Doe v. Harrell

Case: 19-51013 Document: 00515698599 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/07/2021

United States Court of Appeals

for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

January 7, 2021

No. 19-51013

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

John Doe,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus

Melissa Harrell, individually and in her official capacity; Laura E.

Mitchell, individually and in her official capacity; Rena S. Day,

individually and in her official capacity; Board of Regents of the

University of Texas System,

Defendants—Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Western District of Texas

USDC No. 1:19-CV-415

Before Haynes, Higginson, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:*

John Doe is a former epidemiology graduate student who pursued a

PhD at the University of Texas Health Science Center (“UTHealth”) for

three-and-a-half years. He was dismissed from the PhD program after failing

*

Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this

opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited

circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.

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No. 19-51013

a required examination three times. He alleged that his UTHealth

professors—Melissa B. Harrell, Laura E. Mitchell, Rena S. Day (collectively,

the “Professors”)—and the Board of Regents of the University of Texas

System (the “Board,” and with the Professors, “Defendants”) actually

dismissed him from the program because he has views critical of current

vaccine research. The district court dismissed his claims, some for lack of

subject-matter jurisdiction and the remainder for failure to state a claim. We

AFFIRM. 1

Background

Because Doe appeals the dismissal of his complaint, we take all well-

pleaded factual allegations in his complaint as true; this section, therefore,

reflects the facts as alleged therein. See Doe ex rel. Magee v. Covington Cnty.

Sch. Dist. ex rel. Keys, 675 F.3d 849, 854 (5th Cir. 2012) (en banc).

Doe has concerns about current vaccine research: he has “regularly

and consistently espoused views that are critical of vaccine safety and

efficacy” and has “brought attention to scientific studies and government

documents that link vaccines to autism.” He has posted about these topics

on social media, which he claims has prompted others to start “letter-writing

campaigns” against him.

Doe applied and was admitted to UTHealth’s epidemiology PhD

program in 2013. After enrolling in the program, Doe spent his first two years

completing coursework in preparation to take a required “preliminary

examination”—which he needed to pass to begin writing a dissertation and

ultimately obtain his PhD.

1

Judge Oldham concurs in the judgment only.

2

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Doe took that exam for the first time in June 2015. He failed it.

Mitchell, then-head of the Preliminary Exam Committee, provided Doe with

an “Exam Summary”—but not Doe’s graded exam itself—indicating that

Doe’s exam answers demonstrated “broad deficits” in knowledge with

respect to all areas of epidemiology. Mitchell created a remediation plan to

help Doe prepare to take the preliminary examination a second time. Doe

ultimately modified that plan, opting to meet one-on-one with Harrell, his

academic advisor.

Doe took—and failed—the exam a second time in January 2016,

causing him to be dismissed from the PhD program. Like the first time he

took the exam, he was provided a summary of his results but not his graded

exam itself. Doe filed an academic appeal, asking UTHealth to reconsider

his dismissal. UTHealth gave him another chance: he was readmitted to the

program, but only on the condition that he pass the preliminary exam on his

third attempt. Doe was also given additional assistance in preparing for the

third exam, including reviewing his prior preliminary exams with Day. He

nonetheless failed it a third time, resulting in a final dismissal from the PhD

program.

Following his dismissal, Doe filed an unsuccessful lawsuit in state

court, seeking pre-suit discovery from the Professors under Texas Rule of

Civil Procedure 202. Doe then filed this case in federal district court. In

Doe’s operative Second Amended Complaint, Doe alleged five claims

against the Board and the Professors in both their individual and official

capacities, asserting that:

(1) the Professors engaged in “ultra vires” conduct beyond the au-

thority conferred on them by the State or the University of

Texas (Count I);

(2) all Defendants engaged in viewpoint discrimination and retali-

ation in violation of the First Amendment by dismissing him

3

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for his views on vaccines (Count II);

(3) all Defendants dismissed him in violation of the Due Process

Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (Count III);

(4) all Defendants dismissed him in violation of the due-course-of-

law protections of Article I, Section 19 of the Texas Constitu-

tion (Count IV); and

(5) all Defendants breached their contract with Doe by violating

the terms of his academic program (Count V).

With respect to all claims, Doe sought only prospective relief: reinstatement

to the PhD program. 2

In connection with the litigation, Doe sent Defendants a number of

document requests, which he characterized as “jurisdictional discovery” but

which essentially sought to find out what the Professors knew about his

vaccine viewpoint. The district court granted the Defendants a protective

order denying Doe the requested discovery.

Defendants moved to dismiss Doe’s complaint for lack of subject-

matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim under Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), respectively. The district court granted the

motion in full. Doe timely appealed.

Jurisdiction & Standard of Review

The district court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider

many of Doe’s claims. We have jurisdiction to decide jurisdiction; the

2 Specifically, his prayer for relief sought only “equitable relief” as follows:

1. An order reinstating Plaintiff to The University of Texas Health Sci-

ence Center; and otherwise placing him in the position he would have

been in but for Defendants’ wrongdoing;

2. A permanent injunction out of this Court prohibiting any further acts

of wrongdoing;

3. Whatever other equitable relief appears appropriate at the time of final

judgment.

4

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burden of proving jurisdiction falls on the plaintiff. See In re Transtexas Gas

Corp., 303 F.3d 571, 576–77 (5th Cir. 2002); see also St. Tammany Par. ex rel.

Davis v. FEMA, 556 F.3d 307, 315 (5th Cir. 2009) (placing the burden of proof

to prove lack of sovereign immunity on the plaintiff). Federal question claims

fall under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

Our jurisdictional review and our merits review are both de novo. See

Ramming v. United States, 281 F.3d 158, 161 (5th Cir. 2001) (per curiam). 3 To

survive a 12(b)(6) motion, the plaintiff must allege sufficient facts to “state a

claim to relief that is plausible on its face” such that a court can “draw the

reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.”

Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007) (first quotation); Ashcroft

v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (second quotation). The allegations must

be more than “speculative”; “mere conclusory statements . . . do not

suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.

Doe also challenges the district court’s decision to deny him pre-

motion-to-dismiss discovery. We review such discovery rulings for abuse of

discretion. Freeman v. United States, 556 F.3d 326, 341 (5th Cir. 2009).

Discussion

State Sovereign Immunity

State sovereign immunity typically prevents federal courts from

exercising subject-matter jurisdiction over suits against a state, its agencies,

3

There is a difference between the evaluation of 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) motions with

respect to factual claims: a district court can resolve factual disputes in evaluating its

jurisdiction but must accept the pleaded facts as true in determining whether the complaint

states a claim. Smith v. Reg’l Transit Auth., 756 F.3d 340, 347 (5th Cir. 2014). Here,

however, the district court did not assess disputed facts in either of its analyses—the issue

with Doe’s complaint, as the district court correctly identified, was the absence of certain

factual allegations.

5

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or its officials unless either the state has waived its immunity or Congress has

abrogated it. Bryant v. Tex. Dep’t of Aging & Disability Servs., 781 F.3d 764,

769 (5th Cir. 2015). Doe does not dispute that the Board and the Professors

can assert state sovereign immunity. 4 Nor does he contend that the state has

waived its immunity with respect to any of his claims or that Congress has

abrogated Defendants’ immunity. Doe instead seeks to invoke the exception

to state sovereign immunity for certain cases seeking prospective relief laid

out in Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908). 5 His arguments, however, fail.

The Board itself is immune from all of Doe’s claims: absent waiver or

abrogation (neither of which are at issue here), only state officials—not state

agencies—can be prospectively enjoined consistent with state sovereign

immunity. 6 See P.R. Aqueduct & Sewer Auth. v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., 506 U.S.

4

As relevant here, neither party disputes that the Board is a state agency entitled

to assert state sovereign immunity as an “arm of the state.” Mt. Healthy Sch. Dist. Bd. of

Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 280–81 (1977); see also Texas ex rel. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of

Tex. Sys. v. Walker, 142 F.3d 813, 820 n.10 (5th Cir. 1998) (suggesting that the Board can

assert state sovereign immunity). Likewise, neither party disputes that the Professors can

assert state sovereign immunity as state officials. See Hafer v. Melo, 502 U.S. 21, 25 (1991).

We agree.

5

Doe also asserts that the Professors acted beyond their authority such that they

are not entitled to immunity and can be sued in their individual capacities. But even if that

mechanism were available in other situations, Doe cannot evade state sovereign immunity

or pursue individual capacity claims here because the relief Doe seeks—reinstatement—

can only be provided by the Professors in their official capacities. See Pennhurst State Sch.

& Hosp. v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 106–09 (1984) (rejecting an ultra vires argument

because the relief sought—closing a hospital and creating new, smaller hospitals—“was

institutional and official in character”).

6

Doe tries to avoid state agency immunity by asserting that his claims against the

Board should be treated as claims against the Board’s individual members under Rule 17(d).

But that rule simply allows a “public officer” to be designated by title instead of name; it

does not, as Doe urges, permit a court to treat a suit against an entity as a suit against the

individuals that comprise it. FED. R. CIV. P. 17(d). Doe did not sue any individual Board

members using either their official titles or their names; he merely sued the Board itself.

Rule 17(d) is therefore inapplicable.

6

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139, 146 (1993) (noting that Ex parte Young “has no application in suits

against the States and their agencies, which are barred regardless of the relief

sought”); accord Cozzo v. Tangipahoa Par. Council–President Gov’t, 279 F.3d

273, 280 (5th Cir. 2002). We therefore conclude that all of Doe’s claims

against the Board were properly dismissed. 7

The Professors are also immune with respect to Doe’s state law

claims. Ex parte Young allows only federal claims against state officials for

prospective relief; it cannot be used to “instruct[] state officials on how to

conform their conduct to state law.” Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v.

Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 106 (1984); Corn v. Miss. Dep’t of Pub. Safety, 954

F.3d 268, 275 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 2020 WL 6385842 (Nov. 2, 2020)

(“[S]tate officials cannot be sued for violations of state law in federal court,

even under the Ex Parte Young exception.”). Doe’s state law claims (Counts

I, IV, and V) against the Professors were therefore also properly dismissed.

We now turn to Doe’s federal viewpoint discrimination and due

process claims against the Professors (Counts II and III).

Viewpoint Discrimination

To sustain his claim that the Professors discriminated and retaliated

against him for his views on vaccine safety, Doe needed to plausibly allege

that: (1) he engaged in constitutionally-protected speech; 8 and (2) his speech

was a substantial or motivating factor in the Professors’ decision to remove

him from the PhD program. See Kelleher v. Flawn, 761 F.2d 1079, 1083 (5th

7

Although the district court based its dismissal of Doe’s claims against the Board

on lack of standing, we may affirm a jurisdictional dismissal on any ground supported by

the record. Texas v. Travis Cnty., 910 F.3d 809, 811 (5th Cir. 2018).

8

Defendants do not dispute that Doe adequately alleged that he had engaged in

constitutionally protected speech.

7

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Cir. 1985). To avoid dismissal as to the second prong, Doe had to plausibly

allege facts indicating that the Professors knew about his views on vaccines.

See Dearman v. Stone Cnty. Sch. Dist., 832 F.3d 577, 581 (5th Cir. 2016) (citing

Tharling v. City of Port Lavaca, 329 F.3d 422, 428 (5th Cir. 2003) (“It is

axiomatic that a party cannot be ‘substantially motivated’ by a circumstance

of which that party is unaware.”)).

Doe failed to allege that the Professors were aware of his views. There

are some allegations suggesting Doe stated his views generally: Doe alleged

that he discussed his views on vaccine safety on social media and in his

application to UTHealth. Those statements, Doe alleged, prompted “letter-

writing campaigns” from others who disagreed with him. 9 But there are no

allegations about the Professors’ particular knowledge: Doe did not allege

any facts suggesting that the Professors were aware of his social media

activity, the contents of his application, or any letters written by his

opponents.

On appeal, Doe also cites an affidavit he submitted in response to

Defendants’ motion to dismiss, in which he stated that Harrell knew his

views on vaccines because he had expressed them in his classes and in an

extracurricular group. But no allegations to that effect appear anywhere in

his complaint. In any event, even if Doe had included allegations of Harrell’s

knowledge of his views in his complaint, Doe did not allege (in his complaint

or in his affidavit) that Harrell had any role in the decision to dismiss him

from UTHealth or that Harrell communicated her knowledge of Doe’s views

9

On appeal, Doe cites similar allegations in his state court pre-suit discovery

petition indicating that he was the subject of some media attention. Even if we were to

consider those allegations, Doe’s state court petition—like his operative complaint—fails

to suggest that the Professors were aware of the media attention he received.

8

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to anyone who did. Thus, the allegations underlying the affidavit would be

insufficient to establish a causal link between Doe’s speech and his dismissal.

Because Doe failed to allege any facts plausibly suggesting that the

Professors knew of his views on vaccine safety, he failed to adequately plead

that his views were a substantial or motivating factor in his removal from the

PhD program. The district court therefore properly dismissed Doe’s

viewpoint discrimination claim.

Due Process

Doe also challenges the dismissal of his due process claim. Although

Doe does not clearly articulate whether his due process claim is procedural

or substantive, the district court addressed the claim through both lenses.

We will do so as well.

1. Procedural Due Process

Students dismissed from public universities for disciplinary reasons

generally have constitutionally protected interests that warrant due process

protections. See Goss v. Lopez, 419 U.S. 565, 574 (1975). The Supreme Court

has indicated that academic dismissals can also warrant some, if fewer,

procedural safeguards. See Regents of Univ. of Mich. v. Ewing, 474 U.S. 214,

222 (1985); Bd. of Curators of Univ. of Mo. v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78, 90 (1978).

Doe concedes that his dismissal was academic. See generally Wheeler v. Miller,

168 F.3d 241, 250 (5th Cir. 1999) (per curiam) (noting that “poor grades”

and unsuccessful “remediation” are paradigmatic academic dismissals).

A public university is not required to afford significant process before

dismissing a student on academic grounds; the university need only provide

notice explaining the reasons for the “faculty’s dissatisfaction.” Horowitz,

435 U.S. at 85; see also Shaboon v. Duncan, 252 F.3d 722, 731 (5th Cir. 2001).

Doe’s allegations plainly indicate that he received more than enough notice

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of his substandard academic performance to meet that requirement: Doe was

given three chances to take the required exam and exam summaries detailing

his performance. He was provided multiple remedial learning programs and

was allowed to retake courses. He was provided one-on-one instructional

assistance. Finally, before he took the third exam, he met with Day—who

Doe indicates wrote the exam—to review and discuss questions from his

previous two sittings. Certainly, Doe wanted even more information, but the

information he did receive was more than enough to inform him of the

Professors’ “dissatisfaction” with his academic performance. Horowitz, 435

U.S. at 85. Accordingly, the district court correctly dismissed Doe’s

procedural due process claim.

2. Substantive Due Process

An academic dismissal only amounts to a substantive due process

violation if it is “clearly arbitrary or capricious.” Id. at 91 (quotation marks

omitted). A plaintiff must therefore plausibly allege that the defendants’

conduct is beyond the pale of reasonable academic decision-making: the

conduct must be “such a substantial departure from accepted academic

norms as to demonstrate that the [officials] responsible did not actually

exercise professional judgment.” Ewing, 474 U.S. at 225; accord Patel v. Tex.

Tech Univ., 941 F.3d 743, 748 (5th Cir. 2019).

Doe’s substantive due process claim fails for the same reasons as his

viewpoint discrimination claim. The Professors’ failures of academic

judgment, Doe claims, are founded on their “bad faith motive” in

“discriminat[ing] against him based on his well-known viewpoints critical of

vaccine safety and efficacy.” But, as discussed, Doe failed to plausibly allege

that the Professors were even aware of those views. So, there is nothing to

suggest that they departed—let alone substantially departed—from any

10

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academic norms of nondiscrimination. 10 Ewing, 474 U.S. at 225.

Accordingly, the district court correctly dismissed Doe’s substantive due

process claim.

Pre-Motion-To-Dismiss Discovery

Doe also claims that the district court erred in denying him discovery

prior to dismissing his claims for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and

failure to state a claim. In particular, he suggests that “jurisdictional

discovery” would have “answered” issues with his First Amendment

viewpoint discrimination claim. That information, he argues, would have

helped him negate Defendants’ immunity defenses and therefore

demonstrate the court’s jurisdiction.

The problem for Doe is that jurisdiction already existed over his

viewpoint discrimination and due process claims against the Professors: As

state officials, they cannot invoke state sovereign immunity against federal

claims seeking prospective relief. That is at the core of the Ex parte Young

doctrine. See, e.g., Verizon Md., Inc. v. Pub. Serv. Comm’n of Md., 535 U.S.

635, 645 (2002) (“[Under] Ex parte Young . . . , a court need only conduct a

straightforward inquiry into whether the complaint alleges an ongoing

violation of federal law and seeks relief properly characterized as

prospective.” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). Nor would

fact discovery change the immunity calculus with respect to Doe’s other

10

To the extent Doe’s arguments concern more than just the Professors’ alleged

viewpoint discrimination, Doe nonetheless failed to allege more than minor departures

from academic norms: he alleged that Mitchell provided him allegedly unhelpful and

“harshly written” exam summaries; that Mitchell incorrectly told him after his first exam

that there was no appeal mechanism for exam results; and that Mitchell and Harrell created

allegedly ineffective remediation plans. Doe points to no reason why those alleged

incidents would fall outside the bounds of reasonable professional judgment. See Ewing,

474 U.S. at 514.

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claims; as discussed above, Doe cannot maintain those causes of action at all

here given the prospective and uniquely institutional nature of the relief he

seeks. See Pennhurst, 465 U.S. at 106–09; cf. Arriba Ltd. v. Petroleos

Mexicanos, 962 F.2d 528, 537 n.17 (5th Cir. 1992) (noting that jurisdictional

discovery is generally only available in the immunity context if the

applicability of an immunity turns on a fact question).

That means that the only conceivable use for Doe’s requested

discovery would be to shore up the merits of his viewpoint discrimination

claim. But a plaintiff must adequately plead a claim before getting merits

discovery. See Twombly, 550 U.S. at 559 (“It is no answer to say that a claim

just shy of a plausible entitlement to relief can, if groundless, be weeded out

early in the discovery process.”); Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 686 (“Because [the

plaintiff]’s complaint is deficient . . . , he is not entitled to discovery, cabined

or otherwise.”); see, e.g., Jones v. Nueces Cnty., 589 F. App’x 682, 686 (5th

Cir. 2014) (per curiam) (“To the extent that [the plaintiff]’s requested

discovery regarded his constitutional claims, he was not entitled to it because

the district court held that the claims were inadequately pleaded.”). As we

have discussed, Doe failed to satisfy his pleading obligations. Accordingly,

the district court appropriately denied Doe the requested discovery.

AFFIRMED.

12