Shelby County Board Of Education v. Memphis City Board of Education et al

Filing 550

ORDER granting 541 Motion to Dismiss remaining Third-Party claims. Signed by Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr on 3/10/2014.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
WESTERN DIVISION

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SHELBY
COUNTY, TENNESSEE, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
MEMPHIS CITY BOARD OF
EDUCATION, et al.,
Defendants.

THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF SHELBY
COUNTY, TENNESSEE,
Third-Party Plaintiff,
v.
ROBERT E. COOPER, JR., et al.,
Third-Party Defendants.

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No. 11-2101

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ORDER

Before

the Court is the January 14, 2014 Rule 41(a)(2)

Joint Motion for Dismissal with Prejudice (the “Motion”).
No. 541.)
Shelby

Third-Party Plaintiff the Board of Commissioners of

County

Plaintiffs

(ECF

the

(the

“Shelby

County

City of Memphis

Commission”),

Third-Party

and the Memphis City Council

(together, the “City Plaintiffs”), Third-Party Defendants Robert
E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General of the State of Tennessee; Tre
Hargett, Secretary of State

of

the State of Tennessee; Mark

Goins, Coordinator of Elections for the Tennessee Department of
State; the Tennessee Department of State Division of Elections;
the

Tennessee

Department

of

Education;

and

Kevin

Huffman,

Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education, all in
their

official

capacities

only

(collectively,

the

“State

Defendants”), and Intervening Third-Party Defendants the City of
Germantown, the Town of Collierville, the City of Bartlett, the
City

of

Arlington

Lakeland,

the

City

(collectively,

the

of

Millington,

and

“Municipalities”),

the

Town

of

(collectively,

the “Parties”), jointly move for dismissal of the Third-Party
Complaints with prejudice.

(Id.)

Included with the Motion are

Agreements of Compromise and Settlement (the “Agreements”) among
the Shelby County Commission and the Shelby County Board of
Education and each of the Municipalities.

(ECF Nos. 541-1, 541-

2, 541-3, 541-4, 541-5, 541-6.)
The Shelby County Commission has brought third-party claims
on its own behalf and on behalf of the school children of Shelby
County, Tennessee, against the State Defendants, and this Court
has held that it is permitted to assert the rights of those
school children.

(Third Am. Third-Party Compl., ECF No. 429;

Order, ECF No. 459 at 26-27.)

The County Commission’s Third
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Amended Third-Party Complaint alleges

violations of Tennessee

and federal law, including violations of the Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Municipalities have intervened and aligned themselves
as Defendants.
have

aligned

(ECF No. 293; ECF No 347.)
themselves

with

the

The City Plaintiffs

Shelby

County

Commission,

bringing similar third-party claims against the State Defendants
and the Municipalities (ECF No. 428.)
The Shelby County Commission and the Shelby County Board of
Education have entered into

the

Agreements

with each of the

Municipalities and their respective school boards in which all
claims that the parties to the Agreements have raised or could
have

raised

in

the

instant

lawsuit,

including

all

equal

protection claims arising under federal or state law related to
the creation or existence of the municipal school districts,
have been settled and released.
541-4, 541-5, 541-6.)

(ECF Nos. 541-1, 541-2, 541-3,

The Court has reviewed the terms of the

Agreements and finds them reasonable.

They are consistent with

the Consent Decree entered on September 28, 2011, reflecting a
consensus among the Parties on “the best way to resolve [the]
complex institutional reform” at issue.

(ECF No. 262 at 10.)

The Rule 41(a)(2) Joint Motion for Dismissal with Prejudice
is GRANTED.

The remaining claims in the Third-Party Complaints

(ECF Nos. 428 and 429) are DISMISSED with PREJUDICE with each
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party

to

bear

its

jurisdiction

of

purpose

interpreting

of

the

own

fees

and

Third-Party
and

costs.

The

Complaints

enforcing

the

Court

for

retains

the

limited

terms

of

the

Agreements of Settlement and Compromise.

So ordered this 10th day of March, 2014.

s/_Samuel H. Mays, Jr._____
SAMUEL H. MAYS, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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