Case: Tooley v. Van Buren Public Schools

2:14-cv-13466 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Filed Date: Sept. 5, 2014

Closed Date: 2017

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Case Summary

On September 5, 2014, a fourteen-year-old transgender boy filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against South Middle School and its administrators, Summit Academy Charter Public School and its administrators, Wilson Middle School and its administrators, and OW Best Middle School and its administrators. The plaintiff, represented by private counsel, proceeded under Title IX, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the First Amendment, and the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. He sought monetary damages claiming that defendants had discriminated against him because he was transgender. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that he was consistently misgendered by school staff, forced to use the girls' restroom, harassed by school staff and other students, and that he was repeatedly outed by school staff. He also claimed that his mother made repeated attempts to meet with his teachers and school administrators to discuss the plaintiff's situation, but that they avoided her, and when they did meet with her, they were dismissive.

On September 15, 2014, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint, which contained no substantive changes but stated his reliance on their demand for a jury trial.

On February 24, 2015, the United States submitted a statement of interest in the case. The United States stated its position that Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, discrimination against transgender individuals is discrimination on the basis of sex and his prohibited by Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause and that the case should be allowed to proceed to discovery to resolve questions of fact.

The plaintiff filed a second amended complaint on November 5, 2015. It included additional factual allegations pertaining to the defendants' treatment of the plaintiff.

On February 23, 2016, all defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Before District Judge Avern Cohn could rule on the motion to dismiss, however, the parties reached a settlement agreement and obtained court approval on March 8, 2017. The defendants agreed to pay the plaintiff $53,150.44 in damages and $44,349.56 in attorneys' fees and costs. The case is now closed.

	Document
2:14-cv-13466	Docket	March 9, 2017	March 9, 2017 Docket
1 2:14-cv-13466	Complaint and Jury Request	Sept. 5, 2014	Sept. 5, 2014 Complaint
4 2:14-cv-13466	First Amended Complaint and Reliance on Jury Demand	Sept. 15, 2014	Sept. 15, 2014 Complaint
64-1 2:14-cv-13466	Statement of Interest of the United States	Feb. 24, 2015	Feb. 24, 2015 Statement of Interest (DOJ)
85 2:14-cv-13466	Amended Complaint	Nov. 5, 2015	Nov. 5, 2015 Complaint
124 2:14-cv-13466	Order Approving Settlement Tooley v. Van Buren Public School District	March 9, 2017	March 9, 2017 Order/Opinion 2017 WL 1135800

Case: Tooley v. Van Buren Public Schools

2:14-cv-13466 | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

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