Goins v. Hitchcock I.S.D.
Plaintiff Rolisha Goins filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against Hitchcock Independent School District (HISD) and several individual defendants, alleging discrimination based on gender and race under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 42 U.S.C § 1981, Title VII, and Title IX. Goins, a former coach, claimed HISD failed to comply with a previous settlement agreement regarding gender inequality in athletics, misrepresented her salary, and engaged in a campaign to ostracize her. She moved for the appointment of a Special Master to oversee discovery, citing lack of cooperation from HISD. Defendants filed an unopposed partial motion to dismiss all claims against the individual defendants. The Court denied Plaintiff's motion for a Special Master, finding it unwarranted and that Defendants had cooperated. The Court granted Defendants' motion to dismiss, ruling that official capacity claims were redundant, Title IX and Title VII do not permit individual liability, § 1981 claims lacked factual basis for racial discrimination, § 1983 claims failed to allege adverse employment action, and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims were preempted or lacked outrageous conduct.