O'Connor v. Peru State College
| Decision Date | 22 February 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 83-1955,83-1955 |
| Citation | 728 F.2d 1001 |
| Parties | 34 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 85, 33 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 34,188, 16 Ed. Law Rep. 744 Kathy O'CONNOR, Appellant, v. PERU STATE COLLEGE; Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges; Jerry L. Gallentine; Clyde J. Barrett, Harold D. Deselms; Jerry D. Joy; Irv Pitts and Wayne Davidson, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
George C. Rozmarin, Swarr, May, Smith & Andersen, Omaha, Neb., for appellees.
Jill Nagy and Kathryn B. Goudy, Lincoln, Neb., for appellant.
Before LAY, Chief Judge, BRIGHT, Circuit Judge, and HANSON, Senior District Judge. *
Kathy O'Connor appeals from the district court's denial of a preliminary injunction. O'Connor's request for temporary relief arose pursuant to her allegation of violations of Title VII, Title IX, the First Amendment, and the Equal Pay Act, and also an alleged breach of contract. We affirm.
O'Connor was a nontenured physical education instructor and women's basketball coach at Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska, during the 1981-82 and 1982-83 school years. O'Connor was informed on December 9, 1982, that her contract for employment would not be renewed for the 1983-84 school year. O'Connor requested, and received, a hearing with several college administrators at which time the administrators expressed their reasons for the termination.
On April 28, 1983, O'Connor filed in federal district court her complaint and motion for preliminary injunctive relief. On the same day she also filed a complaint with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A hearing was held in district court on the motion for preliminary relief; in an order and memorandum dated June 17, 1983, the district court, the Honorable Robert Van Pelt presiding, denied O'Connor's request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The district court concluded that "plaintiff's constitutional rights of free speech, due process, and equal protection have not been violated; that she has not been discriminated against because of her gender; and that her chance of succeeding on the merits in a trial of this case are not sufficient to justify any form of temporary relief at this time." This appeal followed. We agree with the district court's ultimate denial of preliminary relief.
Review of a grant or denial of preliminary relief is limited to determining whether the district court abused its discretion or based its decision on an erroneous legal premise. Tuepker v. Farmers Home Administration, 684 F.2d 550, 552 (8th Cir.1982); Hiland Potato Chip Co. v. Culbro Corp., 671 F.2d 1190, 1191 (8th Cir.1982). The standard to be applied by the district court in determining whether to grant preliminary relief is found in Dataphase Systems, Inc. v. CL Systems, Inc., 640 F.2d 109 (8th Cir.1981) (en banc). We there articulated the following considerations: "(1) the threat of irreparable harm to the movant; (2) the state of balance between this harm and the injury that granting the injunction will inflict on other parties litigant; (3) the probability that movant will succeed on the merits; and (4) the public interest." Id. at 114.
In the instant case, the district court did set forth the Dataphase considerations. However, we express concern with the district court's analysis. The district court's discussion appears to place too great an emphasis on the third Dataphase factor: probability of success on the merits.
As we noted in Dataphase:
The very nature of the inquiry on petition for preliminary relief militates against a wooden application of the probability test. At base, the question is whether the balance of equities so favors the movant that justice requires the court to intervene to preserve the status quo until the merits are determined. The equitable nature of the proceeding mandates that the court's approach be flexible enough to encompass the particular circumstances of each case. Thus, an effort to apply the probability language to all cases with mathematical precision is misplaced.
In balancing the equities no single factor is determinative. The likelihood that plaintiff ultimately will prevail is meaningless in isolation. In every case, it must be examined in the context of the relative injuries to the parties and the public. If the chance of irreparable injury to the movant should relief be denied is outweighed by the likely injury to other parties litigant should the injunction be granted, the moving party faces a heavy burden of demonstrating that he is likely to prevail on the merits. Conversely, where...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
HEATHER K. BY ANITA K. v. City of Mallard, Iowa
...deciding whether the movant for a preliminary injunction will ultimately win. Glenwood Bridge, 940 F.2d at 371; O'Connor v. Peru State College, 728 F.2d 1001, 1002 (8th Cir.1984) (in such preliminary proceedings, "the court should avoid deciding with any degree of certainty who will succeed......
-
West Pub. Co. v. Mead Data Cent., Inc.
...party is not required to take an interlocutory appeal authorized by statute"). 4 MDC's citation and reliance on O'Connor v. Peru State College, 728 F.2d 1001, 1002 (8th Cir.1984), see page 24 of MDC brief, establishes that it knew that the scope of appellate review on a Section 1292(a)(1) a......
-
Curtis 1000, Inc. v. Youngblade, C 94-4117.
...deciding whether the movant for a preliminary injunction will ultimately win. Glenwood Bridge, 940 F.2d at 371; O'Connor v. Peru State College, 728 F.2d 1001, 1002 (8th Cir.1984) (in such preliminary proceedings, "the court should avoid deciding with any degree of certainty who will succeed......
-
Velek v. State
...ultimately win." See Glenwood Bridge, Inc. v. City of Minneapolis, 940 F.2d 367, 371 (8th Cir. 1991); see also O'Connor v. Peru State College, 728 F.2d 1001, 1002 (8th Cir. 1984) ("The proceedings are at an early stage and to prejudge the evidence before it is fully collated and demonstrate......