Brammer-Hoelter v. Twin Peaks Charter Academy

• Decision Date: 12 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-1186.,06-1186.
• Parties: Jody BRAMMER-HOELTER; Laura Kilduff; Melissa Perry; Amy Sulzbach; Shelley Crews; Bonnie Gould, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TWIN PEAKS CHARTER ACADEMY; St. Vrain Valley School District No. RE-1J; Dorothy Marlatt, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

492 F.3d 1192

Jody BRAMMER-HOELTER; Laura Kilduff; Melissa Perry; Amy Sulzbach; Shelley Crews; Bonnie Gould, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TWIN PEAKS CHARTER ACADEMY; St. Vrain Valley School District No. RE-1J; Dorothy Marlatt, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 06-1186.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

July 12, 2007.

John R. Olsen, Olsen & Brown, L.L.C., Niwot, CO, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Patrick B. Mooney (and M. Brent Case, Semple, Miller, Mooney & Farrington, P.C., with him on the briefs), Denver, CO, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before KELLY, BALDOCK, and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.

PAUL KELLY, JR., Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs appeal from the district court's opinion and order granting a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendants Twin Peaks Charter Academy ("the Academy") and Dr. Dorothy Marlatt and its related entry of judgment for all Defendants on all claims. Plaintiffs are former teachers of the Academy. Plaintiffs filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 asserting that Defendants violated their rights under the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Specifically, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants retaliated against them for exercising their freedom of speech and freedom of association rights, imposed an illegal prior restraint on their freedom of speech and freedom of association, and deprived them of procedural due process. Plaintiffs also asserted pendent claims for breach of contract and promissory estoppel under Colorado law. In its opinion and order, the district court discussed the freedom of speech retaliation claim, the due process claim, and the pendent state law claims for breach of contract and promissory estoppel. It then entered a related judgment in favor of all Defendants on all claims. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

Background

The Academy is a K-8 charter school in Longmont, Colorado. It is chartered by, and operates within the boundaries of, the St. Vrain Valley School District ("the District"). Dr. Dorothy Marlatt was the principal of the Academy when Plaintiffs were employed there as teachers. The events giving rise to this case occurred from the fall of 1998 to the spring of 1999 and ultimately culminated in Plaintiffs' resignations.¹

The Academy first opened its doors in the fall of 1997. Plaintiffs were employed as teachers pursuant to written contracts with the Academy. The Plaintiffs allege that they were told the Academy "was founded upon, and would operate pursuant to, open discussions and communications, including among teachers and parents, regarding school activities and functions." Aplt.App. at 202. Plaintiffs were also informed of the Academy's grievance procedure, which stated that "[t]he Board of Directors, Administrator, and instructional and support staff . . . welcome constructive criticism and input motivated by a sincere desire to enhance the Academy's educational program, improve its working conditions, or provide additional opportunities for parental involvement." Id. at 321.

Plaintiffs received satisfactory performance reviews in their 1997-98 school year evaluations and each accepted a renewed contract for the 1998-99 school year. By the fall of 1998, however, Plaintiffs developed a number of concerns or grievances about the operation, management, and mission of the Academy. They began to meet off-campus and after hours at restaurants, in each others' homes, and at least once at a church to discuss these concerns. In response, Dr. Marlatt issued a series of directives indicating Plaintiffs were not to discuss Academy matters outside of work with any person, including each other, ostensibly to keep personnel and student information confidential. One such order was made during a mandatory faculty meeting. Dr. Marlatt also told Plaintiffs she would prefer they not even associate with each other outside of school.

Nevertheless, Plaintiffs continued to meet off campus for the purpose of discussing various Academy matters. Some meetings were attended by parents and other members of the public. There were approximately twenty to twenty-five meetings in all. At some point, all of the Plaintiffs made their concerns and grievances known to the Twin Peaks Academy Board of Directors ("the Board"), after the Board invited them to communicate without fear of retaliation. Id. at 206-07. Plaintiffs contend that their grievances, expressed in writing and orally, were ignored.

A critical point in this case is whether the concerns and grievances discussed by Plaintiffs were matters of public concern. Plaintiffs note dozens of matters that were discussed at the various meetings and it would be cumbersome to discuss them all in this opinion. As explained below, the vast majority of the matters related to Plaintiffs' duties as teachers and/or addressed internal personnel and workplace disputes. A handful of the matters discussed, however, were unrelated to Plaintiffs' employment duties and constituted matters of public concern.

Dr. Marlatt informed the Board about Plaintiffs' meetings. She also compiled a list of suspected participants in the meetings and showed it to the Board. Sometime thereafter, Plaintiffs contend that they received less favorable performance reviews by Dr. Marlatt. When Plaintiff Kilduff asked Dr. Marlatt why she had received the less favorable review, Dr. Marlatt told her that "the gossip has got to stop," and that it was up to Plaintiff Kilduff to prove she was not gossiping. Id. at 1436. Defendants admit in their answer that no Plaintiff violated any Academy policies, codes, or procedures. Id. at 1444.

Plaintiffs contend that after they received their performance reviews, Dr. Marlatt began to ignore them when she passed them in the halls. Id. at 869. Plaintiffs testified that Dr. Marlatt slammed doors in their presence and generally behaved in a hostile manner toward them. Id. at 983-84. Plaintiffs testified that this treatment caused them various forms of severe distress.

Plaintiffs each drafted resignation letters which were dated either February 28 or March 1 of 1999. It appears that Plaintiffs placed the letters in the school mailboxes of each Board member and Dr. Marlatt. The letters specified that Plaintiffs' last day of work would be March 12, 1999. The Board met on March 2, 1999 to discuss the resignations. At the meeting, Board member Lorraine Baxter observed that Plaintiffs' resignations were likely related to their dissatisfaction with Dr. Marlatt. This prompted Dr. Marlatt to stand up and hand a written resignation to the Board president. Dr. Marlatt then immediately left the meeting. On March 4, 1999, the Board met again to discuss finding replacements for Plaintiffs and Dr. Marlatt.

On March 5, 1999, Plaintiffs each submitted a letter attempting to "rescind" their resignations.² On March 6, 1999, the Board met again and announced the resignations of Plaintiffs and Dr. Marlatt. The Board then sent each Plaintiff a letter confirming that their last day of work would be March 12, 1999. On March 11, 1999, the Board met again. Board member Kathy Seitz made a motion to retain Plaintiffs, but the motion failed.

On March 12, 1999, Plaintiffs gathered their belongings and turned over their keys. Before leaving the Academy, however, at approximately 6:30 p.m., each Plaintiff handed the Academy's acting administrator a letter stating:

Please be informed that, because no action has been taken on your part, I consider my resignation to be rescinded, as per my letter dated March 6, 2006. I continue to be an employee of Twin Peaks Charter Academy, and intend to report for work as usual on March 15, 1999.

Id. at 480. Plaintiffs also submitted a written grievance with the letter stating, inter alia:

The Board of Directors has acted in bad faith in refusing to acknowledge or accept my letter dated March 6, 1999, in which I rescinded my resignation. . . . The administrator, with the full knowledge of the Board, acted in a manner which violated my 1st amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

. . . The semester evaluation which I received on February 25, 1999, did not accurately reflect the oral conference I had with Dr. Marlatt following her observation in January.

Id. at 484. In response, the Board immediately issued Plaintiffs a letter warning that they were neither expected nor permitted to report for work on March 15, 1999. Id. at 482. On May 18, 1999 the Board sent Plaintiffs a letter formally rejecting their grievances. The letter stated, inter alia: "Your grievance was not timely filed," and "[i]t is neither appropriate nor prudent for this Board to respond in this grievance to claims and issues which are likely to be the subject of your lawsuit against the School and this Board." Id. at 1425.

All Plaintiffs except Melissa Perry then re-applied for teaching positions with the Academy. The Academy had a procedure of sending response letters to all persons applying for a teaching position. An Academy clerk testified that such letters were prepared for Plaintiffs and given to the acting administrator and Board for transmitting. Plaintiffs never received the letters, however, prompting them to argue that they were "blacklisted" from future employment at the Academy because of the events involving Dr. Marlatt. Defendants contend that the Board had already made most of its hiring decisions by the time Plaintiffs submitted their applications and that it had legitimate concerns about the Plaintiffs' intent to serve for an entire school year given their prior resignations.

Procedural History

Plaintiffs filed their lawsuit on July 30, 1999. All Defendants filed motions for summary judgment on October 23, 2000. Over five years later, on March 28, 2006, the district court issued an eighteen-page order granting the summary judgment motion filed by the Academy and Dr. Marlatt and denying the District's motion as moot.³ See ...