Scarborough v. Frederick Cnty. Sch. Bd.
dissenting voices on social media." (See id. ¶¶ 6–
49.) Scarborough names Edwards, Sovine, and
Angelo in their official capacities. (Id. ¶ 4.)
banning her—repeated violations of FCSB's terms
and conditions—is false, as the page had never
published any terms and conditions. (Id. ¶ 19.)
Scarborough alleges the following facts in support
of these three § 1983 claims. She asserts that
FCSB maintains a Facebook page called
"Frederick County Public Schools ," which was, at
the relevant time, registered as a "Government
Organization."2 (Id. ¶¶ 9–11.) According to
According to Scarborough, approximately one
month after she filed this suit, Superintendents
Sovine and Angelo blocked her from their official
Twitter accounts. (Id. ¶¶ 20–21.) Scarborough
alleges that Sovine and Angelo administer these
Twitter accounts in their official capacities as the
chief administrators of FCPS. (Id. ) Scarborough
further claims that, "[o]n the same day [she] was
blocked," she lodged a complaint with FCSB's
attorney and was "unblocked" from Sovine's and
Angelo's Twitter accounts. (Id. )
Scarborough, this Facebook page is open to the
general public and invites anyone to post
comments on it. (Id. ¶ 12.) Scarborough further
asserts that the Facebook page "places no
restrictions on what users may post," and that
"users may freely post their sentiments on all
subjects." (Id. ¶ 13.)
2 In
the
Second
Scarborough
Amended
alleges
that
Complaint,
the
FCPS
Facebook page "has been altered since the
lawsuit began." (Id. ¶ 11.) Apparently, the
FCPS
Facebook
page
is
no
longer
registered as a "Government Organization."
(Id. )
575
517 F. Supp. 3d 569 (W.D. Va. 2021)
In September 2020, Scarborough allegedly posted
comments on the FCPS Facebook page
"concerning the school's re-opening, COVID-19
masks, disability rights, and child abuse." (Id. ¶
15.) Scarborough alleges that "[a]s a direct result
of" her comments, Defendants "censored" her by
deleting her comments and blocking her ability to
make further comments. (Id. ¶ 16.) Specifically,
Scarborough alleges that Edwards was responsible
for deleting her comments and blocking her from
the Facebook page. (Id. ¶ 17.) On September 8,
2020, Edwards, allegedly "using a fake Facebook
user name" registered to a man named "Steve
Cornwell," sent a private message to Scarborough
stating: "Ms. Scarborough—We have decided to
ban you from the FCPS Facebook page for
continued violations of our terms and conditions."
(Id. ¶ 18.) Scarborough further *575 avers that
Cornwell's (or Edwards's) purported reason for
MOTION TO DISMISS STANDARD
Motions to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) test the
legal sufficiency of a complaint. Edwards v. City
of Goldsboro , 178 F.3d 231, 243 (4th Cir. 1999).
To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the complaint
"must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as
true, to ‘state a claim for relief that is plausible on
its face.’ " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678,
129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544,
547, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). A
claim is facially plausible when the plaintiff's
allegations "allow[ ] the court to draw the
reasonable inference that the defendant is liable
for the misconduct alleged." Id. While a complaint
does not need "detailed factual allegations,"
complaints merely offering "labels and
conclusions," "naked assertion[s] devoid of
‘further factual enhancement," or "a formulaic
recitation of the elements of a cause of action will
not do." Id. (alteration in original) (internal
quotation marks omitted) (quoting Twombly , 550
U.S. at 555, 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).
To allow for the development of a potentially
meritorious claim, federal courts are obligated to
construe pro se pleadings liberally. See, e.g., Boag
v. MacDougall , 454 U.S. 364, 365, 102 S.Ct. 700,
70 L.Ed.2d 551 (1982). Moreover, "[l]iberal
construction of the pleadings is particularly
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