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On April 12, 1993, Jason Robinson was killed by a single stab wound to the abdomen while attending a social studies class at Dartmouth High School. He was 16 years old at the time. His assailants were three youths also 15 or 16 years of age. Two of them were fellow students. The third was not.
Jason''s mother subsequently brought suit against the Town of Dartmouth, the Board of Selectmen, the School Committee, the Superintendent and the High School Principal for the death of her son. She sought recovery under three theories: (1) negligence under M.G.L. c.258 (the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act); (2) 42 U.S.C. §1983; and (3) M.G.L. c.12, §§11H & 11I (the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act or "MCRA.") The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that they were immune from liability under Chapter 258, they did not owe Jason Robinson a constitutional or statutory duty to protect him from third parties cognizable under Section 1983, nor did they use threats, intimidation or coercion to deprive Jason, or to attempt to deprive Jason, of a constitutional or statutorily-protected right. The Superior Court (Judge Xifaras) allowed the defendant''s motion.
With respect to the plaintiff''s negligence claims, Judge Xifaras held such claims were barred by Section 10(b) of Chapter 258 (the "discretionary function" exception) and by Section 10(j) (the statutory "public duty" rule which protects a public employer from liability for any claim based on the failure to protect a claimant from the violent or tortious conduct of a third person.) With respect to plaintiff''s civil rights claims, the Judge held that compulsory school attendance did not create a "special relationship" between the student and the school sufficient to avoid application of the "no duty" rule of DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dep t of Social Servs., 489 U.S. 189 (1989). Nor did the school affirmatively place Jason in a position of danger. Therefore, no constitutional remedy was available. And, even if it was, the defendants did not use threats, intimidation or coercion to deprive or attempt to deprive Jason of his civil rights; hence, no recovery could be allowed under MCRA.
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The plaintiff appealed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court. There, she obtained partial relief. In a split decision, the Appeals Court affirmed the Superior Court''s decision to dismiss plaintiff''s federal and state civil rights claims. The Town and school officials had no constitutional obligation to protect Jason Robinson from his assailants, even while he was attending class. Moreover, plaintiff''s complaint failed to allege the requisite threats, intimidation or coercion to support a claim under MCRA. Brum v. Town of Dartmouth, 44 Mass. App. Ct. 318, 327 (1998). The Appeals Court reversed, however, the dismissal of plaintiff''s claim against the Town under Chapter 258. Although a municipality has considerable discretion with respect to the type or level of security it chooses to provide in its schools, it does not have the discretion to provide no security whatsoever. Plaintiff alleged in her complaint that Dartmouth High School "essentially had no security policy, procedure or safeguards" to protect students from violence, even though it knew or should have known of the "clear threat of serious violence" to which all students were exposed. In support of this position, the Appeals Court cited M.G.L. c.71, §37H which provides in part that the superintendent of every school district shall publish policies pertaining to the conduct of teachers and students and that such policies shall include "standards and procedures to assure school building security and safety of students and school personnel." Id., 44 Mass. App. Ct. at 324. Accordingly, the "discretionary function" exception set forth in Section 10(b) did not protect the Town from liability.
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