Weinstein v. University of Illinois, 85 C 7771.
| Decision Date | 20 February 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 85 C 7771.,85 C 7771. |
| Parties | Marvin M. WEINSTEIN, Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, Trustees of the University of Illinois, Henri R. Manasse, Jr., T. Donald Rucker, Elmore H. Taylor, David J. Belsheim, Richard A. Hutchinson and Jesse E. Stewart, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
Edward H. Salomon, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff.
Carla Rozycki, Keck, Mahin & Cate, Chicago, Ill., for defendants.
Before the Court is defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiff's complaint under §§ 1983 and 1985, the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and pendent state law theories. Defendants' motion alternatively prays for summary judgment on plaintiff's complaint. For the reasons stated herein, defendants' motion to dismiss is granted.
Plaintiff Marvin M. Weinstein is a former assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Administration, College of Pharmacy of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Defendant University of Illinois is a public corporation being a state supported institution of higher learning. Defendant Trustees of the University of Illinois are elected trustees of the University of Illinois. Additional defendants are as follows: Henri R. Manasse, Dean of the College of Pharmacy; T. Donald Rucker, Department Head of the Department of Pharmacy Administration; Elmore H. Taylor, Associate Dean for administrative services within the College of Pharmacy; David J. Belsheim, Director of Continuing Education within the College of Pharmacy; Richard A. Hutchinson, head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Director of Hospital Pharmacy Services of the University of Illinois Hospital; Jesse E. Stewart, faculty member of the College of Pharmacy and former Chairman of the Department of Pharmacy Administration.
From September 1973 to September 1980, plaintiff was employed by defendant trustees as an instructor in the then Department of Pharmacy. In September 1980, plaintiff received a promotion to the rank of assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Administration, and remained in that position until his termination in August 1985. The promotion commenced plaintiff's position in the "tenure track," a six-year probationary period at the end of which a faculty member is either denied or granted tenure. Plaintiff's employment was at all times pursuant to a series of definite term contracts, which by their terms incorporated the University of Illinois Statutes and General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedure.
In accordance with University of Illinois regulations, all tenure track employees are subject to departmental "mid-term" reviews, intended to gauge a tenure-candidate's progress in teaching ability, research and public service. In the spring of 1983 and again in 1984, the results of plaintiff's mid-term reviews were negative. Following the 1984 evaluation, the University issued to plaintiff a terminal contract for the 1984-85 academic year, with notice that his contract would not be renewed following August 31, 1985.
Plaintiff alleges that both reviews were conducted in an arbitrary and capricious manner, in violation of University guidelines and procedures. The termination, plaintiff further alleges, interrupted his scholarly activities, thereby denying him "academic freedom."
Additionally, plaintiff contends that from 1983 to 1985 defendants interfered with and misappropriated data and a report written by plaintiff concerning a continuing education program conducted by the Department of Pharmacy Administration. In support of this allegation, plaintiff states that the initial idea to institute the program was his, that he was primarily responsible for collecting data emanating from the program, and that plaintiff was to write a scholarly paper concerning the program and submit it for publication with plaintiff named as primary author. Plaintiff concludes that by using this same data to compose a paper with defendant Belsheim named as primary author, defendants misappropriated plaintiff's work product and violated his "academic freedom."
From these allegations, plaintiff sets forth two grounds for the denial of his civil rights: (1) violation of the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments; and (2) violation of his First Amendment right to academic freedom. Plaintiff additionally sets forth two pendent state law theories: (1) breach of contract; and (2) violation of the Illinois Review of Personnel Records Act, Ill.Rev. Stat. ch. 48, Pars. 2001 et seq.
A complaint should not be dismissed unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts which would entitle him to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-02, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). As a corollary to this rule, a district court must take all well-pleaded facts in plaintiff's complaint as true.
Plaintiff avers that the 1983 and 1984 mid-term reviews and the subsequent decision to terminate his position were conducted in contravention of stated University procedures. Defendants argue that the evaluation procedures were adequately applied. Moreover, defendants contend that plaintiff's nontenured status and employment pursuant to definite term contracts makes him ineligible for due process protection.
In order to state a due process violation, plaintiff must show a property or liberty interest in his employment. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 569, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2705, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). The existence of a property interest is determined by reference to state law. Id. at 577, 92 S.Ct. at 2709.
In a case factually similar to this case, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a nontenured assistant professor lacked the requisite property interest in his position necessary to establish a claim for due process. McElearney v. University of Illinois at Chicago Circle Campus, 612 F.2d 285 (7th Cir.1979). In McElearney, plaintiff sued the University for failure to grant him tenure despite oral assurances from his department head and other indicia that tenure would be forthcoming. The court noted that McElearney's employment was pursuant to a series of definite term contracts which incorporated Article X of the University's Statutes:
An appointment for a definite term does not carry any guarantee or implication that the Board of Trustees will renew the appointment even though the appointee may have discharged his duties satisfactorily. An appointment for a definite term, if accepted, must be accepted with this stipulation.
Id. at 290. Based on this provision, the court held that "as a probationary faculty member, under § 1(b)(6) of Article X, plaintiff has no property interest in continued employment and no due process protections attach." Id.
In the instant case, plaintiff was at all times a probationary staff member, employed pursuant to a series of definite term contracts. Both plaintiff and defendants stipulate that these contracts incorporated by their terms the University of Illinois Statutes and General Rules. Article X, § 1(b)(6) of the Statutes, identical to the provision cited in McElearney, clearly defeats plaintiff's property interest claim. Plaintiff is unable to show an expectation of continued employment with the University and hence no due process protections attach.
Nor does plaintiff possess a liberty interest in his position. The Supreme Court has constructed a four-part "stigma-plus" test which must be satisfied before a liberty interest in employment will be recognized. First, the plaintiff must show that the reasons offered for defendants' decision to dismiss are so severe as to impose a "stigma" on plaintiff and thereby foreclose future employment opportunities. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 573, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2707, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). Second, plaintiff must show that these reasons have been "publicized," or disseminated to the general public by defendants. Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 348, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 2079, 48 L.Ed.2d 684 (1976). Third, plaintiff must have challenged the validity of defendants' assertions and alleged that they are false. Codd v. Velger, 429 U.S. 624, 627, 97 S.Ct. 882, 884, 51 L.Ed.2d 92 (1977). Finally, the stigma allegedly imposed upon plaintiff must be accompanied by a concurrent loss of a state-created right or status. Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693, 708-09, 96 S.Ct. 1155, 1164, 47 L.Ed.2d 405 (1976).
In the present case, plaintiff fails the stigma-plus test on several grounds. Plaintiff does not contend, nor does the court find, that the mid-term reviews were publicized, that plaintiff alleged them to be false, or that plaintiff suffered a concurrent loss of a state-created status or right.
Plaintiff alleges that defendants violated his constitutional right to due process through their alleged misappropriation of the data, analysis and report compiled by plaintiff for the College of Pharmacy's Continuing Education Clerkship program. Plaintiff contends that his position as a member of the academic faculty conferred upon him some special "scholarly" status which bestowed exclusive rights to all research projects in him alone. Defendants counter that plaintiff's efforts surrounding the program were part of his regular duties in the College's Continuing Education program and as such constituted property of the University.
Article II, § 9 of the General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedure governs copyright policy within the University community. Pertinent provisions of the section state:
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