Roach v. University of Utah

• Citation: 968 F.Supp. 1446
• Decision Date: 20 June 1997
• Docket Number: Civil No. 2:94-CV-163C.
• Parties: Kenneth ROACH, Plaintiff, v. The UNIVERSITY OF UTAH et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Utah

968 F.Supp. 1446

Kenneth ROACH, Plaintiff, v. The UNIVERSITY OF UTAH et al., Defendants.

Civil No. 2:94-CV-163C.

United States District Court, D. Utah, Central Division.

June 20, 1997.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Jeffrey D. Eisenberg & Paul M. Simmons, Wilcox, Dewsnup & King, Salt Lake City, UT, Steve Russell, Moab, UT, for Plaintiff.

Barbara H. Ochoa, Mark Ward, Donald H. Hansen, Utah Attorney General's Office, Salt Lake City, UT, for University of Utah.

Arthur Smith, Cynthia Berg, Robert Croyle, David Dodd, Alan Fogel, William Johnston, Raymond Kesner, Thomas Mallory, Sheri Mizumori, Frederick Rhodewalt, David Sabonmatsu, Carol Sanson, David Strayer, Gale Dick, Alexander Skibine, Wilfred Samuels, University of Utah Student Behavior Committee, Clinical Training Committee of the University of Utah Department of Psychology, for University of Utah Dept. of Psychology.

Barbara H. Ochoa, Mark Ward, Donald Hansen, Utah Attorney General's Office, Salt Lake City, UT, Stephen Golding, Lorna Benjamin, Timothy Smith, Donald Strassberg, Sally Ozonoff, Charles Shimp, James Alexander, Donna Gelfand, Ramona Adams, Ann Hart, for the University of Utah College of Social & Behavioral Science.

Kendall P. Hatch, Dunn & Dunn, Salt Lake City, UT, for Valley Mental Health.

ORDER

CAMPBELL, District Judge.

This case is now before the court on defendants' motion for summary judgment and on plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment. The court held hearings on these matters on February 18, 1997, and on May 13, 1997. Jeffrey D. Eisenberg appeared on behalf of plaintiff, and Donald Hansen and Barbara Ochoa appeared on behalf of defendants. The court has considered the arguments of counsel presented at the hearings, along with the memoranda filed by the parties, and finds as follows:

Plaintiff Kenneth Roach ("Roach") initiated this § 1983 suit asserting that he was unlawfully dismissed, on two separate occasions, from graduate programs at the University of Utah. The first dismissal was from the University of Utah's Clinical Psychology Training Program ("CPTP"), and the second was from the University's Masters Program in Educational Psychology ("MPEP"). Roach's complaint, which names the University and a number of its faculty members as defendants, lists five causes of action: (1) denial of procedural due process; (2) denial of substantive due process; (3) violation of the constitutional right to privacy;¹ (4) breach of contract; and (5) retaliatory discharge. Roach seeks injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all claims, and plaintiff has cross-moved for summary judgment on claims 1, 2, and 4. For the reasons outlined below, the court finds that defendants' motion should be granted in part and denied in part, and that plaintiff's motion should be granted in part and denied in part.

Background

In the fall of 1991, Kenneth Roach entered the CPTP as a graduate student working toward a Ph.D. Although Roach's progress in the CPTP was excellent, in approximately February 1993, it came to the attention of defendant Stephen Golding ("Golding"), Director of the CPTP, that Roach, while employed in 1992 as a telephone crisis-line counselor at Valley Mental Health ("VMH"), had had a sexual relationship with a female patient at VMH. Golding informed Roach by letter that pursuant to the procedures outlined in the Student Handbook for the CPTP, he would call a meeting of the Clinical Training Committee ("CTC") to discuss with Roach what had transpired at VMH and to decide what the appropriate response of the CTC should be. Roach was asked to provide Golding with a schedule of suitable times for the meeting and was advised that if Roach desired, he could designate a Clinical Student Representative to be present.

On February 17, 1993, Roach met with the CTC, which was comprised of several CPTP faculty members, and for nearly two hours answered questions regarding his relationship with the patient at VMH. During the CTC meeting, Roach acknowledged that the relationship had occurred. The CTC members, however, were dissatisfied with Roach's responses to the professional ethics issues presented by the VMH situation, and voted unanimously to recommend that Roach be dismissed from his enrollment in the CPTP, In a letter from Golding on February 22, 1993, Roach received notice that the CTC would make a recommendation to the Department of Psychology that lie be dismissed from the CPTP. In the letter, Golding informed Roach that he could appeal the CTC's recommendation of dismissal to defendant Charles Shimp ("Shimp"), Chair of the Department of Psychology. Roach met with Shimp on March 2, 1993, and requested that Shimp reject the CTC's recommendation. Shimp, however, declined Roach's request and concluded that the CTC's recommendation was appropriate.

At a meeting of the full faculty of the Psychology Department on March 30, 1993, Golding brought the Roach matter to the attention of those faculty members in attendance. Golding presented a synopsis of the issues covered in Roach's interview with the CTC and informed the faculty of the CTC's recommendation. The faculty, by a majority vote of those present, voted to dismiss Roach from his enrollment in the CPTP. By letter dated March 30, 1993, Shimp informed Roach of the faculty's decision, and advised him of his right to appeal the matter to defendant Donna Gelfand ("Gelfand"), Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Roach appealed to Gelfand, but in a letter dated May 11, 1993, Gelfand advised Roach that she found his dismissal from the CPTP appropriate. Gelfand informed Roach that his next level of appeal, according to the Graduate School Bulletin, was with Dean B. Gale Dick ("Dick"), Dean of the Graduate School. Roach notified Dick that he was appealing the CPTP dismissal, and as part of the appeal, Dick appointed an Advisory Committee to hear Roach's case. The Advisory Committee informed Roach that it would conduct a full evidentiary and fact-finding hearing on the merits of his case. Roach was advised of his right to be represented by an attorney, or by other representatives of his choosing at the hearing, which was scheduled to take place over several days in October 1993.² Roach was also advised of his right to testify on his own behalf, to call witnesses, and to hear witnesses against him. On the advice of counsel, Roach did not attend any of the Advisory Committee's hearings. However, the Advisory Committee considered the Roach matter and in its Report, Findings, and Conclusions, issued on November 2, 1993, confirmed Roach's dismissal from the CPTP.

In the Spring of 1994, Roach applied to and was accepted into the MPEP. Roach began course work in the Fall Quarter of 1994. On October 14, 1994, however, defendant Ann Hart ("Hart"), then Dean of the University's Graduate School, wrote Roach a letter telling him that his admission into the MPEP was rescinded effective immediately because of what Hart described as misleading and inaccurate information on Roach's admission forms. Hart advised Roach of his right to appeal the action, and Roach did so. Pursuant to this appeal, Roach was informed by letter on October 21, 1994, that he would be allowed to attend classes pending further review of Hart's action. That review led to a decision by Arthur K. Smith, President of the University, to allow Roach to reapply to admission to the MPEP. By decision of the Department of Educational Psychology, Roach was ultimately allowed to be admitted on probation, subject to specific written conditions, most of which required faculty supervision of Roach's contact with clients in internship and practicum situations.

Discussion

Summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of demonstrating that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The burden then shifts to the non-movant to establish the existence of an essential element to the claims on which they bear the burden of proof at trial. Id. To satisfy this burden, the non-movant cannot rest on the pleadings, but must by affidavit or other appropriate means, set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the non-moving party's case is insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the nonmovant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2512, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In applying this standard, the court must construe all facts and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

Eleventh Amendment

The University of Utah, as an arm of the state, is generally shielded from suit in federal court by the Eleventh Amendment. See Watson v. University of Utah Medical Center, 75 F.3d 569, 574-75 (10th Cir.1996) (finding that Eleventh Amendment immunity applies not only to the state, but also to governmental entities that operate as alter egos or instrumentalities of the state, including state universities). However, the University in this case has agreed to waive its Eleventh Amendment immunity. See Pennhurst State School & Hospital v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 98-100, 104 S.Ct. 900, 906-08, 79 L.Ed.2d 67 (1984); Quern v. Jordan, 440 U.S. 332, 341, 99 S.Ct. 1139, 1145, 59 L.Ed.2d 358 (1979). Accordingly, the University is subject...