Boggess v. Housing Authority of City If Charleston
| Decision Date | 25 July 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.A. 2:02-0484.,CIV.A. 2:02-0484. |
| Citation | 273 F.Supp.2d 729 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of West Virginia |
| Parties | Zelma BOGGESS, Plaintiff, v. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, d/b/a Charleston Housing, a body corporate and politic, et al., Defendants. |
Barbara G. Arnold, MacCorkle, Lavender, Casey & Sweeney, PLLC, Charleston, Counsel for Plaintiff.
Ricklin Brown, Rochelle Lantz Glover, Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love PLLC, Charleston, Counsel for Defendants.
Currently pending before the court is the Amended Motion for Summary Judgment on behalf of Defendants with Regard to Counts I, III, IV, VI and VIII of Plaintiff's Complaint and the Defendants' Individual Liability, filed April 11, 2003. (Docket Sheet Document # 54.) The parties have responded (# 90) and replied (# 102) and, with leave of court, Plaintiff filed a surreply as well (# 106). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1), the District Court, upon consent of the parties, designated the undersigned to conduct all proceedings in this matter. (# 16.)
Defendant, the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston ("CHA") is a "public body corporate and politic" pursuant to West Virginia Code § 16-15-3(a) (2001). Pursuant to West Virginia Code § 16-15-3(d), five commissioners, who receive no compensation for their services, are appointed by the mayor. In turn, West Virginia Code § 16-15-5 provides that the commissioners "shall, from time to time, select and appoint such officers and employees, including engineering, architectural and legal assistants, as they may require for the performance of their duties, and shall prescribe the duties and compensation of each officer and employee."
The CHA Board of Commissioners (the "Board") hired Plaintiff Zelma D. Boggess as Executive Director of CHA on October 7, 1991. (Complaint (# 1), ¶ 4; Memorandum in Support of Amended Motion for Summary Judgment on Behalf of Defendants with regard to Counts I, III, IV, VI and VIII of Plaintiff's Complaint and the Defendants' Individual Liability (# 56), p. 2.) The Board and Plaintiff entered into an Employment Agreement (the "Agreement") on May 26, 1998. (# 56, Exhibit B (Employment Agreement).) At this time, only Defendants Michael L. Comer and Marie L. Prezioso were Commissioners. (# 56, Exhibit A (Portions of January 28, 2003, deposition of Plaintiff), p. 101.) The term of the Agreement was defined as follows:
The initial term of this Agreement shall be for five years from the date of this Agreement. For the purposes of the Agreement, the initial five year term of this Agreement shall be deemed to have begun June 22, 1998.
Unless either Director or the Authority shall give written notice to the other that this Agreement is terminated at least thirty days prior to the next "annual meeting" of the Board of Commissioners, then the term of this Agreement shall automatically be extended one additional year to the next "annual meeting" date as defined herein. If notice of termination is given, it will not alter or shorten the then existing term of this Agreement, but shall only prohibit the automatic one-year extension. It is the intention of the parties that this provision shall operate as an "automatic extension clause" so that the contract will automatically be extended for one additional year as of each annual meeting date so that as of each annual meeting, the contract (if not earlier terminated by notice of either party as described herein) shall always have a remaining five year term.
(# 56, Exhibit B, p. 2.)
The Agreement further provides that
[t]he Authority may terminate the employment of the Director upon the following grounds: (1) serious or repeated failure on the part of the Director to comply with Authority policy; (2) failure by the Director, without good cause, to comply with any lawful decision or directive of the Authority; (3) for activities on the part of the Director constituting misfeasance or malfeasance; or (4) for any other just cause, in accordance with applicable state or federal law.
(# 56, Exhibit B, p. 3.)
In May of 2000, the relationship between Plaintiff and the Board, now comprised of Defendants Comer and Prezioso and Defendants Richard P. Cooke, Vernadine L. Crothers and Katherine L. Dooley took a negative turn. (# 56, Exhibit A, pp. 101, 134-35.) At a retreat/planning meeting on September 1, 2000, the Board asked Plaintiff to resign as Executive Director. (# 56, Exhibit A, p. 175.) In response, Plaintiff requested that CHA buy her out of the Agreement for a certain sum. (# 56, Exhibit A, pp. 175-77.) Plaintiff's counsel at the time, Cynthia Evans, Esquire, eventually wrote a letter to Defendant Prezioso stating that Plaintiff would resign for the amount she believed was due her under the Agreement or $674,660.05, along with the use of a vehicle for five years and payment of the insurance premiums on the vehicle. (# 56, Exhibit C (Letter from Cynthia Evans to Defendant Prezioso dated October 16, 2000).)
Plaintiff continued in her position as Executive Director. (# 56, Exhibit A, p. 177.) On March 26, 2001, the Board voted not to extend the term of the Agreement. (# 56, Exhibit D (Letter from Defendant Prezioso to Plaintiff dated April 11, 2001).) In Defendant Prezioso's letter of April 11, 2001, Defendant Prezioso also provided a bill of particulars related to Plaintiff's unsuccessful performance as Executive Director. (# 56, Exhibit D.) On May 29, 2001, the Board met in executive session and following the executive session, unanimously voted to place Plaintiff on administrative leave with pay and benefits for a period of 90 days. (# 56, Exhibit E (Minutes of May 29, 2001, Board Meeting).)
On or about May 29, 2001, Defendant Crothers and others filed an action in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County against Plaintiff in her individual and official capacities, and others, alleging fraud, forgery, racial discrimination and retaliatory evictions in violation of the West Virginia Constitution and West Virginia law. Plaintiff removed the action, but the District Court later remanded the case to State court. (See Crothers, et al. v. Boggess, et al., Civil Action Number 2:01-0814, Docket Sheet Document 1, 43, 44.)
The Board hired the consulting firm of Goodwin And Associates to assess the operations of CHA and issue a report. (# 56, Exhibit F (Operational Assessment of the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston).) Goodwin And Associates issued an Operational Assessment of the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston on August 17, 2001. (# 56, Exhibit F.) At a Board meeting on August 27, 2001, the Board went into executive session to discuss personnel matters. Thereafter, Defendant Cooke made a motion to terminate Plaintiff's employment pursuant to paragraph 2(c) of the Agreement because of Plaintiff's failure to comply with CHA policy, directives of the Board and additional matters, and the motion was seconded by Defendant Dooley. Four Commissioners (Prezioso, Cooke, Dooley and Comer) voted to terminate Plaintiff, while Defendant Crothers abstained from voting. (# 56, Exhibit G (Minutes of August 27, 2001, Board Meeting).) By letter dated September 21, 2001, counsel for CHA, Charles W. Peoples, Jr., wrote Plaintiff outlining the factors upon which the Board's termination decision was based. (# 56, Exhibit H (Letter from Charles W. Peoples, Jr. to Plaintiff dated September 21, 2001).)
Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment must be granted "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 a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). Pursuant to Rule 56(c), a district court must enter judgment against a party who, "after adequate time for discovery ... fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
Stated differently, "[t]o prevail on a motion for summary judgment, [the moving party] must demonstrate that: (1) there is no genuine issue as to any material fact; and (2) it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Harleysville Mut. Ins. Co. v. Packer, 60 F.3d 1116, 1119-20 (4th Cir. 1995) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact has been raised, the court
must construe all inferences in favor of the [nonmoving party]. If, however, the evidence is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law, we must affirm the grant of summary judgment in that party's favor. The [nonmoving party] "cannot create a genuine issue of fact through mere speculation or the building of one inference upon another[.]" To survive [the summary judgment] motion, the [nonmoving party] may not rest on their pleadings, but must demonstrate that specific, material facts exist that give rise to a genuine issue. [T]he "mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff[.]"
Harleysville, 60 F.3d at 1120 (citations omitted). "Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no `genuine issue for trial.'" Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (citations omitted).
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...on administrative leave and thus had not performed any labor or services on behalf of her employer. Boggess v. Housing Auth. of Charleston, 273 F. Supp. 2d 729, 751-52 (S.D. W. Va. 2003). The Court finds this precedent controlling in the case at hand. It makes this determination based on th......