Chopmist Hill Fire Dep't v. Town of Scituate

• Decision Date: 18 January 2011
• Docket Number: C.A. No. 09–531–ML.
• Citation: 780 F.Supp.2d 179
• Parties: CHOPMIST HILL FIRE DEPARTMENT, Plaintiff,v.TOWN OF SCITUATE, a Municipal Corporation; Theodore J. Przybyla, Treasurer, Town of Scituate, in his official capacity; Robert Budway, President, Scituate Town Council, both individually and in his official capacity as President of the Town Council, Charles Collins Jr., both individually and in his official capacity as a Vice President of the Scituate Town Council; Dwight Farrar, both individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council; John F. Winfield Jr., both individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council; David D'Agostino both individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council; David L. Hanna both individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council; Brenda Frederickson both individually and in her official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Rhode Island

780 F.Supp.2d 179

CHOPMIST HILL FIRE DEPARTMENT, Plaintiff,

v.TOWN OF SCITUATE, a Municipal Corporation; Theodore J. Przybyla, Treasurer, Town of Scituate, in his official capacity; Robert Budway, President, Scituate Town Council, both individually and in his official capacity as President of the Town Council, Charles Collins Jr., both individually and in his official capacity as a Vice President of the Scituate Town Council; Dwight Farrar, both individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council; John F. Winfield Jr., both individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council; David D'Agostino both individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council; David L. Hanna both individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council; Brenda Frederickson both individually and in her official capacity as a member of the Scituate Town Council, Defendants.

C.A. No. 09–531–ML.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

Jan. 18, 2011.

John L.P. Breguet, St. Peter and Kasle, Providence, RI, for Plaintiff.Marc Desisto, Kathleen M. Daniels, Desisto Law, Providence, RI, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MARY M. LISI, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, Chopmist Hill Fire Department (“Plaintiff”), has filed a verified complaint alleging that Defendants have wrongfully evicted it from a fire station in the Town of Scituate in violation of federal and state law. The matter now comes before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is denied and Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part.

I. Standard of Review—Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is appropriate only “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2).¹ An issue is “genuine” if the pertinent evidence is such that a rational factfinder could resolve the issue in favor of either party, and a fact is “material” if it “has the capacity to sway the outcome of the litigation under the applicable law.” National Amusements, Inc. v. Town of Dedham, 43 F.3d 731, 735 (1st Cir.1995).

The moving party bears the burden of showing the Court that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Id. Once the movant has made the requisite showing, the nonmoving party “may not rely merely on allegations or denials in its own pleading; rather, its response must—by affidavits or as otherwise provided in [the] rule—set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2). “Mere allegations, or conjecture unsupported in the record, are insufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact.” Thomas v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 40 F.3d 505, 508 (1st Cir.1994). The Court need not “credit purely conclusory allegations, indulge in rank speculation, or draw improbable inferences.” National Amusements, 43 F.3d at 735. The Court views all facts and draws all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Continental Casualty Co. v. Canadian Universal Insurance Co., 924 F.2d 370 (1st Cir.1991). Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 “requires the parties to submit admissible evidence in supporting and opposing motions for summary judgment.” Feliciano v. State of Rhode Island, 160 F.3d 780, 787 (1st Cir.1998). The legal standard for summary judgment is not changed when parties file cross-motions for summary judgment. Adria International Group, Inc. v. Ferre Development, Inc., 241 F.3d 103 (1st Cir.2001). “The court must rule on each party's motion on an individual and separate basis, determining, for each side, whether a judgment may be entered in accordance with the Rule 56 standard.” Bienkowski v. Northeastern University, 285 F.3d 138, 140 (1st Cir.2002) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

II. Background

Defendant, the Town of Scituate, Rhode Island (“Town”) is a municipal corporation incorporated in 1730 by an act of the Rhode Island General Assembly. The Town does not have a municipal fire department; instead it relies upon non-profit, non-municipal fire companies to provide fire suppression and rescue services to the Town. Plaintiff, incorporated in 1950, is one of four fire companies providing such services to the Town. Plaintiff operates out of a fire station, located at 1362 Chopmist Hill Rd., which it leases from the Town. Plaintiff asserts that the current lease was executed in December 2000 and purports to cover the term from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016, with an annual rent of $1.00 per year. Plaintiff's Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, (“Plaintiff's Memo”) Exhibit B. Plaintiff has paid the rent, in advance, through December 31, 2015. Id., Exhibit A, Dennis Gaffney Affidavit (“Gaffney Affidavit”) at ¶ 5. Prior to the Fall of 2009, Chopmist Hill Fire Station was staffed by volunteers.

The dispute between the Town and Plaintiff began percolating in the fall of 2008. On September 3, 2008, the International Association of Firefighters (“IAFF”) filed a petition for Investigation of Controversies as to Representation with the Rhode Island State Labor Relations Board (“Board”), naming the Town and the Scituate Fire and Rescue Engineering Board as respondents. The IAFF sought to organize Plaintiff's emergency medical technicians. On or about February 2, 2009, Defendant Robert Budway (“Budway”), the President of the Town Council, issued a letter to all Town residents. In that letter, Plaintiff asserts that Budway alerted Town residents to the “potential destruction” of the Town's “volunteer rescue system.” Plaintiff's Memo, Exhibit D. Budway stated that the situation arose as a result of a “small group of rescue volunteers announc[ing] that they [were] employees ....” Id. Budway informed Town residents that the Town intended to “vigorously contest” the petition and the IAFF's “baseless assertion” that the “volunteer rescue crew members are employees of the Town.” Agreed Statement of Facts (“SOF”) at 25. Budway also stated that the “people of Scituate have not [authorized] their government to hire rescue personnel. No one, no group has the right to foist themselves upon the people of Scituate as their self-appointed employees.” Id. On August 6, 2009, the IAFF filed a request with the Board to withdraw the September 3, 2008, petition naming the Town and the Scituate Fire and Rescue Engineering Board as respondents and filed another petition naming Plaintiff as the sole respondent.

On August 28, 2009, WPRI Channel 12 published a news item titled “ Johnston v. Scituate in Water Fight.” SOF at 16. The news article reported that a “tipster” “caught” one of Plaintiff's fire trucks filling up with water at a Johnston water hydrant. SOF, Exhibit B. The news article also reported that the mayor of Johnston accused Plaintiff of “thievery.” Id. On September 2, 2009, the Town Council held a special meeting, in executive session, to address, inter alia, the allegations raised in the Channel 12 news report. At or about that time, the Scituate Police Department and the Town solicitor began an inquiry into the matter.

On September 13, 2009, Plaintiff's members voted not to oppose the August 6, 2009, IAFF petition for representation. On September 14, 2009, Dennis Gaffney, the Chief of the Chopmist Hill Fire Department, and the IAFF agreed to recognize the IAFF as the exclusive bargaining agent for Plaintiff's emergency medical technicians who work, on a volunteer basis, more than twenty hours per week. On September 18, 2009, Gaffney met with Budway and informed him that Plaintiff had “voted voluntarily” to recognize the IAFF. SOF at 29. On September 21, 2009, the Town Council held a closed meeting to discuss “collective bargaining and litigation concerning organizational efforts of some volunteers” and the “allegations raised in the Channel 12 investigative report ... regarding fire department use of water from the Town of Johnston....” SOF at 30. Public notice of the September 21, 2009, meeting was posted on September 18, 2009.

On September 22, 2009, Gaffney received a letter from the Town Council requesting the return of all Town-owned equipment used by Plaintiff and its members. On the same date, a letter from the Town Council was hand-delivered, by a Scituate police officer, to Matthew Knowlton, the individual listed as Plaintiff's president on the Rhode Island Secretary of State website. In the letter, the Town informed Plaintiff that it was rescinding the lease for the fire station and instructed Plaintiff to vacate the premises within ten days of delivery of the letter.

Plaintiff contends that the Scituate police and the “Scituate EMA director” arrived at the fire station to effectuate its seizure. Plaintiff's Memo at 19. Three vehicles were removed from the station to the Town Department of Public Works; one vehicle, a “brush truck,” and other equipment was secured by the Town and remained at the station. Gaffney contends that “shortly” after he received his letter, he went to an area near the fire station and observed Scituate police at the station and that the station was surrounded with “yellow police tape.” Gaffney Affidavit at ¶ 15.

On September 24, 2009, during a Town Council meeting called to discuss the removal of Plaintiff from the fire station, Budway stated that the “path we now find ourselves upon started almost two and one half years ago when a small group of Chopmist volunteers unilaterally declared themselves to be employees of the [T]own and immediately affiliated themselves with the IAFF.” SOF at 23. The minutes of the meeting reflect that Budway also stated that, a few years earlier, he had met with the chiefs of all of the volunteer fire departments in the Town and that the chiefs had...