Ventetuolo v. Burke

• Decision Date: 31 May 1978
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 5046.
• Citation: 470 F. Supp. 887
• Parties: Donald VENTETUOLO and Alfred Santaniello, Plaintiffs, v. Dr. Fred BURKE, Commissioner of Education, State of Rhode Island and Dr. Rudolfo Martinez, Individually and as Director of Northeast Area Manpower Institute for Development of Staff, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island

470 F. Supp. 887

Donald VENTETUOLO and Alfred Santaniello, Plaintiffs, v. Dr. Fred BURKE, Commissioner of Education, State of Rhode Island and Dr. Rudolfo Martinez, Individually and as Director of Northeast Area Manpower Institute for Development of Staff, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 5046.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

May 31, 1978.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Ralph J. Gonnella, Providence, R. I., for plaintiffs.

J. Peter Doherty, Asst. Atty. Gen., R. I., Providence, R. I., for defendants.

OPINION

PETTINE, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs Donald Ventetuolo and Alfred Santaniello bring this damage action under 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983 (1970), claiming that defendants, Dr. Fred Burke, then Commissioner of Education for the State of Rhode Island, and Dr. Rudolfo Martinez, then Director of Northeast Area Manpower Institute for Development of Staff ("NEAMIDS"), violated their rights secured by the fourteenth amendment by depriving them of their "liberty" interest in reputation and "property" interest in continued employment with NEAMIDS without procedural or substantive due process. In addition, plaintiffs pend a state law claim for defamation. As per agreement of the parties, the Court today decides the question of liability; a jury trial was reserved for the determination of damages.

Prior to 1971, both plaintiffs were employed by the Rhode Island Department of Education in the Manpower Development Training Program where Mr. Ventetuolo served as the State Coordinator. In May or June of 1971, both men left their jobs with the state manpower program to join a new office, NEAMIDS, funded by the United States Office of Education. NEAMIDS' purpose was to coordinate manpower programs and train staffs throughout the northeast, in conjunction with other regional offices nationwide. The federal funds were channelled through the Rhode Island Department of Education. At its inception in 1971, the office was located at and administered by the University of Rhode Island. In 1972, NEAMIDS relocated in Cranston and ended its affiliation with the University. From that time forth, NEAMIDS was under the direction of the Rhode Island Department of Education.

Both Messrs. Ventetuolo and Santaniello were recruited in May or June of 1971 by Dr. Martinez, the recently appointed Director of NEAMIDS. Mr. Ventetuolo signed a contract as Assistant Director of NEAMIDS with the University of Rhode Island; the contract was to expire December 31, 1971. Following the expiration of the contract, Mr. Ventetuolo continued his employment at NEAMIDS without a contract; he received only a document signifying his appointment. At all times, Mr. Santaniello was employed at NEAMIDS without any written contract or documentation.

By late fall of 1971, what had been a happy ship at NEAMIDS was beset by internal factionalism. Many of the staff's complaints, centering primarily on their overburdened schedules, were brought to Mr. Ventetuolo. Dr. Martinez and Mr. Ventetuolo discussed these internal difficulties with various officials on the national and regional level outside the Rhode Island base. Ultimately in early July of 1972, Mr. Ventetuolo wrote to Commissioner Burke to request a meeting with the Commissioner and Dr. Martinez to definitely establish Mr. Ventetuolo's role, responsibilities and authority. No meeting, however, was ever held.

On August 22, 1972, while the plaintiffs and Dr. Martinez were attending a national conference of AMIDS, Dr. Martinez served plaintiffs with letters of termination, effective immediately. In the letter, Dr. Martinez charged Mr. Ventetuolo with "blatant insubordination" at private and staff meetings, consisting of expressions of "open hostility", "complete refusal to accept the commands of the director" and defiance of "the directives of the national concept". Mr. Santaniello was charged with "open alliance to the assistant director" and "overtly expressed hostility" that "tended to alienate the staff and reduce staff morale". Dr. Martinez refused to grant a request for a hearing. Upon receipt of the termination letter, Mr. Ventetuolo immediately contacted Commissioner Burke's staff.

On September 6, 1972, both plaintiffs received notices from Dr. Martinez that the termination decision was rescinded and, in its stead, both would be indefinitely suspended with pay. Commissioner Burke refused plaintiffs' request for a hearing because they were only suspended rather than terminated.

On November 27, 1972, Dr. Martinez filed with Commissioner Burke 18 charges against Mr. Ventetuolo, ranging from alleged violations of office policy, lack of professional courtesy, incompetence, encouraging divisiveness and calling the Director a "mouse". The eight charges against Mr. Santaniello included violations of office policy, abuse of telephone privileges and incompetence. Hearings were held by the Associate Commissioner in December, 1972 and January, 1973. On February 7, 1973, the Associate Commissioner found that none of the charges were substantiated, excepting the allegation that Mr. Ventetuolo called Dr. Martinez a "mouse". The Associate Commissioner concluded that, although that charge was factually supported, the circumstances, involving some provocation, the fact that the words were spoken in the privacy of Dr. Martinez's office, and Mr. Ventetuolo's subsequent apology, made Mr. Ventetuolo's recommended termination without "just cause". The Commissioner, by letter dated February 8, 1973, reinstated both plaintiffs. Dr. Martinez was relieved of his duties upon their reinstatement.

Subsequently, in mid-March of 1973, the project relocated out of Rhode Island and was placed under new sponsorship in Philadelphia. Most of the Rhode Island staff were successful in obtaining reemployment with the new office, including Mr. Santaniello, who became the Assistant Director. However, Mr. Ventetuolo's application for Assistant Director was rejected.

To these somewhat atypical facts, the Court must apply the now familiar concepts that govern due process claims in public employment cases. The Court must first determine whether either plaintiff has a "property" interest or legal entitlement to continued employment, and, whether plaintiffs' "liberty" interest in their reputation or future job opportunities was jeopardized by disclosure, if any, of Dr. Martinez's charges. Only if the Court finds either type of interest, must it address the further question of whether there has been a deprivation of either interest without procedural due process, and whether defendants' actions were arbitrary and capricious, constituting a deprivation of substantive due process.¹ Lastly, the Court will consider plaintiffs' pendent state claim for defamation against Dr. Martinez.

I. "Property" Interest

To have a "property" interest that is protected by due process, plaintiffs must have a "legitimate claim of entitlement" to continued employment arising out of state law. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). A "unilateral expectation" will not suffice, id.; there must exist "rules or mutually explicit understandings that support their claim of entitlement . . .." Perry v. Sinderman, 408 U.S. 593, 601, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 2699, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972). A claim to entitlement is established not only by express statutory or contractual terms but also by "agreements implied from `the promisor's words and conduct in the light of the surrounding circumstances' . . . and `relating them to the usage of the past'". Id. at 602, 92 S.Ct. at 2700. Generally speaking, courts have recognized a property interest if, by statute, rule or contract, express or implied, the employee can only be fired for "cause", e. g., Arnett v. Kennedy, 416 U.S. 134, 94 S.Ct. 1633, 40 L.Ed.2d 15 (1974); in contrast, courts have not found a property interest when the employee serves "at the pleasure" of the public employer, e. g., Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 343-47, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 48 L.Ed.2d 684 (1976); Mazalewski v. Treusdell, 183 U.S.App.D.C. 182, 562 F.2d 701 (1977); Patterson v. Ramsey, 552 F.2d 117 (4th Cir. 1977).

By state statute, professional and administrative personnel in the Rhode Island Department of Education serve "at the pleasure of the commissioner of education" as unclassified employees, R.I.G.L. sec. 16-49-7 (1976 Supp.). Plaintiffs admit that they served as unclassified employees within this statutory provision. In addition, at the time of discharge, neither plaintiff was employed pursuant to a written contract that specified a fixed time period of employment. Rhode Island law presumes that such open-ended contracts are terminable at will, but that presumption can be rebutted by evidence that a fixed term was intended, School Committee of Providence v. Board of Regents, 112 R.I. 288, 308 A.2d 788 (1973).

To counter the statutory provision and the absence of a fixed term, plaintiffs rely on preemployment promises allegedly made by Dr. Martinez, as Director of NEAMIDS, to establish their entitlement. Mr. Ventetuolo testified that he initially was unwilling to leave his job with the state manpower program and accept Dr. Martinez's offer of the assistant directorship at NEAMIDS because of the lack of job security. Under the union contract that governed his job with the state, Mr. Ventetuolo could only be fired for just cause. To persuade him to take the job with the new program, Mr. Ventetuolo testified that Dr. Martinez "told me that I had nothing to worry about; that as long as he was Director that he had authority and responsibility for this program, and that he would, I would have no problem with security". Mr. Ventetuolo further testified that Dr. Martinez said he could continue in his job "as long as funds were available". No similar express promise was made to Mr. Santaniello, although, according to Mr. Santaniello's testimony, Dr. Martinez did represent that, as Director, he would make the hiring and termination...