson is clear: governmental actions that merely offend or cast doubt on religious
beliefs do not on that account violate free exercise. An actual burden on the profession or
exercise of religion is required.” Id. at 1068. There must be action against plaintiffs more
than mere offensive or unwanted comments.22
Plaintiffs have not alleged that they were required to disaffirm their beliefs, take any
affirmative action, or refrain from practicing their religion. Plaintiffs state they were
“censored” but do not allege any instances in which they were prevented from discussing
their religion. “While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they
must be supported by factual allegations.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679. And here, plaintiffs’

As to plaintiffs’ added ground in the response that defendants prevented the plaintiffs
from raising their family within their religion, as the Court has repeatedly noted, plaintiffs may not
amend the complaint through their response to a motion to dismiss. Additionally, plaintiffs listed
different defendants than at issue here.
35
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Free Exercise claims are not sufficiently supported. Consequently, plaintiffs have failed to
state a free exercise claim, and such claims must be DISMISSED as to all defendants.
c.

Anderson County Health Department

Plaintiffs mention the Anderson County Health Department (“Health Department”)
under the section entitled “Action under the Color of State Law” and bring suit “under the
legal theory of Respondeat Superior” [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 49] but none of the Health
Department’s employees have been named as defendants [Id. ¶¶ 10–54]. Even so, Section
1983 does not support claims based on respondeat superior. Polk Cty. v. Dodson, 454 U.S.
312, 325 (1981).
The Health Department may only be held directly liable under Section 1983 for
unconstitutional policies, practices, or customs that were the “moving force” behind the
deprivation of plaintiffs’ rights. Id. Plaintiffs must show “that the supervisor encouraged
the specific incident of misconduct or in some other way directly participated in it. At a
minimum, a § 1983 plaintiff must show that a supervisory official at least implicitly
authorized, approved or knowingly acquiesced in the unconstitutional conduct of the
offending subordinate.” Bellamy v. Bradley, 729 F.2d 416, 421 (6th Cir. 1984).
In the complaint, the Health Department is only listed as a party and referenced in
allegations that tests were performed [Doc. 6 ¶ 33] and a search was conducted [Id. ¶ 36]
at the Health Department’s facility. It is also referenced as a private person acting in
collaboration or conspiracy with state actors [Id. at 333]. While they allege a conspiracy
with state actors, plaintiffs fail to allege specific factual allegations regarding action in
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furtherance of the conspiracy on behalf of the Health Department itself. The Court is “not
bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation,” Papasan, 478
U.S. at 286, and plaintiffs fail to support their claim with actual facts supporting
conspiracy.

Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (providing that “an unadorned, the-defendant-

unlawfully-harmed-me accusation” will not do).
Given the explicit designation of the claim as being brought under respondeat
superior, instead of against the Health Department directly, and in light of plaintiffs’ failure
to reference any independent actions or facts supporting their conspiracy claim, the
complaint fails to put the Health Department on notice of any claim other than one brought
under a theory of respondeat superior which is not a viable claim. Twombly, 550 U.S. at
555. Accordingly, all § 1983 claims against the Health Department must be DISMISSED.
d.

Clinch Valley Children’s Center

Plaintiffs allege several § 1983 claims against the Clinch Valley Children’s Center
(“Children’s Center”). Under which theory they intend to bring § 1983 claims against the
Children’s Center is unspecified and is unclear in both the complaint and the claim chart.
Nonetheless, all § 1983 claims must fail as to the Children’s Center, as plaintiffs allege
liability based on respondeat superior. In the caption of the complaint, and in the “Parties”
section, plaintiffs state “CLINCH VALLEY CHILDREN’S CENTER as Respondeat
Superior,” and “[t]his organization is being sued under the legal theory of Respondeat
Superior” [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 15]. This is not a valid theory of liability under § 1983. See
Savoie v. Martin, 673 F.3d 488, 494 (6th Cir. 2012) (“Indeed, ‘every circuit to consider the
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issue’ has extended ‘to private corporations as well’ the rule that a defendant cannot be
held liable under section 1983 on a respondeat superior or vicarious liability basis.”
(citations omitted)).
As with the Health Department, the Children’s Center may only be held directly
liable under Section 1983 for unconstitutional policies, practices, or customs. In their
response, plaintiffs attempt to identify where in the complaint they state such a claim and
point out that Margaret Durgin, as Executive Director, participated in and explicitly
encouraged unconstitutional conduct and that she conspired with DCS to separate the
family and participate in the November 2009 search of M.P.P. [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 88, 352]. These
actions, plaintiffs aver, indicate an unconstitutional policy to train its employees or a policy
wherein an authorized policymaker approved subordinates’ unconstitutional decisions
[Doc. 316 p. 17–18]. While entities may be held liable for having unconstitutional policies,
plaintiffs have alleged nothing to this effect.
To state a claim, “[s]pecific facts are not necessary; the statement need only ‘give
the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’”
Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (internal citations omitted). Here, plaintiffs
have done the opposite. Plaintiffs alleged specific facts as to Durgin’s actions, but those
allegations do not support a viable claim. In the “continuing wrongs” section, plaintiffs
assert “these defendants continue to violate the statutory and constitutional rights of the
Plaintiffs” and that these acts “are part of a pattern of discrimination against the Pethtel

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family” [Id. ¶¶ 313, 315]. Yet, plaintiffs do not assert to which defendants they refer when
they state “these defendants.”
Given the explicit designation of the claim being brought under a theory of
respondeat superior instead of against the Children’s Center directly, the failure to
reference any policies, and the references to defendants generally, the complaint is
insufficient to put the Children’s Center on notice of a claim other than one brought under
a theory of respondeat superior which, as discussed, is not a viable claim. Twombly, 550
U.S. at 555. Accordingly, all § 1983 claims against the Children’s Center, must be
DISMISSED.
e.

Clinch Valley Defendants (Stacey Pratt and Margaret
Durgin) and Gail Clift

Plaintiffs, in their claim chart [Doc. 140-1], state that they allege a variety of § 1983
claims against Stacey Pratt and Margaret Durgin stemming from their work at the
Children’s Center. Paragraphs 349 through 354 in their complaint which lay out plaintiffs’
§ 1983 claims do not support the claims plaintiffs purport to have brought against these
defendants in the claim chart. In their response to Gail Clift’s motion to dismiss [Doc. 315],
plaintiffs assert they stated a claim under § 1983. In the complaint, prior to listing the
specific constitutional violations, plaintiffs identify many defendants who are “state actors
within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 et seq.” [Doc. 6 ¶ 350]. Pratt, Durgin, and Clift
are not listed. In fact, Pratt is not mentioned at all in this section. While facts are alleged
previously in the complaint about her conduct, plaintiffs fail to ever actually connect a

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specific claim to those facts. Accordingly, Pratt is not on notice of any such claims.
Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555.
Clift and Durgin are mentioned in the section alleging a § 1983 violation through
the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments wherein “Plaintiff M.M.P. was seized by state
actors of the State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services by and through Cynthia
Koehler and Katie Butler and Clinch Valley Children’s Center of Anderson County,
Tennessee, Inc. by and through Gail Clift and Margaret Durgin in November 2009 and
caused to be searched . . . . ” [Doc. 6 ¶ 352(c)(4)]. This is the only mention of an
examination involving Durgin, and it is not stated how she “caused” M.M.P. to be searched.
Earlier in the complaint, plaintiffs admit an examination of E.L.P. was conducted by Clift
[Doc. 6 ¶ 86], and there is no indication of Durgin participating in, conducting, or ordering
any search. To the extent plaintiffs’ claim chart or response indicates additional § 1983
claims against Durgin and Clift respectively, none are supported by the complaint. The
only remaining § 1983 claim is thus the Fourth Amendment claim against Durgin and Clift.
Two (2) elements are necessary to state a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The plaintiff must plead and prove (1) that some person has deprived him of a federal right,
and (2) that the person has done so under color of state law. Adickes v. S.H. Kress &
Co., 398 U.S. 144, 150 (1970). Thus, claims are typically alleged against state actors,
consistent with the second element. However, private persons “jointly engaged with state
officials . . . are acting under color of law for purposes of the statute. . . . [it] is enough that
he is a willful participant in joint activity with the state or its agents.” Id. at 152. Plaintiffs
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assert Durgin and Clift are private actors [Doc. 6 ¶ 358] who acted jointly with state actors
DCS and its agents [Id. ¶¶ 88, 352(c)(4)].23
Even though private persons, qualified immunity applies to Durgin and Clift, and
they are entitled to dismissal of this claim on that basis. The doctrine of qualified immunity
protects government officials in discretionary functions “from liability for civil damages
insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights
of which a reasonable person would have known.” Pittman v. Cuyahoga Cty. Dep’t of
Children & Family Servs., 640 F.3d 716, 727 (6th Cir. 2011). But even those who are not
governmental officials or employees may be entitled to qualified immunity.
In Filarsky v. Delia, the Supreme Court held that a private actor working on behalf
of the government is entitled to seek protection under qualified immunity. 566 U.S. 377,
394 (2012). If not granted immunity, private individuals could face legal action for conduct
that would be protected were their employer alternatively the government. Instead of
engaging in line drawing to determine how pervasive a private actor’s work for the
government is, the Court held “immunity under § 1983 should not vary depending on
whether an individual working for the government does so as a full-time employee, or on

23

To the extent plaintiffs assert they are state actors in their response [Doc. 316 p. 15],
plaintiffs have failed to state a claim as they offer no facts as to the other essential element of the
claim, that is, that she had acted under color of state law. See Bishop v. Lucent Techs., Inc., 520
F.3d 516, 518–19 (6th Cir. 2008) (holding a complaint must contain allegations supporting all
material elements of a claim). Their only viable claim on the basis of this complaint as written
would be under Adickes, namely that Durgin and Clift are private actors willfully participating in
joint activity with state actors. Nonetheless, even if status as a state actor had been properly alleged,
the qualified immunity analysis would proceed on the same basis as a governmental official in a
discretionary function under Pittman or a private actor working on behalf of the government under
Filarsky.
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some other basis.” Id. at 389. The Court stated “it is often when there is a particular need
for specialized knowledge or expertise that the government must look outside its permanent
work force to secure the services of private individuals.” Id. at 390. In Filarsky, a private
attorney with almost thirty (30) years of experience in conducting internal affairs
investigations was retained by the city to do the same, and the Court held he was entitled
to qualified immunity. Id. Similarly, here, the government looked to utilize the knowledge
and skills of external child specialists in their investigation. Durgin and Clift worked for a
non-governmental entity, Clinch Valley Children’s Center and Pediadvocates,
respectively, and were assisting government officials with the investigation into child
abuse by the plaintiff parents. They are therefore eligible for protection under qualified
immunity.
Once a defendant raises qualified immunity, “the burden is on the plaintiff to
demonstrate that the official[ is] not entitled to qualified immunity.” Silberstein v. City of
Dayton, 440 F.3d 306, 311 (6th Cir. 2006). Plaintiffs must show (1) “facts which, when
taken in the light most favorable to [the plaintiff], show that the defendant-official’s
conduct violated a constitutionally protected right;” and (2) “that right was clearly
established such that a reasonable official, at the time the act was committed, would have
understood that his behavior violated that right.” Pittman, 640 F.3d at 727. The order in
which to address the two (2) prongs is left to the Court’s discretion. Pearson v. Callahan,
555 U.S. 223, 236 (2009).

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Thus, the Court will address the second prong and look to the state of the law at the
time of the incident in question. Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 741 (2002). To be
considered clearly established, “[t]he contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a
reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right.” Anderson
v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640 (1987).
The legal propositions are considered in light of the specific context of the case, not
at higher levels of generality. Brosseau v. Haugen, 543 U.S. 194, 198 (2004). For example,
“[t]he general proposition . . . that an unreasonable search or seizure violates the Fourth
Amendment is of little help in determining whether the violative nature of particular
conduct is clearly established.” Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731, 742 (2011). While the
standards need not be so specific as to be directly on point, courts should look to precedents
that are “particularized to the facts of the case.” White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548, 551–52
(2017). The law is clearly established when the plaintiff can point either to “cases of
controlling authority in his jurisdiction at the time of the incident” or “a consensus of cases
of persuasive authority such that a reasonable officer could not have believed that his
actions were lawful.” Kent v. Oakland Cty., 810 F.3d 384, 395 (6th Cir. 2016) (quoting
Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 617 (1999)). “Existing precedent must have placed the
statutory or constitutional question beyond debate. In other words, immunity protects all
but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.” Pauly, 137 S. Ct. at
551 (quotations omitted).

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In the complaint, plaintiffs appear to preemptively address a qualified immunity
defense in paragraphs 322 through 329. They claim “Defendants” generally should have
known their actions violated plaintiffs’ “statutory and constitutional rights and were
contrary to clearly established law” without any reference to which particular law, and
entirely devoid of reference to what decisions make those laws so clearly established
[Doc. 6 ¶ 323]. In a section titled “actions under the color of state law,” plaintiffs allege
the defendants’ acts violated their substantive due process right to “familial and parental
relationships” and cite several Supreme Court cases about the right generally [Doc. 6
¶ 322]. They do not mention any other categories of constitutional violations with their
associated case law in the complaint.
In their responses to the motions to dismiss, to address Durgin and Clift’s qualified
immunity, plaintiffs cite one case from the Northern District of Ohio, Walsh v. Erie Cty.
Dep’t of Job & Family Servs., 240 F. Supp. 2d 731, 758 (N.D. Ohio 2003), which held that
the Fourth Amendment applies to social workers24 [Doc. 316 p. 34–35; Doc. 315 p. 9]. The
Court presumes plaintiffs intend this to indicate that the Fourth Amendment applies to
persons working with children.
The rest of their argument claims these actions were “objectively unreasonable” and
that it “strains the imagination” to believe they were reasonable, without citing any
supportive precedent [Doc. 316 p. 35; Doc. 315 p. 10]. Indeed, plaintiffs fail to cite a single

24

The Court notes that this case is factually distinguishable because there, social workers
entered the private home of plaintiffs and therein conducted a search.
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case of controlling authority in this jurisdiction. They do not cite anything with any degree
of particularity as to these facts of a medical examination. Considering Clift was acting on
referral from DCS, who had custody of the children at the time, and DCS has “the right to
physical custody of the child” and “the right to determine the nature of the care and
treatment of the child, including ordinary medical care,” plaintiffs fail to show how Clift
should have known her actions violated plaintiffs statutory and constitutional rights in such
circumstances. T.C.A. § 37-1-140(a).
Plaintiffs in fact remain at the same level of abstraction as Ashcroft v. al-Kidd which
explicitly stated that the general proposition that the Fourth Amendment applies is of “little
help in determining whether the violative nature of particular conduct is clearly
established.” 563 U.S. at 742. Plaintiffs have failed to meet their burden to demonstrate
that Durgin is not entitled to qualified immunity, and this claim is dismissed on that basis.
Silberstein, 440 F.3d, at 311. Accordingly, all § 1983 claims against Durgin, Pratt, and
Clift are DISMISSED. To the extent that Clift asks for attorney’s fees and costs pursuant
to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, defendant’s request is cursory and does not provide a basis for relief.
The request is DENIED without prejudice with leave to refile with necessary and
appropriate fee requests and briefing.
f.

Pediadvocates

Plaintiffs bring this action against Pediadvocates under respondeat superior as the
“employer of Gail Clift” [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 51]. Gail Clift is the owner of Pediadvocates
[Doc. 6 ¶ 87; Doc. 286 p. 5]. Since the action is brought under vicarious liability for the
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actions of Clift, and there are no bases remaining for Clift’s liability, Pediadvocates is not
liable. In their response plaintiffs claim defendant Pediadvocates is liable on account of its
unconstitutional policies [Doc. 314 p. 8]. However, such claims are not raised in the
complaint. The only remark vaguely addressing such a claim is that “Pediadvocates has a
responsibility to train their employees” [Doc. 6 ¶ 87].
“[A] systematic failure to train employees amounts to a custom or policy for which
the employer may be subject to § 1983 liability only if such failure amounts to deliberate
indifference to the rights of persons with whom the employees come into contact.” Savoie,
673 F.3d at 494–95. Additionally, to establish such indifference, “the plaintiff must show
prior instances of unconstitutional conduct demonstrating that the [employer] has ignored
a history of abuse and was clearly on notice that the training in this particular area was
deficient and likely to cause injury.” Id.
Plaintiffs’ vague statement about responsibility to train does not rise to the level of
specificity to put Pediadvocates on notice for a claim arising out of company policy,
especially given that the complaint identifies the theory as respondeat superior instead of
direct liability. Accordingly, all § 1983 claims against Pediadvocates are DISMISSED.
To the extent that Pediadvocates asks for attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 1988, defendant’s request is cursory and does not provide a basis for relief. Their request
is DENIED without prejudice with leave to refile with necessary and appropriate fee
requests and briefing.
g.

Leigh Anne Goldstine, Stella Hamilton, and Foothills, LLC
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Plaintiffs bring a § 1983 claim against Stella Hamilton for violations of the federal
right to free exercise of religion and against Leigh Anne Goldstine for violations of the
federal First Amendment right to free speech and exercise of religion. Though other
theories of § 1983 are discussed in the briefing, none mention either of these defendants,
and referring to defendants generally, is insufficient to put Goldstine and Hamilton on
notice for those claims, as discussed in Part II.B.1. The free exercise claims are addressed
and dismissed above in Part II.B.10.b.
Plaintiffs allege a § 1983 free speech claim against Goldstine in that she “censored
Plaintiff’s [sic] at visits from discussion of their religious views of the father being the
‘head of the house’” [Doc. 6 ¶ 424]. In the factual allegations portion of the complaint,
plaintiffs elaborate on an instance where Goldstine told Tobias Pethtel, “You are the head
of the household – you have a real problem” [Id. at ¶ 278]. Similar to the free exercise
claim, plaintiffs failed to state a claim for a violation of their rights to free speech because
they do not allege any ways in which their speech was limited or restricted. While the
Court must take factual allegations as true, a party’s “obligation to provide the grounds of
his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at
555. All plaintiffs allege is one statement by Goldstine that neither requires nor prohibits
any speech; that plaintiffs may have chosen to respond to said statement in a particular way
does not violate the First Amendment. Accordingly, plaintiffs fail to state a claim, and all
§ 1983 claims against Goldstine and Hamilton must be DISMISSED.

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Foothills “is being sued under the legal theory of respondeat superior” for actions
of employees Leigh Anne Goldstine and Stella Hamilton, each also being sued in their
individual capacity [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶¶ 16, 37, 38; Doc 6 ¶¶ 64, 293]. As respondeat
superior is not a cognizable theory under § 1983 and both employees are not liable, the
respondeat superior claim must be dismissed. To the extent plaintiffs’ response alleges
responsibility for unconstitutional policies for failure to train employees [Doc. 247 p. 9],
the claim is not properly raised.
First, plaintiffs fail to allege any actual additional § 1983 claims against Foothills.
The substantive allegations begin on page fifty-nine (59) of the complaint. Foothills is
only mentioned as a private person or actor working in collaboration or conspiracy with
state actors [Doc. 6 ¶ 333], in the section regarding § 1985 conspiracy [Id. ¶ 358], and there
is a parenthetical mentioning case notes in the Second Amendment section [Id. ¶ 477]. As
previously addressed above, the § 1985 and § 1983 Second Amendment claims are
dismissed. Statements that a person is a private actor acting in collaboration with state
actors, without further detail, does not allege a claim.
Assuming, arguendo, that Foothills had been mentioned in a section outlining a
constitutional violation, there is no liability here for an unconstitutional policy for failure
to train employees under Savoie. 673 F.3d at 494–95.
Plaintiffs only state in the factual portions of the complaint that Foothills is
“responsible for the proper training and monitoring of their employees,” “should have been
aware of the wretched conditions of the therapeutic sessions being provided to the Pethtel
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family,” and “should also be trained to respect the religious beliefs of their clients” [Doc 6
¶¶ 292, 302]. These statements fail to rise to the level of specificity required to state a
claim for failure to train the employees, as “bare allegations of a custom or policy,
unsupported by any evidence, are insufficient to establish entitlement to relief.” Broyles v.
Corr. Med. Servs., Inc., No. 08-1638, 2009 WL 3154241, at *2 (6th Cir. Jan. 23, 2009)
(citing League of United Latin Am. Citizens v. Bredesen, 400 F.3d 523, 527 (6th Cir. 2007).
Finally, Foothills is not sued directly, but only under respondeat superior for vicarious
liability of its employees. Accordingly, all claims against Foothills must be DISMISSED.
h.

Foster parents: the Ruffs, the Huckabeys, and Hazel
Bumgardner

Plaintiffs assert a variety of § 1983 claims in their claim chart against foster parents
Jay and Stephanie Huckabey, Martha and Stephen Ruff, and Hazel Bumgardner (together,
“foster parents”) [Doc. 140-1]. However, all such claims against the foster parents should
be dismissed because they are not state actors.
A private party may be deemed to be a “state actor” if the party’s actions are “fairly
attributable to the state.” Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., 457 U.S. 922, 937 (1982). The
Sixth Circuit has recognized three (3) tests to determine whether the action by a private
individual may be fairly attributable to the state: (i) the public function test; (ii) the state
compulsion test; and (iii) the symbiotic relationship/nexus test. Chapman v. Higbee Co.,
319 F.3d 825, 833 (6th Cir. 2003) (en banc).
First, under the public function test, a private party is deemed to be a state actor if
the powers exercised by that party have traditionally been exclusively reserved to the state.
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Wolotsky v. Huhn, 960 F.2d 1331, 1335 (6th Cir.1992). This standard is not just those
functions exercised by governments but includes only the “very few [that] have been
exclusively reserved to the State.” Flagg Bros. v. Brooks, 436 U.S. 149, 158 (1978). This
is a narrow set, and only functions like “holding elections, exercising eminent domain, and
operating a company-owned town, fall under this category of state action.” Chapman, 319
F.3d at 833–34 (internal citations omitted). “While removing a child from her home and
placing her with other caregivers are arguably exclusive governmental functions . . . the
day-to-day provision of foster care is not.” Brown v. Hatch, 984 F. Supp. 2d 700, 708
(E.D. Mich. 2013) (collecting cases). Here, plaintiffs have not alleged that the foster
parents are exercising any such exclusively reserved powers.
Second, the state compulsion test involves determining whether the state exercised
coercive power or control over them and “requires that a state exercise such coercive power
or provide such significant encouragement, either overt or covert, that in law the choice of
the private actor is deemed to be that of the state.” Wolotsky, 960 F.2d at 1335. “More
than mere approval or acquiescence in the initiatives of the private party is necessary to
hold the state responsible for those initiatives.” Id. Some factors the Sixth Circuit
considered were funding, personnel policies or decision, and selection of the executive
director. Id. Plaintiffs have alleged that the foster parents conspired or agreed to a common
objective of influencing familial and parental relationships with state actors [Doc. 6 ¶¶
358–60], but plaintiffs have not alleged anything that rises to the level of coercion.

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Third and finally, under the symbiotic relationship/nexus test, a private party may
be a state actor if there is a “sufficiently close nexus between the state and the challenged
action of the regulated entity so that the action of the latter may be fairly treated as that of
the state itself.” Wolotsky, 960 F.2d at 1335. There is no particular formula to make this
decision, but its analyzation accounts for the attending facts and circumstances. That
someone is subject to state regulation “does not by itself convert its action into that of the
State,” nor do actions “of a private party . . . become state action merely because the
government provides funding.” Am. Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sullivan, 526 U.S. 40, 52
(1999); Lintz v. Skipski, 807 F. Supp. 1299, 1306 (W.D. Mich. 1992), aff’d on other
grounds, 25 F.3d 304 (6th Cir. 1994). Additionally, it is insufficient “that the two entities
be entwined in some way; they must be entwined with regard to the actions in the case at
hand.” Thompson v. Davidson Transit Org., 563 F. Supp. 2d 820, 826 (M.D. Tenn. 2008).
Rather, it must be demonstrated that the state is “intimately involved in the challenged
private conduct in order for that conduct to be attributed to the state for purposes of section
1983.” Wolotsky, 960 F.2d at 1335.
Plaintiffs do not allege any specific facts that allow the Court to infer such a close
relationship between the foster parents and the state. Plaintiffs allege Bumgardner received
“board payments for the Pethtel children” [Doc. 6 ¶ 128], and that the foster parents were
“government-assigned foster parent[s]” [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 120, 130, 150], but make no claims as
to the entanglement of the actions at issue. Instead, factual allegations [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 120–
158] are individual, discrete acts of the foster parents, for example: Bumgardner took
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plaintiffs to get their ears pierced contrary to the parent’s wishes, arranged a doctor’s
appointment, and told plaintiffs “they were not allowed to discuss their own religious
views” [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 120, 126, 423]; the Huckabeys implemented rules, made statements and
allegations, and made facial expressions and gestures during a meeting [Id. ¶¶ 132, 135,
136, 143]; the Ruffs called plaintiff a liar, stroked her hair, and talked to the children about
allegations from DCS [Id. ¶¶ 152, 153, 157]. None of these allegations indicate a symbiotic
relationship between the foster parents and the state.
Consequently, the foster parents are not state actors. 25 This is consistent with courts
both within and outside of this circuit, each holding that foster parents are not state actors
for purposes of § 1983.26 Additionally, and more specifically, in Hancock v. Miller, a

Plaintiffs state that the Supreme Court “indicated in dicta that it would consider foster
parents to be state actors” [Doc. 277 p. 24]. In DeShaney v. Winnebago Cty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs.,
489 U.S. 189, 201 (1989), plaintiff brought a § 1983 suit after his father beat him because state
social workers had reason to believe he was in danger but did not act. The Court held that the
events were private, and the state’s failure to protect the plaintiff was not a constitutional violation.
Id. at 197. In a footnote, the Court said:
25

Had the State by the affirmative exercise of its power removed [plaintiff] from free
society and placed him in a foster home operated by its agents, we might have a
situation sufficiently analogous to incarceration or institutionalization to give rise
to an affirmative duty to protect. Indeed, several Courts of Appeals have held . . .
that the State may be held liable under the Due Process Clause for failing to protect
children in foster homes from mistreatment at the hands of their foster parents.
Id. at n.9. While this case influenced other decisions about foster parents as state actors, DeShaney
only hypothesized about a duty on behalf of the state and did not directly refer to the duty or
liability of foster parents.
26

See Brown, 984 F. Supp. 2d at 709 (holding that foster parents are not state actors under
any of the three tests); K.H. Through Murphy v. Morgan, 914 F.2d 846, 852 (7th Cir. 1990);
Milburn v. Anne Arundel Cty. Dept. of Social Services, 871 F.2d 474, 479 (4th Cir. 1989).
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district court held that Tennessee foster parents were not state actors. No. 2:19-CV-00060,
2020 WL 1493609, at *9 (M.D. Tenn. Mar. 27, 2020).27
For the same reasons that foster parents do not have a symbiotic relationship with
the state, they are not willfully engaged in joint activity with the state to make private
parties liable under § 1983 in a conspiracy. Adickes, 398 U.S. at 152 (1970). The
conspiracy alleged in the § 1985 section to interfere with familial relationships is unrelated
to the allegations regarding free exercise as to all foster parents [Doc. 6 ¶¶ 433, 446, 439],

27

In providing an overview of the case law, the court stated:

“[C]ourts have consistently held that the decisions of foster parents are not state
action.” Anderson v. Nebraska, 4:17-CV-3073, 2018 WL 3009115, at *8 (D. Neb.
June 15, 2018) (collecting cases). For example, in Brown v. Hatch, the Court
concluded that a foster parent was not a state actor despite being an agent of a foster
care agency that was a state actor. 984 F. Supp. 2d at 708-09. Citing extensive
authority, the court held that providing day-to-day foster care services was not an
exclusive government function, the state was not involved in day-to-day decisions
of the foster parent, and a close nexus was not established merely by a foster parent
being licensed by the state or “receiving remuneration in exchange for providing
foster care services.” Id. Likewise, in Howell v. Father Maloney Boys’ Haven, Inc.,
Civil Action No. 3:18-CV-00192-GNS, 2020 WL 42892, at *6-7 (W.D. Ky. Jan. 3,
2020), another court in this circuit recently declined to find that a foster home was
a state actor. In doing so, the court stressed that the foster home was “engag[ed] in
the private function of providing day-to-day care” and “d[id] not take part in the
unquestionably public functions of the removal of children from their homes, the
placement of those children in an appropriate environment, or the monitoring of
foster homes.” Id.; see also, e.g., Ismail v. Cty. of Orange, 693 F. App’x 507, 512
(9th Cir. 2017) (“Merely serving as a foster parent does not transform a private
party into a state actor.”); Leshko v. Servis, 423 F.3d 337, 345-46 (3d Cir. 2005)
(rejecting application of a common law parens patrie duty and holding that foster
parents are not state actors under Section 1983); United States v. Peneaux, 432 F.3d
882, 896 (8th Cir. 2005) (“[F]oster parents are generally not considered agents of
the state.”); Rayburn ex rel. Rayburn v. Hogue, 241 F.3d 1341, 1348 (11th Cir.
2001) (holding foster parents are not state actors under Section 1983); Weller v.
Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 901 F.2d 387, 392 (4th Cir. 1990) (“[H]arm suffered by a child
at the hands of his foster parents is not harm inflicted by state agents.”).
Id.
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against the Ruffs regarding the Second Amendment [Id. ¶¶ 446, 472], and Bumgardner
regarding free speech [Id. ¶ 420]. There are no further allegations of conspiracy as to these
constitutional violations. Consequently, all § 1983 claims against the foster parents must
be DISMISSED.
i.

Social Workers: Samantha Cardwell, Katie Butler, and
Cynthia Koehler

Cardwell, Butler, and Koehler are Child Protective Services Investigators for DCS
[Doc. 6, Parties, ¶¶ 22–24]. They each have § 1983 claims alleged against them for
violations of the Fourth Amendment arising out of a search and seizure of various plaintiffs
in November 2009 [Doc. 6 ¶ 352 (a)(4), (c)(4), (d)(4)–(5)]. However, these defendants are
entitled to qualified immunity for their actions.
Looking at the second prong of the qualified immunity analysis, the state of Fourth
Amendment law at the time was not clearly established such that the social workers would
have understood their behavior was unconstitutional. Pittman, 640 F.3d at 727. Though
plaintiffs attempt to cite cases to prove it was clearly established,28 the Sixth Circuit has
explicitly held that, at least through 2011, the relationship between social workers and the
warrant requirement was not clearly established. Hall v. Sweet, 666 F. App’x 469, 479

28

Plaintiffs spent extensive time briefing various cases which they purport collectively
establish that the violation was clearly established. However, plaintiffs’ main citations are neither
binding nor persuasive. Plaintiffs cite the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Rogers v. Cnty. of San
Joaquin, 487 F.3d 1288 (9th Cir. 2007) and the Northern District of Ohio’s decision in Walsh v.
Erie County Dep’t of Job & Family Servs., 240 F. Supp. 2d 731 (N.D. Ohio, 2003).
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(6th Cir. 2016) (collecting cases).29

The uncertainty of the Fourth Amendment’s

applicability to social workers at the time, in addition to the Tennessee statutes mandating
investigation of allegations of child abuse and neglect, Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-406(a),
and granting authority to consent to ordinary medical care for children in its custody, Tenn.
Code Ann. § 37-1-140(a), together establish that the social workers would not have
understood their behavior was unconstitutional.

Thus, they are entitled to qualified

immunity for these claims, and such Fourth Amendment claims are DISMISSED.
j.

Other Defendants

This section addresses various defendants against whom plaintiffs allege facts at
the beginning of the complaint but fail to connect such facts to a legal claim.

29

At the time of the incidents at issue, the Supreme Court and Sixth Circuit had not yet
addressed the issue. See Kirkpatrick v. Cnty. of Washoe, 843 F.3d 784, 793 (9th Cir. 2016) (“No
Supreme Court precedent defines when a warrant is required to seize a child under exigent
circumstances.”); Andrews v. Hickman Cnty., 700 F.3d 845, 860 (6th Cir. 2012) (“The Supreme
Court has not expressly held that the Fourth Amendment prohibition on warrantless searches of
homes does or does not apply to social workers carrying out investigations regarding the welfare
of children.”). In December 2012, the Sixth Circuit held for the first time that social workers are
governed by the warrant requirement (noting that up until that point, the court “ha[d] not . . . had
occasion to definitively address this issue”). Additionally, “it was [previously] not evident under
clearly established law whether [social workers] were even required to comply with the strictures
of the Fourth Amendment.” Id. at 863.
Plaintiffs’ arguments that Rogers and Walsh clearly establish the right is defeated by the
holding in Andrews. For a right to be clearly established, there must be “binding precedent by the
Supreme Court, its court of appeals[,] or itself.” Russo v. City of Cincinnati, 953 F.2d 1036, 1042–
43 (6th Cir. 1992). The Sixth Circuit held that Walsh as a single district court opinion was
insufficient to pronounce a right as clearly established in Hall. 666 F. App’x. at 481. As to Rogers,
for out-of-circuit cases to provide such clearly established law, “these decisions must both point
unmistakably to the unconstitutionality of the conduct complained of and be so clearly
foreshadowed by applicable direct authority as to leave no doubt in the mind of a reasonable officer
that his conduct, if challenged on constitutional grounds, would be found wanting.” Russo, 953
F.2d at 1043. Rogers was not foreshadowed by applicable direct authority in this Circuit as
demonstrated by Andrews.
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Julia Rotella and Pamela Becker are mentioned only sparsely in the complaint: they
were Regional Administrator and Team Leader of the State of Tennessee DCS [Doc. 6,
Parties, ¶¶ 26, 27]; DCS by and through Rotella, Becker, and others, called in a false report
on the Crawford Family, in whose home plaintiffs wished their children to be placed [Doc.
6 ¶ 25]; DCS by and through Rotella, Becker, and others did not allow a plaintiff to visit
with her siblings [Id. ¶ 102]; and they are state actors [Id. ¶ 350, 356] and private persons
[Id. at ¶ 358].
Sean Morehead is mentioned in the following paragraphs: as Regional General
Counsel and supervisor of Erin Schad for DCS [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 25]; he filed a lawsuit
for termination of parental rights in Anderson County Chancery Court without notifying
the parents [Doc. 6, ¶ 172]; DCS by and through Morehead accused M.M.P. of being a
perpetrator [Id. ¶ 199]; and he is a state actor [Id. ¶ 350, 356] and private person [Id. ¶ 358].
Erin Schad is mentioned in the following paragraphs: as Assistant General Counsel
for DCS [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 24]; she refused to look over or sign an agreed order for DCS
to supervise visitation between plaintiff children and parents; and she is a state actor [Id. ¶
350, 356] and private person [Id. ¶ 358].30
Terry Ryan is mentioned in the following paragraphs: as a Special Investigative Unit
investigator for DCS [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 52]; he failed to talk to parents and get all
information required in the investigation into sexual abuse allegations including

30

Schad is additionally mentioned in the section on libel and slander [Doc. 6 ¶ 371, 372]
and Violations of the Brian A. Settlement Agreement [Id. ¶ 514], which claims have been
addressed elsewhere in this opinion.
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interviewing the children, not talking to the parents about the children’s history in Russia,
interviewed a six (6) year old based on allegations from the foster family [Doc. 6 ¶ 37];
and is a state actor [Id. ¶ 350].
Helen Burleson is mentioned in the following paragraphs: as a Case Manager at
DCS [Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 20]; she called in a false report on the Crawford Family, in whose
home plaintiffs wished their children to be placed [Doc. 6 ¶ 25]; she allowed Jay Huckabey
to videotape child plaintiff during a pickup of the children by the Crawford family [Id. ¶
26]; she gave erroneous information on a form knowing it would cause the form to be
rejected [Id. ¶ 27]; she took plaintiff child or caused her to be taken to a doctor to perform
a pelvic exam [Id. ¶ 33]; she conspired to keep plaintiff children away from their parents
[Id. ¶ 88]; she called a judge a “hottie” [Id. ¶ 160]; filed the termination of parental rights
suit without parental permission [Id. at ¶ 172]; and she told foster parents the children had
been sexually abused [Id. ¶ 173]. DCS by and through Burleson: did not allow a plaintiff
to visit with her siblings [Id. ¶ 102]; misused therapeutic visits to trap the Pethtel parents
into admitting allegations [Id. ¶ 181]; allowed the foster parents to influence the children’s
therapists, educators, and other adults [Id. ¶ 185]; made negative remarks about Pethtel
exercising his second amendment right [Id. ¶192]; allowed plaintiff children to be baptized
without notice to the parents [Id. ¶ 196]; accused M.M.P. as a perpetrator [Id. ¶ 199]; and

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met with representatives of Foothills Care [Id. ¶ 263]. Additionally, Burleson is a state
actor [Id. ¶ 350, 356] and private person [Id. ¶ 358].31
Heather Poster is mentioned in the following paragraphs: as an employee of DCS
[Doc. 6, Parties, ¶ 48]; she obstructed a doctor from performing medical duties [Id. ¶ 35];
allowed a “search and seizure” of the children’s toys when they were taken to the Health
Department and searched for “bugs” in September 2010 [Id. ¶ 36]; and she is a state actor
[Id. ¶ 350].32
Shannon Forrester is mentioned in the following paragraphs: as a Team Supervisor
at DCS [Doc. 6, Parties, 19]; she called in a false report on the Crawford Family, in whose
home plaintiffs wished their children to be placed [Doc. 6 ¶ 25]; she allowed Jay Huckabey
to videotape a plaintiff child during a pickup of the children by the Crawford family [Id. ¶
26]; DCS by and through Forrester: refused to allow a plaintiff child to visit with siblings
[Id. ¶ 102], allowed foster parents to influence children’s therapists, educators, and other
adults [Id. ¶ 185], made negative remarks about plaintiffs’ religious preferences [Id. ¶ 193],
accused and indicated M.M.P. as a perpetrator for sexual abuse [Id. ¶ 199], met with

31

Burleson is additionally mentioned in the section about the state constitutional right to
equal protection [Id. ¶ 483] and violations of DCS policy [Id. at ¶ 524(v)].
32

Though plaintiffs allege in the factual general allegations portion of the complaint, the
only Fourth Amendment § 1983 claims are based on other searches in November 2009 of persons
and or the plaintiffs’ home. Plaintiffs make no legal claims arising out of the September 2010
“search” and do not state from where they were seized. Especially given the association of the
Fourth Amendment unlawful search and seizure claims [Doc. 6 ¶ 352(a)–(d)] with other dates and
events, the statement in the factual allegations that Poster was somehow involved in this search
and seizure of an unspecified location with no later legal claim or count associated with it is
insufficient to put Poster on notice of a claim against her.
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representatives of Foothills before and after every family visitation session [Id. ¶ 263]; and
is a state actor [Id. ¶ 350, 356] and private person [Id. ¶ 358].33
As discussed in Part II.B.1, this fails to state any claims as to which named defendant
was responsible for violations of plaintiffs’ rights. Frazier, 41 F. App’x at 764. Failure to
connect factual allegations to any legal claims or allegations does not put defendants on
notice of the claims against them. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 545. Though facts may be alleged
earlier in the complaint, the failure to state which constitutional violations apply to the
defendants and a general statement under a § 1983 heading that the defendants are state
actors is akin to a “the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at
678. Accordingly, all claims against Julia Rotella, Pamela Becker, Sean Morehead, Erin
Schad, Terry Ryan, Helen Burleson, and Heather Poster must be DISMISSED.
11.

Supplemental Jurisdiction

While a district court has supplemental jurisdiction over state-law claims forming
“part of the same case or controversy” as claims over which the court exercises original
jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a), a district court may decline to exercise supplemental
jurisdiction if it has dismissed all claims over which it has original jurisdiction. Brooks v.
Rothe, 577 F.3d 701, 709 (6th Cir. 2009) (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3)). Because the
Court in this opinion will dismiss all of plaintiffs’ claims arising under federal law, it will
also DISMISS without prejudice plaintiffs’ remaining state law claims.

33

Forrester is also mentioned in the section regarding free exercise of religion [Id. ¶ 430,
438] and state equal protection [Id. ¶ 493], addressed in Parts II.B.10.b and II.B.11.
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III.

Second Amended Complaint
Plaintiffs originally filed this suit on November 8, 2010 [Doc. 1]. On March 3,

2011, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint against all defendants [Doc. 6]. On the basis
of that complaint, many defendants filed motions to dismiss [Docs. 63, 65, 67, 69, 74].
When the case was stayed pending resolution of the proceedings in state juvenile court and
state criminal court in September 2011, these original motions to dismiss were denied
without prejudice to refile once the stay was lifted [Doc. 175]. The stay was lifted on June
7, 2019 [Doc. 212], the parties began “immense discovery” [Doc. 298], and defendants
renewed their motions to dismiss [Docs. 213, 215, 233, 257, 282, 284, 286]. On October
28, 2019, nearly a decade after the original complaint, plaintiffs filed for leave to amend
the pleadings and add parties based on newly discovered information [Doc. 297].
Plaintiffs assert that some of the “resultant harm was discovered a mere two months
ago” during discovery [Doc. 298 p. 3]. As reason for the delay, plaintiffs state they have
been “consumed” with litigation in this case, as counsel of record represented plaintiffs in
juvenile court, chancery court, on appellate matters, in criminal court, and in child support
court hearings for “voluminous accusations” [Id.]. Additionally, plaintiffs were “working
through many emotional issues with their children” and health problems [Id. at 3–4].
Plaintiffs state these issues arising while preparing a response to the many motions to
dismiss caused the delay in filing the instant motion.
A party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course within twenty-one (21)
days of serving it or twenty-one (21) days of service of a responsive pleading or service of
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a Rule 12(b), (e), or (f) motion. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). If these deadlines have passed, a
party may only amend its pleading with the opposing party’s written consent or the court’s
permission. Id. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2), a “court should freely
give leave [to amend] when justice so requires.” The decision to grant or deny an
opportunity to amend is within the discretion of the District Court, but the Court should
provide reasons justifying the decision. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962).
Reasons to deny leave to amend include “undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the
part of the movant, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendments previously
allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment,
futility of amendment, etc.” Id. For a variety of reasons, plaintiffs’ motion for leave to
amend the complaint is denied.
First, plaintiffs do not provide enough detail in their motion or memorandum
explaining the nature of or reason for the requested amendments. Under Local Rule 7.1(b),
parties “shall include a concise statement of the factual and legal grounds which justify the
ruling sought from the Court.” Plaintiffs indicate that a need to amend their complaint
arose after the children returned home and “started reporting to their parents and their
therapists new facts in relation to how the Pethtel children were treated while in foster care”
[Doc. 297 p. 2]. Plaintiffs state they “received information of new Defendants that needed
to be added to the Amended Complaint” and list two (2) examples [Id.]. They then state
“these newly discovered facts as well as many others need to be added to the Amended
Complaint” [Id.] and that there is “newly discovered evidence and added defendants as
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specified in the motion accompanying this memorandum of law” [Doc. 298 p. 5]. Plaintiffs
claim to further specify the evidence in their motion but fail to do so. Given that plaintiffs
add seventeen (17) new defendants34 to the styling of the case in their proposed amended
complaint, the few general comments about proposed amendments do not give sufficient
notice of what the specific factual allegations or claims they seek to add by amending the
complaint. Instead, the Court and defendants must closely scrutinize the two (2) documents
to ascertain the differences in the current complaint and plaintiffs’ proposed amended
complaint. The Court therefore finds that plaintiffs do not provide sufficient grounds in
their briefing to justify granting leave to amend. See El-Moussa v. Holder, 569 F.3d 250,
257 (6th Cir. 2009) (“Issues adverted to in a perfunctory manner, unaccompanied by some
effort at developed argumentation, are deemed waived. It is not sufficient for a party to
mention a possible argument in [a] skeletal way, leaving the court to put flesh on its bones.”
(quoting McPherson v. Kelsey, 125 F.3d 989, 995–96 (6th Cir. 1997))).
Second, and similarly, plaintiffs’ threadbare memorandum [Doc. 298] is indicative
of bad faith and dilatory motive. As the Court has noted, plaintiffs fail to identify what
specifically they seek to amend changed in the complaint. In comparing the complaints, it
appears that plaintiffs make changes of no consequence to the facts alleged or claims
presented: words are shortened and sentences rearranged or removed, resulting in no

The second amended complaint adds “Department of Children’s Services” as another
defendant. The complaint states “Defendant State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services
(hereinafter referred to as DCS. . . .” [Doc. 297-1 p. 6] and later references persons only within
the Tennessee DCS, and such addition of DCS generally is considered duplicative. Thus, DCS,
Heather Poster, and Paul White are listed twice and are not counted again [Id. p. 1–3].
62
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meaningful difference. While some facts are added and new parties inserted, plaintiffs fail
to provide any direction as to where the changes are located. Mary Lou Seamon, who
plaintiffs apparently seek to add as a defendant, is even included in the styling of the case
and nowhere in the body of the complaint. Thus, defendants and the Court are left to look
for what has changed and the significance, if any, of such changes. With over 100 pages
in each complaint, this is an extraordinarily time-consuming task. Plaintiffs’ motion and
memorandum in support do nothing to ease the burden. This is consistent with the rest of
the complaint wherein the parties must search through dozens of pages to find specific
allegations and piece together arguments. Such meaningless grammatical or structural
changes in fact add to such a burden as the complaints are not easily compared. The Court
therefore finds that the proposed amended complaint and plaintiffs’ filings related thereto
indicate bad faith and dilatory motive.
Third, plaintiffs misconstrue of the purpose of a complaint in the little information
provided for the amendment. Plaintiffs posit:
the newly discovered evidence will assist the trier of fact in understanding
the entirety of this matter [and] . . . assist the defendants’ counsel in
understanding all of the individuals and nuances involved in this matter. The
additional defendants being named serve a purpose in allowing the Pethtel
children the justice they deserve.
[Doc. 298 p. 5]. Plaintiffs now ask that “the Pethtel children receive the justice due them
by this honorable court providing them the venue through which to tell their story” [Id. p.
5]. Rather, a complaint is neither intended to be a comprehensive list of plaintiffs’
documentary evidence to be presented to the jury, nor a complete narrative of all events.
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The complaint is simply a “short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s
jurisdiction” and “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is
entitled to relief; and a demand for the relief sought.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). The complaint
is not the forum for plaintiffs to tell their complete story.
Fourth, the amended complaint is futile. Upon a thorough review of the two
complaints, the Court finds that, other than switching the order of words or sentences,
making abbreviations, and adding facts as to the parties, the complaints are largely similar.
The sections listing plaintiffs’ claims are substantively identical, with the exception of
added defendants, small wording changes, and a paragraph stating parties should have
known defendant Erin Schad practiced law without a license [Doc. 297-1 ¶ 418]. As
discussed in this opinion, the legal claims as to all defendants at issue will be dismissed.
Many claims are being dismissed for reasons that could have been avoided with better
pleadings. While plaintiffs’ situation is not exactly “repeated failure to cure deficiencies
by amendments previously allowed” under Foman, 371 U.S. at 182, it is a failure to cure
deficiencies when they had over eight (8) years’ notice of the deficiencies as identified in
the original motions to dismiss before the stay of the case.
Plaintiffs state that the amendment “will allow the child Plaintiffs in this matter to
have their issues heard and receive the justice they deserve which is not a futile matter”
[Doc. 298 p. 3]. Futility in this context does not refer to the importance of the events at
issue or relief being sought. It instead refers to the legal impact of the changes in the
amendment, as “[i]t is well settled that the district court may deny a motion for leave to
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amend a complaint if such complaint, as amended, could not withstand a motion to
dismiss.” Neighborhood Dev. Corp. v. Advisory Council on Historic Pres., 632 F.2d 21,
23 (6th Cir. 1980). As the proposed complaint does not cure any of the legal defects
outlined in the defendants’ original motions to dismiss, and the claims are identical to those
raised in the first amended complaint in all relevant ways, this amendment is futile.
Fifth, plaintiffs’ motion is quite delayed, resulting in significant prejudice to the
defendants and undue burden on the Court. “[A] party must act with due diligence if it
intends to take advantage of the Rule’s liberality.” Pittman v. Experian Info. Sols., 901
F.3d 619, 641 (6th Cir. 2018). “Ordinarily, delay alone, does not justify denial of leave to
amend. . . . At some point, however, delay will become undue, placing an unwarranted
burden on the court, or will become prejudicial, placing an unfair burden on the opposing
party.” Morse v. McWhorter, 290 F.3d 795, 800 (6th Cir. 2002) (quotations omitted).
To determine what constitutes prejudice, courts look at whether the new claims
would “require the opponent to expend significant additional resources to conduct
discovery and prepare for trial; significantly delay the resolution of the dispute; or prevent
the plaintiff from bringing a timely action in another jurisdiction.” Phelps v. McClellan,
30 F.3d 658, 662–63 (6th Cir. 1994). The Sixth Circuit “has required at least some
significant showing of prejudice to deny a motion to amend based solely upon delay. . .
and [t]he longer the period of an unexplained delay, the less will be required of the
nonmoving party in terms of a showing of prejudice.” Pittman, 901 F.3d, at 641.

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As previously discussed, plaintiffs state various family and medical reasons in
addition to the demands of ongoing litigation as reasons for their delay. Plaintiffs
acknowledged that “some of the information was received years ago” and that during the
stay, they “received information of new Defendants that needed to be added” [Doc. 297
p. 2]. Instead of acting promptly, they waited until the day of the deadline to file the
amended complaint.
While not an untimely motion, this is undue delay and causes significant prejudice
to the parties. At the time of this motion, the parties only had thirty (30) days left until the
close of discovery [Doc. 138].35 Significant discovery had already begun in this case, and
adding more defendants and facts would require delay as the parties would have to become
acquainted with the case, file their own motions to dismiss, and continue the discovery
process. As the events of this action occurred over a decade ago, it is unlikely that many
of the new parties still have documentation or records from the time period.

35

The relationship of a case and its completion of discovery is often a significant factor in
determining undue delay. However, unlike in this case, amendments typically add legal claims
and, in some cases, add parties to the new claims. Thus to reopen discovery for said claims would
be inappropriate, and denial is not an abuse of discretion. See, e.g. Pittman v. Experian Info. Sols.,
901 F.3d 619, 641 (6th Cir. 2018) (holding no abuse of discretion when plaintiff added a party,
raised additional counts, and discovery had closed five months prior); Siegner v. Twp. of Salem,
654 F. App’x 223, 228–29 (6th Cir. 2016) (holding no abuse of discretion where discovery had
closed two (2) months prior and plaintiff was long aware of the basis for the claim to be amended);
Duggins v. Steak’N Shake, Inc., 195 F.3d 828, 834 (6th Cir. 1999) (holding no abuse of discretion
where plaintiff was aware of the basis of the claim for many months, discovery had closed,
dispositive motion deadline had passed, and a motion for summary judgment had been filed). Here,
plaintiffs seek to amend the complaint to add more factual allegations and parties without
amending the claims, but the progression of the case to this stage in discovery is still indicative of
delay and the prejudice defendants would face to integrate the new defendants into the case.
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The prejudice resulting from the delay is underlined by the statute of limitations for
many of plaintiffs’ claims against new defendants. For example, “[f]ederal district courts
apply state statutes of limitations in proceedings brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.”
Pendergrass v. Sullivan, No. 1:19-cv-115, 2019 WL 4264377, at *2 (E.D. Tenn. Aug. 14,
2019) (quoting Cooper v. Rhea Cnty., Tenn., 302 F.R.D. 195, 199 (E.D. Tenn. 2014)).
Although § 1983 has no statute of limitations on its own, the applicable limitations period
is the same period that “state law provides for personal injury torts, which is one year in
Tennessee.” Id. (citing Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104).
Federal law controls when the civil rights cause of action accrues. Hughes v.
Vanderbilt Univ., 215 F.3d 543, 548 (6th Cir. 2000). “The statute of limitations commences
to run when the plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the injury which is the basis of
his action. A plaintiff has reason to know of his injury when he should have discovered it
through the exercise of reasonable diligence.” Sevier v. Turner, 742 F.2d 262, 273 (6th Cir.
1984) (citations omitted). Additionally, courts “have looked to what event should have
alerted the typical lay person to protect his or her rights.” Hughes, 215 F.3d at 548 (citing
Dixon v. Anderson, 928 F.2d 212, 215 (6th Cir. 1991)).
While plaintiffs state “some of the resultant harm was discovered a mere two months
ago” [Doc. 298 p. 3], the focus is not on the residual harm of an event, but the injurious
event itself and when plaintiffs should have been put on notice to continue investigation.
Hughes, 215 F.3d at 548. In this case, that time was long ago. Plaintiffs state that “some
of the information was received years ago” and the “accumulation over time of new
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evidence . . . compelled the Plaintiffs to file this motion” [Doc. 297 p. 2]. However, the
passage of time does not work in plaintiff’s favor. The Court discusses the statute of
limitations not for the purpose of resolving the motion, but to underscore the legal and
practical significance of swift action and the undue burden and prejudice such delays can
cause. The parties sought to be added to this case reportedly acted and caused injury far
over one (1) year ago and have been uninvolved in this case for the years it has been
pending. To add them now would result in incredible prejudice.
These findings, considered cumulatively, strengthen the Court’s conclusion as the
proposed amended complaint satisfies nearly every basis identified in Foman as
justification to deny leave to amend. Consequently, Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to Amend
Pleadings and Add Parties Based on Newly Discovered Information [Doc. 297] is
DENIED.
IV.

Conclusion
For the reasons discussed herein, the Court lists the following disposition of the

pending motions and remaining issues:
•

All claims against defendants State of Tennessee Department of Children’s
Services, David Clark, Clinch Valley Children’s Center, Foothills Care, Inc.,
Solution Source, Omni Vision, Shannon Forrester, Helen Burleson, Katie
Butler, Cynthia Koehler, Samantha Cardwell, Erin Schad, Sean Morehead,
Julie Rotella, Pamela Becker, Margaret Durgin, Gail Clift, Stephanie
Huckabey, Jay Huckabey, Hazel Bumgardner, Martha Ruff, Stephen Ruff,
Kimbra McKinley, Ryan Peters, Stacey Pratt, Leigh Anne Goldstine, Stella
Hamilton, Anderson County Health Department, Pediadvocates, Heather
Poster, and Terry Ryan have been dismissed. Accordingly, the motions to
dismiss [Docs. 213, 215, 233, 257, 282, 284, 286] are GRANTED. Federal
claims against the defendants are DISMISSED with prejudice; plaintiffs
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will not be granted leave to address the deficiencies in their complaint. State
law claims are DISMISSED without prejudice.
•

Clift, Omni, and Pediadvocates’s requests for attorney’s fees and costs
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 are DENIED without prejudice.

•

McKinley, Peters, and Solution Source’s Motion to Compel [Doc. 292] and
Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 294]; the Children’s Center, Durgin,
and Pratt’s Motion to Exclude or Limit the Testimony and Opinions of
Plaintiffs’ Experts [Doc. 291] and plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File Excess
Pages and Extension of Time to File Answer to Doc. 291 [Docs. 303, 304]
are DISMISSED as moot.

•

Plaintiff’s Motion to for Leave to Amend Pleadings and Add Parties Based
on Newly Discovered Information [Doc. 297] is DENIED.

•

As the Court has issued a ruling on all pending dispositive motions [Doc.
302], the stay in this case is hereby LIFTED.

•

The remaining defendants in this matter are: Anderson County CASA, Diane
Renfroe, Steven Abner, Josh Cardwell, Joseph Gilvin, Harold J. Crowley,
Wiley Maloney, Jason Leach, Jonathan Acker, Wally Braden, and Paul
White.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/ Thomas A. Varlan
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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