Vona v. County of Niagara, N.Y., s. 820
| Citation | 119 F.3d 201 |
| Decision Date | 23 July 1997 |
| Docket Number | 821,D,Nos. 820,s. 820 |
| Parties | P. Andrew VONA and Daniel E. Seaman, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COUNTY OF NIAGARA, NEW YORK, Glenn S. Hackett, Individually and as County Attorney for the County of Niagara, Bonita L. Quaranta, Individually and as Commissioner of the Niagara County Department of Social Services, John S. Tylec, Individually and as Chairman of the Niagara County Legislature and Robert E. Ziske, Individually and as the Niagara County Department of Social Services Attorney, Defendants-Appellees. ockets 96-7765, 96-7815. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) |
David C. Douglas, Lockport, NY (Jackson, Wilson & Douglas, George V.C. Muscato, Muscato, DiMillo & Vona, Lockport, NY, of counsel), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.
Nicholas J. Sargent, Harry F. Mooney, Buffalo, NY (Edward V. Jeffrey, Mark Moody, Hurwitz & Fine, Buffalo, NY, of counsel), for Defendants-Appellees.
Before: VAN GRAAFEILAND, MESKILL and KEARSE, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiffs-appellants P. Andrew Vona and Daniel E. Seaman brought separate actions pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that the County of Niagara, and others, fired them because of their political affiliation in violation of their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Seaman also alleged a state law cause of action under Section 75 of the New York Civil Service Law.
Plaintiffs and defendants both moved for summary judgment on the issue of whether plaintiffs were entitled to First Amendment protection against politically motivated dismissals. The United States District Court for the Western District of New York, Skretny, J., denied plaintiffs' motion and granted defendants' cross-motion, ruling that Vona and Seaman held positions that were not protected by the First Amendment from politically motivated dismissals. The district court then entered final judgment in favor of defendants and against plaintiffs pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). On that same day, the case was closed without any ruling on the remaining state law claim.
Vona and Seaman appeal the decision of the district court arguing that the district court erroneously granted defendants summary judgment on the First Amendment issue. Seaman also argues that the district court erroneously entered final judgment against him on his state law cause of action.
We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment on the First Amendment issue and remand with directions to clarify the status of Seaman's state law claim.
Seaman and Vona were hired as Assistant Social Services Attorneys (assistant attorneys) for the Niagara County Department of Social Services (Department) in 1990 and 1991, respectively. Both plaintiffs are affiliated with the Republican Party, and were hired at the request of the then Republican-controlled Niagara County Legislature.
In November 1993, the Democratic Party won a majority of the seats in the Niagara County Legislature. Following the election, Seaman and Vona received notice that their employment had been terminated, effective January 21, 1994.
On January 19, 1994, Vona commenced an action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the County of Niagara; Glenn S. Hackett, individually and as County Attorney for the County of Niagara; Bonita L. Quaranta, individually and as Commissioner of the Niagara County Department of Social Services; and John S. Tylec, individually and as Chairman of the Niagara County Legislature. Vona alleged that defendants violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments by terminating his employment because of his political affiliation.
On January 28, 1994, Seaman commenced a similar action, including the same allegations and adding the Department of Social Service Attorney, Robert E. Ziske, as a defendant. Seaman also alleged a separate
cause of action under Section 75 of the New York Civil Service Law. 1
By November 1, 1994, both Vona and Seaman had moved for summary judgment on the following issues: whether the position of assistant attorney is protected by the First Amendment from patronage dismissal; whether plaintiffs' protected First Amendment activities were a substantial or motivating factor in their dismissal; and whether plaintiffs would not have been terminated in the absence of their protected conduct. Defendants cross-moved for summary judgment on the same issues.
On March 31, 1995, the district court addressed the motions of Vona and Seaman in a single decision. 2 The district court granted plaintiffs' motion with respect to the claim that their political affiliation was a substantial and motivating factor in their dismissals. Further, the district court granted Vona's but denied Seaman's motion on the issue of whether plaintiffs would have been terminated in the absence of the protected conduct. Finally, concluding that the scope of the assistant attorney position remained unclear, the district court denied the motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether the position was protected from politically motivated dismissal.
On January 16 and 17, 1996, a hearing was held before the district court pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 43(e) specifically for the purpose of resolving the potentially dispositive issue of whether plaintiffs' jobs were protected from politically motivated dismissal. 3 Argus v. Eastman Kodak Co., 801 F.2d 38, 42 n. 2 (2d Cir.1986) (). In that hearing, both parties presented testimony and other evidence establishing the following facts.
Defendant Quaranta, a registered Democrat, is the Commissioner of the Niagara County Department of Social Services. As Commissioner, Quaranta is responsible for the overall management and supervision of the Department, including the hiring of Department employees. Commissioner Quaranta reports to the Niagara County Legislature's Social Services Committee, which was controlled by the Democrats at the time plaintiffs were fired. Although the Department is governed by state statutes and regulations, the Commissioner's office has discretion to formulate policy with regard to the Department's services. Commissioner Quaranta testified that she did not know the political affiliation of Vona or Seaman.
Plaintiffs Vona and Seaman worked as part-time assistant attorneys for the Department. The job description of an assistant attorney requires that the attorney
assist[ ] the Social Services Attorney in conducting litigation, and performing legal research, assist[ ] and provid[e] legal counsel to the Social Services Department, assist[ ] in preparation of and representation at Fair Hearing for the general public as clients, and do[ ] related work as necessary to assist in the functioning of the legal division of the Social Services Department.
Although an assistant attorney's job description is broadly defined, the Department generally has used assistant attorneys in a narrow capacity. Assistant attorneys are assigned either to the child protective services unit or the child support enforcement services unit. The child protective unit handles, among other things, cases of child abuse or child neglect. The child support unit is responsible for establishing and enforcing support orders against the child's noncustodial Although assistant attorneys are responsible for the day-to-day court proceedings, assistant attorneys are not responsible for the general investigation or management of individual cases. Assistant attorneys do not supervise or manage any employees of the Department nor do they have regular contact with elected officials.
parent. At times, these units must petition the local Family Court in order to impose services on a family, remove a child from their home, or establish and enforce support orders against the child's noncustodial parent. When a court proceeding is required, assistant attorneys are called on to represent the Department in court. Assistant attorneys are primarily responsible for preparing and filing petitions in Family Court, handling child support cases, child welfare cases or paternity suits and generally conducting all courtroom appearances.
However, the Commissioner and Social Service Attorney Robert Ziske have at times met with assistant attorneys to discuss particular cases or issues of concern to the Department. For instance, Social Services Attorney Ziske testified that one assistant attorney advised Ziske on how to develop a new program to collect judgments against noncustodial parents who were delinquent in their child support. Another assistant attorney testified that he was called upon to advise the Commissioner as to the handling of a particular adoption case and to discuss and advise the handling of a case involving a local school district and a foster child.
While other instances of communication between the Commissioner and assistant attorneys were cited during the hearing, all five assistant attorneys called to testify stated that they were never involved in decisions relating to political matters.
After reviewing the parties' respective submissions and the evidence presented at the hearing, the district court held that the position of assistant attorney is not entitled to First Amendment protection against politically motivated dismissal. Based on this conclusion, the district court denied plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and granted defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment. 4 On June 5, 1996, without mentioning Seaman's state law claim, the court entered final judgment in favor of defendants pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). The case was closed on the same day. Vona and Seaman filed a timely notice of appeal on June 27, 1996.
Vona and Seaman appeal from a judgment that granted defendants' motion to dismiss fewer than all of...
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