White v. Bloomberg

• Decision Date: 23 June 1972
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 71-200-K.
• Citation: 345 F. Supp. 133
• Parties: Leon J. WHITE v. Warren M. BLOOMBERG, Postmaster, United States Post Office Department to be known as The United States Postal Service, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

345 F. Supp. 133

Leon J. WHITE v. Warren M. BLOOMBERG, Postmaster, United States Post Office Department to be known as The United States Postal Service, et al.

Civ. No. 71-200-K.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

June 23, 1972.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Peter S. Smith, and Charles A. Rees, Baltimore, Md., for plaintiff.

George Beall, U. S. Atty., and Jean G. Rogers, Asst. U. S. Atty., Baltimore, Md., for defendants.

FRANK A. KAUFMAN, District Judge.

This case presents the issue of whether a permanent postal employee, with a record of uninterrupted service from 1953 until his dismissal on October 30, 1970, can be discharged for failure to pay a single debt owed to the Post Office Credit Union of Maryland, Inc. (Credit Union), a nongovernmental body and thus a private creditor.¹ The plaintiff, Leon J. White, seeks herein a declaration that his discharge was unlawful, reinstatement to his former position, and an award of back pay from the date of his discharge.

The individual defendants are the Postmaster for the City of Baltimore, the Regional Director for the Washington Regional Office of the United States Postal Service, and the members of the United States Civil Service Commission. The United States Postal Service is also a named defendant.² The parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The material facts, with certain exceptions noted in this opinion, are not disputed and can be summarized as follows:

On February 27, 1964, the plaintiff entered into a loan agreement with the Credit Union calling for the latter to loan to plaintiff $1420 to be used by him to purchase a secondhand car. A check for that amount, dated February 27, 1964, made payable jointly to plaintiff and to a Baltimore automobile dealer, was issued by the Credit Union to plaintiff. The next day, plaintiff signed a contract with the car dealer for the purchase of an automobile for $1820.08. On March 2, 1964, plaintiff endorsed the Credit Union check, gave it to the dealer, and agreed to pay the $390.08 balance of the purchase price from his own funds.

White testified during his hearing in Philadelphia in February, 1971 before the Regional Appeals Examiner of the United States Civil Service Commission that during the week before February 27, 1964, he had placed a $10.00 deposit on a car with the auto dealer "until he could make other financial arrangements" (Tr. 45) and that on February 27, 1964 he received his loan check from the Credit Union (Tr. 43-45).^2a The check was made payable to White and the auto dealer and was endorsed by both of them. White stated during the February, 1971 hearing that after he decided to buy the car, Johns Hopkins Hospital sent him a notice that his two sons should be brought to the hospital for tests because it was thought they had sickle cell anemia (Tr. 47-48);^2b that when he received that notice he "knew that he couldn't go through with the car loan" (Tr. 48) and at the same time have the money to pay the possible medical expenses of his sons; that within a few days after he delivered the Credit Union check to the car dealer, he called both the Credit Union and the auto dealer (Tr. 48-49) and informed them he wanted the deal and the check cancelled (Tr. 48-50); that the next week (Tr. 50) someone from the auto dealer called him and asked if he wanted to borrow some money to make up the difference and that he replied in the negative (Tr. 51); that he never drove or rode in or received delivery of the car or even saw it from the day he first observed it and put down the $10.00 deposit (Tr. 51-52); and that he assumed the deal was cancelled (Tr. 52).

On March 31, 1964, the Credit Union wrote to White stating legal action would be taken. On May 12, 1964, the Credit Union obtained a confessed judgment against plaintiff in the Superior Court of Baltimore City in the amount of $1742.50, i. e., the balance of the loan, plus court costs and an attorney's fee of $284. On or about October 9, 1964, the automobile was sold at a sheriff's sale for $1075, some $745 less than the purchase price plaintiff had agreed to pay.³ After the costs of that sale were deducted, the net proceeds were turned over to the Credit Union's counsel who in turn forwarded $390.08 to the car dealer and the remainder to his client, the Credit Union. Thus, there was and remains outstanding in connection with the transaction a judgment balance of $965.08, plus interest, court costs, and attorney's fees.

The Post Office Department records show, and plaintiff concedes, that during the several years after the 1964 judgment was obtained plaintiff received notices from officials of the Post Office Department advising him that he owed a debt to the Credit Union and that he was expected to pay it. On June 27, 1968, in response to continuing complaints to Post Office officials by the Credit Union, plaintiff was interviewed by a Post Office Department official concerning his indebtedness. During that interview, plaintiff signed an acknowledgment of the debt and agreed to pay $50.00 every other pay period until the debt was liquidated.⁴ When plaintiff failed to honor that commitment, the Post Office Department issued to plaintiff a letter of warning on September 24, 1968, and when that letter brought no response, the Department suspended plaintiff from work for one day on June 24, 1969 for failure to pay the debt.

On April 21, 1970, plaintiff received a letter from defendant Bloomberg, the Baltimore Postmaster, stating that disciplinary action including removal from the Department was being contemplated because of plaintiff's failure to pay the $965.08 plus interest, court costs and attorney's fees to the Credit Union.^4a That letter also indicated that plaintiff's past record, including the one-day suspension on June 24, 1969, would be considered in determining what action might be appropriate. Plaintiff was given an opportunity to respond, which he did by letter of April 30, 1970.

On July 24, 1970, defendant Bloomberg informed plaintiff that he would be removed from the Post Office Department on August 14, 1970 for failure to pay his debt. Plaintiff appealed that decision within the time allowed, and on September 11, 1970, an "Adverse Action Appeal" hearing was held before a Hearing Officer Investigator at which plaintiff appeared without counsel. On the basis of the Hearing Officer's report and findings of fact, defendant Ulsaker, the Regional Director for the Washington Regional Office of the United States Post Office Department, affirmed on October 13, 1970 the decision to remove plaintiff from the Post Office Department.

On October 30, 1970, plaintiff was removed from his employment by the Post Office Department. White has filed an affidavit in this proceeding stating that he has had no full-time employment since that date.

Plaintiff next appealed to the Philadelphia Region of the United States Civil Service Commission. After a hearing on February 18 and 19, 1971 before the Regional Appeals Examiner, at which plaintiff was represented by his present counsel, the Regional Director sustained, on March 29, 1971, plaintiff's discharge, concluding that the "agency's decision to effect removal, rather than some lesser disciplinary action, was not unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious and that the action was effected for such cause as would promote the efficiency of the service within the meaning of that language in the law and regulations." No subsidiary facts or reasons were given to underpin that conclusory approach.⁵ Plaintiff appealed to the Board of Appeals and Review of the United States Civil Service Commission. On August 5, 1971, that Board sustained the decision of the Post Office Department to remove plaintiff for failure to pay the debt owed to the Credit Union, stating: "On the merits the Board finds that the reason for removal is sustained and considered with the cited past record removal was not an arbitrary, capricious or unwarranted action but instead was for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service." No further administrative review is available to plaintiff. Accordingly, he has now exhausted all administrative remedies.⁶

Plaintiff's discharge occurred after seventeen years of service with the Post Office. At no time has there ever been any suggestion by anyone that plaintiff did not perform his duties satisfactorily or that any activity or lack of activity by plaintiff, either within or without the scope of his employment by the Post Office, other than in connection with his failure to pay the one debt in issue in this case, was offensive in any way to anybody. Rather, the record establishes that plaintiff was discharged only and solely for failure to pay the single debt to the Credit Union. There is also no evidence in the record to sustain any inference that plaintiff's failure to pay his debt to the Credit Union was considered differently by the Post Office Department or any administrative hearing official because of any concern the Post Office Department had with regard to the financial soundness of the Credit Union. To the contrary, the record reveals that defendants have taken the position that plaintiff's failure to pay the Credit Union has been treated on all executive and administrative levels no differently than plaintiff's failure to pay any other creditor would have been treated.

During the proceeding in this Court after completion of the administrative hearings, counsel for the defendants filed a number of letters contained in the files of the Post Office. Inter alia, those letters reveal that on May 4, 1964, about one week before the entry of judgment, the auto dealer's attorney wrote to the Baltimore Postmaster stating, inter alia:

Our client is willing to try to work out an agreeable settlement of this matter, but it is imperative that it have the cooperation of Mr. White, since the title to the automobile has been transferred to him according to the records of the

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