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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND SOUTHERN DIVISION

JOSE ESCOBAR, et al. Plaintiffs, v. MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al. Defendants. Civil Action No. AW-99-1964

MEMORANDUM OPINION Presently before the Court is Defendants' Montgomery County Board of Education, et al.'s Motion for Summary Judgment of Plaintiffs Jose Escobar, et. al.'s Complaint. Plaintiffs have filed an opposition to the motion, and the motion is ripe for resolution. No hearing is deemed necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md.). For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiffs' allegations of false imprisonment and discrimination under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. BACKGROUND Plaintiffs, Jose Escobar and his parents, Raul Escobar and Aracely Escobar, bring this action against Defendants Montgomery County Board of Education ("MCBE") and Stan Foreman. Plaintiffs allege racial and national origin discrimination as well as false imprisonment under Maryland common law. The claims arise out of interactions between the Escobars and Jose's school vice principal. According to the Complaint, Jose was attending school at Earl B.

Wood Junior High School when, in November of 1995, he reported that he had witnessed a sexual assault involving at least four fellow students in the gym locker room at the school. Mrs. Escobar became concerned for her son's safety and called the school office to ask if the boys who allegedly committed the assault had been removed from school. Mrs. Escobar alleges that she was told the accused boys would be removed from school, however the boys never where. Jose also told his version of the locker room events to Vice Principal Foreman, who conducted the investigation of the locker room incident. After taking into account statements from Jose, the accused boys, the victims, their parents, and Mr. Allen, the gym teacher who Jose brought onto the scene, Defendant Foreman came to the conclusion that the boys were horsing around. There had recently been a number of incidents of "chest bumping"1 and boys running around in the gym locker pulling down pants. Furthermore, one of the victims, at first, told Defendant Foreman that he was bothered by what the accused had done to him, and then later recanted his story and said that everybody was just joking around. On March 28, 1996, Jose was brought into Defendant Foreman's office in order to discuss a separate incident. Jose had been walking down the hall near the shop classes, when he saw a group of kids pulling down a piece of ceiling tile and/or light fixture. When the piece of ceiling fell to the ground, the kids ran into one of the shop rooms. Jose, as he walked by, kicked the piece of ceiling down a flight of stairs, whereby the piece broke even further. Jose was identified by the other students as actually bringing down the piece of ceiling material. When asked by Defendant Foreman about what happened, Jose denied having removed the piece of ceiling, but

Where the boys would bump their chests together in imitation of National Basketball Association ("NBA") players. 2

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also lied to Defendant Foreman about kicking the material while it was on the ground. Defendant Foreman admittedly became frustrated with Jose's behavior. Jose had been to see Defendant Foreman on a number of disciplinary matters since the locker incident on such matters as tardiness to class and throwing an eraser at a substitute teacher. Defendant Foreman allegedly called Jose's mother and stated in an angry tone, "I can't stand Jose. I don't want him in my school." See Complaint at

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