Bright v. Westmoreland County

• Decision Date: 24 August 2004
• Docket Number: No. 03-4320.,03-4320.
• Citation: 380 F.3d 729
• Parties: John BRIGHT, Individually and in his capacity as Administrator of the Estate of Annette Bright, deceased, Appellant v. WESTMORELAND COUNTY; Tami Whalen, Individually and in her capacity as a Probation Officer for Westmoreland County; Richard Yesko, Individually and in his capacity as a Probation Officer for Westmoreland County; Anthony C. Guinta, Individually and in his capacity as Probation Supervisor for Westmoreland County; City of Monessen; Carl Franzaglio, Individually and in his capacity as a Police Officer for the City of Monessen; Paul S. Kuntz, Individually and in his capacity as Court Administrator for the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas; John Peck, Individually and in his capacity as District Attorney of Westmoreland County; Charles Koschalk.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

380 F.3d 729

John BRIGHT, Individually and in his capacity as Administrator of the Estate of Annette Bright, deceased, Appellant v. WESTMORELAND COUNTY; Tami Whalen, Individually and in her capacity as a Probation Officer for Westmoreland County; Richard Yesko, Individually and in his capacity as a Probation Officer for Westmoreland County; Anthony C. Guinta, Individually and in his capacity as Probation Supervisor for Westmoreland County; City of Monessen; Carl Franzaglio, Individually and in his capacity as a Police Officer for the City of Monessen; Paul S. Kuntz, Individually and in his capacity as Court Administrator for the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas; John Peck, Individually and in his capacity as District Attorney of Westmoreland County; Charles Koschalk.

No. 03-4320.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued May 12, 2004.

Filed August 24, 2004.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Arthur J. Schwab, J.

Peter M. Suwak, (Argued), Washington, PA, for Appellant.

Thomas P. Pellis, (Argued), Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebenek & Eck, Greensburg, PA, for Appellee County of Westmoreland, et. al.

Thomas P. McGinnis, (Argued), Thomas, Thomas & Hafer, Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellee City of Monessen, et. al.

Mary E. Butler, (Argued), Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Administrative Office of PA Courts, Philadelphia, PA, for Paul S. Kuntz, etc.

Before NYGAARD, McKEE, and CHERTOFF Circuit Judges.

NYGAARD, Circuit Judge.

I.

John Bright appeals the dismissal of his complaint. Bright's claims arose when Charles Koschalk murdered one of Bright's daughters, Annette. At the time of the murder, Koschalk was on probation after pleading guilty to corrupting the morals of Annette Bright's sister. The District Court dismissed all of Bright's claims. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and exercise plenary review over the District Court's order. Morse v. Lower Merion Sch. Dist., 132 F.3d 902, 906 (3d Cir.1997).

II.

In his brief, Bright focused all of his argument, except for a single footnote, on the merits of the District Court opinion. That single footnote, however, raises a procedural impropriety underlying the District Court's opinion that undermines the legitimacy of the dismissal order. The relevant footnote asserts that during a preliminary case conference, which occurred before the due date for or the filing of Bright's response to the appellees' motions to dismiss,¹ the District Court indicated that it planned to dismiss Bright's complaint on the basis of an unpublished District Court decision. At this conference the District Court also requested that in lieu of a reply brief the appellees file a consolidated statement of position. The attorneys confirmed at oral argument that in response to the District Court's request they submitted a proposed opinion and order of court, which the District Court adopted nearly verbatim, as its opinion and order. Therefore, Bright asserts that he is appealing an order supported by an opinion that were ghostwritten by appellees' counsel.

At our request, counsel for the appellees supplied us with a copy of the proposed memorandum opinion and order that they had submitted to the District Court.² This proposed opinion is nearly identical to the opinion filed by the District Court. Other than minor grammatical and stylistic edits, the District Court made only two substantive changes. First, in the analysis section of the opinion, the District Court struck a single sentence from the appellees' proposed opinion. Second, the District Court added a section that dismissed the claims against Koschalk for lack of jurisdiction.

Importantly, the District Court did not substantively alter the section in the proposed opinion that dismissed Bright's state law claims based on the Pennsylvania Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act ("P.S.T.C.A."). 42 Pa.C.S. § 8541 et seq. This is significant because nowhere in appellees' motions to dismiss do they argue that Bright's state law claims are barred under the P.S.T.C.A. The District Court, however, adopted this section of the appellees' proposed opinion without any real modification or explanation, again excepting minor stylistic changes.

Bright complains about the District Court's procedure, stating that "[i]t is hard to reconcile this evident overreaching with plaintiff's reasonable expectations as a litigant for a fair and independent judicial review of his claim." Appellant's Brief at n. 2. We agree and will reverse and remand the cause to the District Court with orders to engage in an independent judicial review of Bright's claims and the appellee's motion to dismiss, and, should it again decide to dismiss, for it to prepare an opinion explaining the reasons for its order.

III.

We have held that the adoption of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law supplied by prevailing parties after a bench trial, although disapproved of, is not in and of itself reason for reversal. See Anderson v. Bessemer City, N.C., 470 U.S. 564, 572, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985) ("[E]ven when the trial judge adopts the findings verbatim, the findings are those of the court and may be reversed only if clearly erroneous."); Lansford-Coaldale Joint Water Auth. v. Tonolli Corp., 4 F.3d 1209, 1215-16 (3d Cir.1993) (disapproving of the verbatim adoption of proposed findings of fact but acknowledging the rule announced in Anderson and noting that there was "no indication in the record that the district court was unfamiliar with the testimony or exhibits or that it was using the proposed findings as a crutch; if [there were such an indication] we might view the matter differently"). However, we made clear that the findings of fact adopted by the court must be the result of the trial judge's independent judgment. Pa. Envtl. Def. Found.: (PEDF) v. Canon-McMillian Sch. Dist., 152 F.3d 228, 233 (3d Cir.1998) (citing with approval Odeco, Inc. v. Avondale Shipyards, Inc. 663 F.2d 650, 652-53 (5th Cir.1981)). "The central issue is whether the district court had made an independent judgment." Id.

Here, however, we are not dealing with findings of fact. Instead, we are confronted with a District Court opinion that is essentially a verbatim copy of the appellees' proposed opinion. This fact, even standing alone, would be enough for us to distinguish the holdings in Anderson and Lansford-Coaldale. We agree with the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's observation that:

There is authority for the submission to the court of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law by the attorneys for the opposing parties in a case, and the adoption of such of the proposed findings and conclusions as the judge may find to be proper.... But there is no authority in the federal courts that countenances the preparation of the opinion by the attorney for either side. That practice involves the failure of the trial judge to perform his judicial function.

Chicopee Mfg. Corp. v. Kendall Co., 288 F.2d 719, 725 (4th Cir.1961) (emphasis added).

Judicial opinions are the core work-product of judges. They are much more than findings of fact and conclusions of law; they constitute the logical and analytical explanations of why a judge arrived at a specific decision. They are tangible proof to the litigants that the judge actively wrestled with their claims and arguments and made a scholarly decision based on his or her own reason and logic. When a court adopts a party's proposed opinion as its own, the court vitiates the vital purposes served by judicial opinions. We, therefore, cannot condone the practice used by the District Court in this case.

There is, however, an additional reason why a reversal and remand is the appropriate remedy in this case. We have made it clear that the linchpin in using findings of fact, even when they are verbatim adoptions of the parties' proposals, is evidence that they are the product of the trial court's independent judgment. PEDF, 152 F.3d at 233. In this case, there is no record evidence which would allow us to conclude that the District Court conducted its own independent review, or that the opinion is the product of its own judgment. In fact, the procedure used by the District Court casts doubt on the possibility of such a conclusion.

According to Bright's unrebutted assertions, the District Court indicated that it was going to grant appellee's motions to dismiss before it even received Bright's response to those motions. Indeed, Bright claims, again without a rebuttal, that he did not have the opportunity to object or even respond to the submitted opinion and order before the District Court adopted them as its own.

Courts and judges exist to provide neutral fora in which persons and entities can have their professional disputes and personal crises resolved. Any degree of impropriety, or even the appearance thereof, undermines our legitimacy and effectiveness. We therefore hold that the District Court's adoption of the appellees' proposed opinion and order, coupled with the procedure it used to solicit them, was improper and requires reversal with a remand for the court to reevaluate the appellees' motion to dismiss in a procedure consistent with this opinion.

JOHN BRIGHT, individually and in his, capacity as Administrator of the ESTATE OF ANNETTE BRIGHT, deceased, Plaintiff

v.

WESTMORELAND COUNTY; TAMI WHALEN, individually and in her capacity as a Probation Officer for Westmoreland County; RICHARD YESKO, individually and in his capacity as a Probation Officer for Westmoreland County; ANTHONY C. GUINTA, individually and in his capacity as Probation Supervisor for Westmoreland County; CITY OF MONESSEN; CARL FRANZAGLIO, individually and in his capacity as a Police Officer for the City of Monessen; PAUL S. KUNTZ, individually and in his capacity as Court Administrator for the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas; JOHN PECK, individually and in his...