Case Name: Candace BEACHAM, as Next Friend of Ashley Beacham, A Minor, Appellant v. CITY OF STARKVILLE SCHOOL SYSTEM, Appellee
Court: Mississippi Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Decision Date: 2008-06-17
Citations: 984 So. 2d 1073
Docket Number: No. 2006-CA-01685-COA
Parties: Candace BEACHAM, as Next Friend of Ashley Beacham, A Minor, Appellant v. CITY OF STARKVILLE SCHOOL SYSTEM, Appellee.
Judges: Before KING, C.J., IRVING and CHANDLER, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 984
Pages: 1073–1079

Head Matter:
Candace BEACHAM, as Next Friend of Ashley Beacham, A Minor, Appellant v. CITY OF STARKVILLE SCHOOL SYSTEM, Appellee.
No. 2006-CA-01685-COA.
Court of Appeals of Mississippi.
June 17, 2008.
Rodney A. Ray, attorney for appellant.
Elizabeth Ross Hadley, Jackson, Wilton V. Byars, Oxford, attorneys for appellee.
Before KING, C.J., IRVING and CHANDLER, JJ.

Opinion:
KING, C.J.,
for the Court.
¶ 1. Ashley Beacham (Ashley), a minor child, by and through her next friend, Candace Beacham (Candace), filed suit against the City of Starkville School System (School System), alleging that the School System was negligent in protecting Ashley from harassment by fellow students and, therefore, liable for damages. After a two-day bench trial, the Circuit Court of Oktibbeha County found in favor of the School System and dismissed the suit with prejudice.
¶ 2. One issue is raised on appeal: whether the ruling by the circuit court was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence and clearly erroneous. Finding no error, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶ 3. On July 5, 2002, Ashley attended a pool party at a male student's home. The pool party was not a school-related event. Boys attending the party secretly videotaped Ashley changing into her swimsuit, and Ashley found out about the videotape two weeks later. Thereafter, Ashley, by and through her next friend, Candace, instituted juvenile court proceedings against the boys and filed a civil suit against the boys' parents.
¶ 4. One month after the incident, Ashley began her freshman year at Starkville High School. During this time, Candace, Ashley's mother, called Dr. King David Rush, then principal of Starkville High, and informed him of the videotape incident, the pending youth court proceedings, and a restraining order against the boys. Dr. Rush assured Candace that he would do what he could to make sure nothing happened between the students at school.
¶ 5. During trial, Candace alleged three specific incidents of harassment that occurred toward Ashley on school grounds. First, Candace testified that she contacted Dr. Rush and informed him that Ashley was harassed in the school cafeteria by Thomas Webb (Webb), a boy allegedly involved in the videotape incident. She named Rivers Rester (Rester), a fellow student, as a witness to the harassment. Ashley testified that Webb pinned her against a table in the cafeteria. However, Robert Elmore, chief investigator for the Oktibbeha County Sheriffs Department, testified that his investigation revealed that Webb accidently stepped on Ashley's foot. Dr. Rush investigated the matter, speaking to both Webb and Rester, and found no evidence of harassment.
¶ 6. Second, Keith Beacham, Ashley's father, testified that he contacted Dr. Rush and informed him that Webb and Ashley were in a class together. Dr. Rush testified that, since the accelerated biology class was only offered at that time, he allowed Webb to stay in the class, but he also alerted the teacher about the sitúa tion. To prevent interaction between the students, the teacher placed Webb and Ashley away from each other and never assigned them to work in groups together. As a result, there were never any incidents between Webb and Ashley in the classroom.
¶7. Third, Candace testified that she contacted Dr. Rush because Ashley, while she was a cheerleader for Starkville High, was harassed at school sporting events by the boys and their parents. She testified that the boys' parents would intimidate Ashley by mocking her, making faces, and pointing at her. She further alleged that the boys would sit directly behind Ashley and harass her at basketball games. Dr. Rush testified that he was never made aware of any such trouble at the sporting events. Also, Investigator Elmore interviewed another cheerleader who said she did not witness any harassment at the games.
¶ 8. The remainder of the Beachams' testimony regarding harassment focused on events that occurred off school grounds, such as harassing phone calls and rumors throughout the community, which are of no consequence to this matter.
¶ 9. Based on the foregoing facts, Candace filed suit on Ashley's behalf against the School System in the Okitbbeha County Circuit Court on February 9, 2005, alleging that the School System did not use ordinary care to protect Ashley from harassment by the boys and their parents during school, at school sporting events, and throughout the Starkville community. Therefore, the School System was liable for the mental anguish Ashley had suffered and the expenses the family had incurred due to the harassment. On September 5, 2006, the circuit court found the School System immune from suit pursuant to the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, Mississippi Code Annotated section 11 — 46—9(l)(b) (Rev.2002) because "the school district took reasonable steps to prevent any harassment at school, and those steps were successful." The circuit court further concluded that, even if the School System was not immune, the evidence did not show that the School System breached any duty to Ashley; nor did it prove that the School System was responsible for any alleged damages. Accordingly, the case was dismissed with prejudice. This appeal was filed on October 2, 2006.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
¶ 10. In a bench trial, the judge, as the trier of fact, solely determines the credibility of the witnesses. City of Jackson v. Lipsey, 834 So.2d 687, 691(¶ 14) (Miss.2003). A trial judge's findings of fact following a bench trial are subject to the same deference as a chancellor's findings of fact and will not be disturbed on appeal as long as those findings are supported by substantial evidence unless manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous, or an erroneous legal standard was applied. Mayor and Bd. of Alderman v. Homebuilders Ass'n of Miss., Inc., 932 So.2d 44, 48(¶ 6) (Miss.2006). Issues of law, however, are reviewed under a de novo standard of review. Lipsey, 834 So.2d at 691(¶ 14).
ANALYSIS
¶ 11. On Ashley's behalf, Candace argues that the circuit court's ruling was clearly erroneous and manifestly wrong because the overwhelming weight of the evidence showed that the School System did not use ordinary care in protecting Ashley. Specifically, Candace argues that Dr. Rush's investigation was unreasonable because he did not talk to Ashley about the allegations. The School System, on the other hand, argues that the circuit court's judgment was proper and should be affirmed because Dr. Rush promptly investí- gated the matter and questioned the individuals specifically identified by Candace.
¶ 12. This action was brought under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, which states in pertinent part:
(1) A governmental entity and its employees acting with the course and scope of their employment or duties shall not be liable for any claim:
(b) Arising out of any act or omission of an employee of a governmental entity exercising ordinary care in reliance upon, or in the execution or performance of, or in the failure to execute or perform, a statute, ordinance or regulation, whether or not the statute, ordinance or regulation be valid[J
Miss.Code Ann. § 11^46-9 (Rev.2002).
¶ 13. It is well established that "[sjchool districts have a duty to protect students from harm under the ordinary care standard." T.K. v. Simpson County Sch. Dist., 846 So.2d 312, 319(¶24) (Miss.Ct.App.2003) (citing L.W. v. McComb Separate Mun. Sch. Dist, 754 So.2d 1136, 1141(¶ 24) (Miss.1999)). Accordingly, the school district is immune from liability for injuries sustained by a student harmed at school so long as it exercises ordinary care to prevent foreseeable harm. Lang v. Bay St. Louis/Waveland Sch. Dist., 764 So.2d 1234, 1240(¶ 27) (Miss.1999). Immunity does not exist, however, if the school district fails to use ordinary care. L.W., 754 So.2d at 1142(¶ 25).
¶ 14. Whether the School System exercised ordinary care is a finding of fact for the trial judge to decide. See L.W., 754 So.2d at 1142(¶ 26). Considering all evidence introduced during the two-day bench trial, the circuit court found that the evidence did not support a finding that the School System breached any duty owed to Ashley. Instead, the circuit court determined that the School System "offered substantial proof that the school district met and exceeded any duty owed to the plaintiffs" and was, therefore, immune from liability.
¶ 15. We agree that there is substantial evidence to support the circuit court's finding that the School System exercised ordinary care and was, therefore, immune from liability. The School System is not responsible for any harassment Ashley suffered outside of school that was linked to the videotape incident. Furthermore, the School System cannot be held responsible simply for its young students' failure to respect their peers' boundaries; instead, the School System can only be held liable where it fails to exercise ordinary care to prevent foreseeable harm. T.K, 846 So.2d at 317(¶ 16).
¶ 16. Based on a review of the record, we find that there is no evidence to support Candace's allegation that the School System did not use ordinary care to protect Ashley. Conversely, the substantial weight of the evidence supports the circuit court's finding that the School System used ordinary care in investigating Ashley's claims of harassment at school when it was brought to the School System's attention. The School System took reasonable steps to investigate the allegations by questioning Webb and Rester about the cafeteria incident and by getting the teacher to monitor interactions between Webb and Ashley in class. The School System found no evidence of harassment, and several other witnesses verified Dr. Rush's observations. Granted, Dr. Rush did not specifically question Ashley regarding the incidents; however, he explained that he simply took her parents' word for the alleged incidents. This simply is not enough to determine that the School System did not exercise ordinary care; therefore, this issue is without merit.
CONCLUSION
¶ 17. As the ruling was supported by substantial evidence in the record, we find that the circuit court did not err by ruling in favor of Starkville School System. The City of Starkville School System exercised ordinary care and conducted a reasonable investigation into the alleged incidents of harassment. Therefore, the City of Stark-ville School System is immune from any liability pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated section 11 — 46—9. Accordingly, we affirm the circuit court's judgment dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice.
¶ 18. THE JUDGMENT OF THE OK-TIBBEHA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT IS AFFIRMED. ALL COSTS OF THIS APPEAL ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLANT.
LEE AND MYERS, P.JJ., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES AND ROBERTS, JJ., CONCUR. CARLTON, J., SPECIALLY CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION, JOINED BY ISHEE, J.