Allen v. Kline

• Decision Date: 23 August 2007
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 07-2037-KHV.
• Citation: 507 F.Supp.2d 1150
• Parties: Michael ALLEN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Phill KLINE, individually and in his official capacity as District Attorney of Johnson County, Kansas, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Kansas

Page 1150

507 F.Supp.2d 1150

Michael ALLEN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Phill KLINE, individually and in his official capacity as District Attorney of Johnson County, Kansas, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 07-2037-KHV.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

August 23, 2007.

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Elizabeth A. Hanson, Joseph R. Colantuono, Katherine I. Tracy, Colantuono & Associates LLC, Leawood, KS, for Plaintiffs.

Jeffrey A. Bullins, Michael T. Jilka, Reid F. Holbrook, Holbrook & Osborn, PA, Overland Park, KS, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

KATHRYN H. VRATIL, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Michael Allen, Jennifer Barton, Norah Clark, Bryan Denton, John Fritz, Kristiane Gray, Steve Howe and Kendra Lewison bring suit against Phill Kline individually and in his official capacity as District Attorney of Johnson County, Kansas. Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, plaintiffs allege that by terminating their employment and refusing to participate in Johnson County's employee grievance process, defendant violated their constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Specifically, plaintiffs claim that (1) defendant deprived them of liberty and property without procedural due process in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment (Count I); (2) defendant violated their rights to free association under the First Amendment (Count II); and (3) defendant violated their rights to free speech under the First Amendment (Count III). See Amended Complaint (Doc. # 21) filed February 23, 2007 at 21-30. This matter is before the Court on defendant's Motion To Dismiss Amended Complaint (Doc. # 25) filed March 9, 2007. Defendant asserts that he is entitled to qualified immunity on plaintiffs claims. For reasons stated below, the Court sustains defendant's motion in part.

Legal Standards

In ruling on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6), Fed.R.Civ.P., the Court assumes as true all well pleaded facts in plaintiffs' complaint and views them in a light most favorable to plaintiffs. See Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 118, 110 S.Ct. 975, 108 L.Ed.2d 100 (1990); Swanson v. Bixler, 750 F.2d 810, 813 (10th Cir.1984). Rule 12(b)(6) does not require detailed factual allegations, but the complaint must set forth the grounds of plaintiffs' entitlement to relief through more than labels, conclusions and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action. See Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964-65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In other words, plaintiffs must allege facts sufficient to state a claim which is plausible — rather than merely conceivable — on its face. See id. at 1974. The Court makes all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiffs. See Zinermon, 494 U.S. at 118, 110 S.Ct. 975; see also Rule 8(a), Fed.R.Civ.P.; Lafoy v. HMO Co., 988 F.2d 97, 98 (10th Cir.1993). The Court, however, need not accept as true those allegations which state only legal conclusions. See Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir.1991). The issue in reviewing the sufficiency of plaintiffs' complaint is not whether plaintiffs will prevail, but whether they are entitled to offer evidence to support their claims. See Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974). Although plaintiffs need not precisely state each element of their claims, they must plead minimal factual allegations on those material elements that must be proved. See Hall, 935 F.2d at 1110.

Although summary judgment provides the typical vehicle for asserting qualified immunity, defendant may also raise the defense in a motion to dismiss. See Peterson v. Jensen, 371 F.3d 1199, 1201 (10th Cir.2004). Asserting the defense in this fashion, however, subjects defendant to a more challenging standard of review than would apply on summary judgment. See id. (citing Lone Star Indus., Inc. v. Horman Family Trust, 960 F.2d 917, 920 (10th Cir.1992) (12(b)(6) motion viewed with disfavor and rarely granted)). Qualified immunity shields from liability government officials performing discretionary functions "if their conduct does not violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable government official would have known." Perez v. Unified Gov't of Wyandotte County/Kan. City, Kan., 432 F.3d 1163, 1165 (10th Cir.2005). In evaluating qualified immunity in the context of a motion to dismiss, the Court makes two determinations. First, the Court determines whether plaintiffs have alleged the deprivation of a constitutional right. See Peterson, 371 F.3d at 1202 (citing Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001)). Second, the Court decides whether that right was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation. See id. (citing Saucier, 533 U.S. at 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151). Plaintiffs bear the burden of alleging facts sufficient to allow the Court to make these determinations. See id. at 1202-03; see also Perez, 432 F.3d at 1165. If plaintiffs sufficiently allege the deprivation of a clearly established constitutional right, qualified immunity will not protect defendant. A valid qualified immunity defense will relieve defendant of individual liability. See Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). It will not, however, shield defendant from claims against his official capacity or from claims for prospective relief. See id. at 819 n. 34, 102 S.Ct. 2727; see also Meiners v. Univ. of Kan., 359 F.3d 1222, 1233 n. 3 (10th Cir.2004).

Facts

Plaintiffs' amended complaint alleges the following facts:

Plaintiffs Allen, Barton, Clark, Fritz, Gray, Howe and Lewison worked as attorneys in the office of the Johnson County District Attorney. Denton worked as chief investigator in the same office. All were exemplary employees with outstanding performance records. On January 8, 2007, defendant Kline took office as District Attorney of Johnson County, Kansas. Early that day, Eric K. Rucker, Chief Deputy District Attorney, notified plaintiffs that their employment was terminated effective immediately. Defendant discharged plaintiffs because they did not have personal or political affiliations with him. Plaintiffs did not have an opportunity to contact witnesses and victims or to make arrangements regarding immediate hearings deadlines and trials in their cases.

On January 10, 2007, plaintiffs gave defendant dispute resolution forms which requested grievance hearings under Johnson County policies and procedures. The dispute resolutions forms stated as follows:

I was dismissed without warning, without the benefit of property rights granted in ... Johnson County Human Resources Policies and Procedures, and as a result deprived me [sic] of property without due process of law in violation of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. To the extent that my affiliation with former District Attorney Paul Morrison contributed to the decision, I have been deprived of my freedom of association in violation of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. In addition to the violations of my constitutional rights, the County a) breached" an implied contract to act fairly and not terminate the employment of persons who satisfactorily perform their job ... and b) breached a covenant of good faith and fair dealing regarding employees whose positions are necessary for public safety and the administration of the criminal justice system, and c) violated public policy by interfering with the administration of the criminal justice system through the immediate terminations of persons essential to the operation of the criminal justice system, and d) failed to properly supervise employees, Phill Kline and Eric Rucker by allowing them to recklessly terminate employees contrary to the public interest, and e) to the extent that the actions of Phill Kline and Eric Rucker were motivated in whole or in part by my enforcement of criminal and/or juvenile statutes of the State of Kansas [sic].

Exhibits 9-16, Amended Complaint (Doc. #21).

The day after plaintiffs submitted their dispute resolution forms to defendant, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution which required defendant to confirm whether he would participate in grievance hearings and abide by the results thereof. The resolution stated that unless defendant agreed to do so, the county would be unable to provide grievance hearings to plaintiffs.

The following day, January 12, 2007, defendant sent a letter to Donald Jarrett, Johnson County counselor. The letter stated that defendant would not participate in grievance hearings or abide by the results thereof. The letter also cited Johnson County policies and quoted therefrom as follows:

Notwithstanding my complete discretion under the law to hire, fire, set salaries and manage the office my office did follow all applicable policies in the decision to terminate the eight persons who have filed grievances. My staff and I thoroughly reviewed the County policies and procedures as they may be applicable to County employees. * * *

[I]t is my opinion and the opinion of my legal staff that, although I am not required to do so, I have complied with the County's policy regarding personnel. * * *

Please understand as an executive officer of the Tenth Judicial District and a resident of Johnson County, I fully intend to follow all County policies that do not conflict with my statutory duties, ethical responsibilities and state law.

Amended Complaint (Doc. # 21) at 6.¹ Defendant also issued a press release which referred to and quoted Johnson County policies.

Johnson County has established human resources policies and procedures which to the fullest extent possible apply to all employees, including elected officials, civil service employees and appointed officials. See Policy 102, Plaintiffs' Exhibit 17B. The policies provide detailed...