Opinion ID: 3046790
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: On September 10, 2008, Stephan Loftus filed a petition for dependency in a Florida court to protect his minor children, Dylan and Savonna, from abuse allegedly inflicted by their mother. In that petition, Loftus asserted that he could not protect his children “without [state] intervention.” A divorce decree had awarded Loftus full custody of the children and had provided his former wife “restricted, supervised visitation” rights. In response to Loftus’s petition, Family Preservation Services of Florida, Inc., which contracts with the Florida Department of Children and Families, commenced an investigation and sent a social worker, Ester Clark-Moore, to visit the Loftus home. Although he had invited the investigation of his children’s welfare, Loftus told Clark-Moore that “he did not want anyone talking with his children without his knowledge or permission because the children had suffered extreme emotional stress and damage due to the contentious divorce.” Nevertheless, Clark-Moore visited Savonna at her school without notifying Loftus. According to Loftus, Clark-Moore “brutally interrogated” Savonna in a “private 3 room.” When Loftus complained to Clark-Moore’s supervisor, Myra Ferguson, about Clark-Moore’s interrogation of Savonna, Ferguson allegedly “threatened [Loftus] with the removal of the children from his care and control.” Ferguson called Loftus twice in mid-November. In the first telephone call, Ferguson allegedly told Loftus that “they were coming that day to take custody of the two minor children,” and in the second call, Ferguson allegedly told Loftus “to take the children to the police station so that they could take custody of the children.” But Loftus does not allege that Ferguson otherwise acted on her threats. During this period, Loftus retained custody of his children. Loftus filed a complaint in the district court that Clark-Moore and Ferguson had violated his and his children’s right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, and Savonna’s rights under the Fourth Amendment. Loftus alleged that Clark-Moore and Ferguson “intended to harass and intimidate Loftus by frequent, unnecessary home visits, interrogation of Loftus and the children and threats to remove the children from his custody.” Loftus later amended his complaint to allege that Family Preservation Services was liable for any damages because it had “failed and neglected to train” and adequately supervise Clark-Moore and Ferguson. 4 Clark-Moore, Ferguson, and Family Preservation Services moved to dismiss Loftus’s complaint for failure to state a claim and on the ground that they were immune from suit. The district court ruled that Clark-Moore and Ferguson were entitled to qualified immunity because neither social worker had violated a clearly established federal right of Loftus or his children. The district court also ruled that Family Preservation Services, as a state actor, was entitled to sovereign immunity. After he filed this appeal, Loftus was arrested and charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of Savonna. Loftus is currently under house arrest and may not come within 50 feet of Savonna or within 500 feet of her residence. Nor may Loftus contact either of his children. In the light of the pending charges against Loftus, Clark-Moore and Ferguson moved to dismiss this appeal as moot and for lack of standing. In response to that motion, we stayed this appeal until resolution of the criminal charges against Loftus, and we asked the parties to file status reports. In February 2012, the parties filed a status report that we construed as a joint motion to lift the stay. The parties reported that a Florida court had awarded custody of Loftus’s children to their mother. Although the criminal charges against Loftus are still pending, we granted the joint motion to lift the stay. We also denied the motion to dismiss for lack of standing and mootness. 5 This appeal is now ripe for adjudication.