Scarborough v. Frederick Cnty. Sch. Bd.
517 F. Supp. 3d 569 (W.D. Va. 2021)
opportunity to be heard. Defendants move to
dismiss this claim, arguing that because
Scarborough has not established any constitutional
violation, she has not established that she was
entitled to any due process. Regarding Defendants
Sovine and Angelo, Defendants add that, even
assuming Scarborough were able to establish a
constitutional violation, her factual allegations
demonstrate that she received adequate due
process because she was unblocked from Twitter
on the same day after calling FCPS's attorney.
The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from
"depriv[ing] any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law. U.S. Const. amend.
XIV, § 1. "To establish a violation of procedural
due process, plaintiffs must show that (1) they had
property or a property interest (2) of which the
defendant deprived them (3) without due process
of law." Sunrise Corp. of Myrtle Beach v. City of
Myrtle Beach , 420 F.3d 322, 328 (4th Cir. 2005)
(citing Sylvia Dev. Corp. v. Calvert Cnty. , 48 F.3d
810, 826 (4th Cir. 1995) ). As to the first element,
a plaintiff must demonstrate that she had a
"constitutionally cognizable life, liberty, or
property interest." Sansotta v. Town of Nags Head
, 724 F.3d 533, 540 (4th Cir. 2013) (citation
omitted). If the plaintiff has not been deprived of a
protected liberty or property interest, then the
question of whether she was afforded due process
is "irrelevant, for the constitutional right to ‘due
process’ is simply not implicated." Iota Xi
Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity v. Patterson , 566
F.3d 138, 146 (4th Cir. 2009) (citation omitted).
The "broad concept of liberty includes the right to
free speech, though the right remains subject to
reasonable government regulation." Vaher v. Town
of Orangetown , 916 F. Supp. 2d 404, 432
(S.D.N.Y. 2013) (citing Near v. Minn. ex rel.
Olson , 283 U.S. 697, 707–08, 51 S.Ct. 625, 75
L.Ed. 1357 (1931) ). For the second element, the
state's deprivation of the liberty or property
interest "can be by physical deprivation, ... or by a
regulation that deprives an owner of [the
property's economic value]." Sansotta , 724 F.3d
at 540 (citations omitted). Finally, the plaintiff
must show "that the procedures employed were
constitutionally inadequate." Patterson , 566 F.3d
at 145.
The court first notes that despite Scarborough
bringing Count II against "all Defendants," the
claim involves solely the facts surrounding
Facebook. (See 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 33 (stating that
Defendants should have (1) informed her that her
Facebook comments were subject to being
deleted; (2) informed her that she was subject to
being permanently blocked from Defendants'
Facebook page; (3) informed her as to why her
Facebook comments were offensive; and (4) given
her an opportunity "to appeal the decision to
permanently ban her from their Facebook page").)
In other words, Scarborough's Count II allegations
seemingly involve only FCSB and Edwards.
Scarborough, however, states that "Defendant[s]
cannot just ban Plaintiff. There must be rules and
regulations before blocking." (Id. ¶ 34.) Because
this allegation could be construed against Sovine
and Angelo as well (as they allegedly blocked
Scarborough on Twitter), the court will address
this procedural due process claim against all
Defendants out of an abundance of caution.
a. FCSB and Edwards
582
Defendants raise a one-sentence argument
regarding the procedural due process claim as it
pertains to FCSB and Edwards: "Scarborough has
not established that she was entitled to any due
process as she has not established a violation *582
of any constitutionally protected right in the first
instance." (ECF No. 38 at 10.) As explained in
detail above, Scarborough has adequately pleaded
a violation of her First Amendment rights relating
to FCSB's and Edwards's actions on Facebook.
Moreover, Scarborough alleges that she is still
blocked from FCPS's Facebook page, and that she
was not given sufficient process before or after the
alleged constitutional deprivation. As this is the
only argument Defendants raise regarding FCSB
9
Seleccionar párrafo de destino3
Conectar a un párrafo
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Añadir a la tabla de contenidos