Cuadra v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist.

• Citation: 626 F.3d 808
• Decision Date: 17 November 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-20715,09-20715
• Parties: Kenneth CUADRA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT; Carol Wichmann; Marmion Dambrino; Billy Aldrich; Beth Bonnette; Melba Martin; Anne Patterson, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

626 F.3d 808

Kenneth CUADRA, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT; Carol Wichmann; Marmion Dambrino; Billy Aldrich; Beth Bonnette; Melba Martin; Anne Patterson, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 09-20715.

United States Court of Appeals,Fifth Circuit.

Nov. 17, 2010.

Laurence Wade Watts (argued), Watts & Associates, Missouri City, TX, for Cuadra.

Merri Schneider-Vogel (argued), Kimberly L. Cunningham, Thompson & Horton, L.L.P., Houston, TX, for Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before JONES, Chief Judge, and REAVLEY and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.

HAYNES, Circuit Judge:

Kenneth Cuadra ("Cuadra") appeals a grant of summary judgment for the Houston Independent School District ("HISD") and several HISD personnel (collectively "Appellees") on his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims. Cuadra filed suit against the Appellees after he was indicted and subsequently arrested in connection with a falsified student drop-out report sent to the State of Texas by Sharpstown High School ("SHS"). Because we find that Cuadra failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to any of his constitutional claims, we AFFIRM the district court's grant of summary judgment for the Appellees.

I. Facts and Procedural History

Cuadra served as a network specialist at SHS until August 2004. As part of his job responsibilities, Cuadra played a role in the school's required annual reporting of student drop-out data to the State of Texas. SHS uses a computer program known as SASI to maintain official records of student data, including student drop-out information. Once data is entered into the SASI program, it can be uploaded to HISD's Public Education Information Management System ("PEIMS"). Data in the PEIMS system is then transferred to the Texas Education Agency ("TEA") via a server known as TEA Edit Plus. Cuadra and Melba Martin ("Martin"), an attendance clerk at SHS, had access to SASI to edit data for "leavers," students who were enrolled or attended the school at some point during the previous school year, but did not re-enroll in the fall. Martin was responsible for inputting or editing "leaver codes," numbers referencing the reason why a student left school. Some of these codes indicated that the student qualified as a "drop-out," while other codes gave other reasons for leaving, such as a family move to another city. Only Cuadra could upload the student drop-out data to the PEIMS program, and this data was periodically sent to the TEA.

Cuadra claims that, on October 22, 2002, Assistant Vice Principal Marmion Dambrino ("Dambrino") and Principal Carol Wichmann ("Wichmann") told him to randomly delete ten to fifteen names from the student drop-out list in anticipation of a meeting with General Superintendent Kaye Stripling ("Stripling").¹ Cuadra admitted that he removed some names from the list on the night of October 22nd. Computer log-in information indicated that Cuadra's ID was the only one used to log on to the system between the evening of October 22nd and the afternoon of October 23rd. During this time frame, the SHS student data report changed from listing thirty drop-outs to listing zero drop-outs.²

Sometime after making the changes to the student drop-out data, Cuadra claimed that he accessed the SASI program again and changed the information back. Cuadra alleged that Martin later changed the drop-out data again to show zero drop-outs. Cuadra alleged that the Appellees knew the drop-out numbers were incorrect and tried to cover up their part in the false reporting by pinning responsibility for it on him.

In February of 2003, a local news station reported that SHS had falsified its student drop-out data. Soon after, Billy Aldrich ("Aldrich"), a member of the HISD Department of Professional Standards,commenced an investigation into the matter at the request of Anne Patterson ("Patterson"), Superintendent of HISD's West District. During the course of his investigation, Aldrich spoke to HISD and SHS employees and interviewed Cuadra twice. In both interviews with Aldrich, Cuadra did not disclose that anyone asked him to change the drop-out data.

In May 2003, Assistant Principal Robert Kimball ("Kimball") wrote a letter to Lester Blizzard ("Blizzard"), a Harris County Assistant District Attorney, and alleged that SHS administrators, including several of the named Appellees, were responsible for the false drop-out numbers. Blizzard contacted Aldrich after receiving Kimball's letter and requested a copy of Aldrich's completed report, which Aldrich sent in June 2003. Aldrich's report concluded that Cuadra knowingly changed student leaver codes without authorization. Ultimately, Blizzard decided not to prosecute Cuadra.

After Cuadra initiated an internal grievance, complaining that he was the false target of Aldrich's investigation, HISD decided to hire outside counsel, the law firm of Rusty Hardin and Associates, to conduct an independent investigation into the events. The findings of two attorneys from the firm ("Hardin report") confirmed the allegation that Cuadra knowingly changed leaver codes listed on the PEIMS student drop-out report sent to the TEA without authorization on October 22nd or October 23rd. After reviewing the Hardin report, HISD's Deputy Superintendent Abe Saavedra ("Saavedra") denied Cuadra's grievance and recommended that the report be sent to the Harris County District Attorney's office for an independent determination of potential criminal liability of any individual involved. Cuadra was again re-assigned, this time to the HISD Bus Barn. Cuadra lost another grievance related to this re-assignment and eventually resigned in August 2004.

On October 7, 2005, Tess Buess ("Buess"), District Attorney Blizzard's replacement, sought and obtained a grand jury indictment against Cuadra for knowingly making a false alteration to a government record.³ Cuadra was arrested and released on bond following the indictment, which was eventually quashed. However, another grand jury subsequently re-indicted Cuadra in May 2006.

A few days after a conversation with Cuadra's defense attorney in October 2006, Buess dismissed the second indictment against Cuadra and issued a press release on the same day. Cuadra contends that Buess dismissed the indictment because of a document she received from Cuadra's defense attorney that Cuadra deems the "smoking gun."⁴ Cuadra argues that at least one of the Appellees possessed this document and did not disclose it to Buess prior to his indictments.

Cuadra filed the instant 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit in federal district court. TheAppellees moved for summary judgment on all of Cuadra's claims, and Cuadra then moved for partial summary judgment on his First and Fourteenth Amendment claims, the only claims that are the subject of this appeal. Ultimately, the district court dismissed Cuadra's action with prejudice and denied Cuadra's post-judgment motion. This timely appeal followed.

II. Standard of Review

The Fifth Circuit reviews a grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the district court. Shields v. Twiss, 389 F.3d 142, 149 (5th Cir.2004). Summary judgment is proper "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). This court "construes all facts and inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party when reviewing grants of motions for summary judgment." Murray v. Earle, 405 F.3d 278, 284 (5th Cir.2005). Where the burden of production at trial ultimately rests on the nonmovant, "the movant must merely demonstrate an absence of evidentiary support in the record for the nonmovant's case." Shields, 389 F.3d at 149. Then, "the nonmoving party must come forward with 'specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.' " Id. (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). "An issue is 'genuine' if the evidence is sufficient for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Hamilton v. Segue Software, Inc., 232 F.3d 473, 477 (5th Cir.2000). "A fact issue is 'material' if its resolution in favor of one party might affect the outcome of the lawsuit under governing law." Id. The Fifth Circuit may "affirm a grant of summary judgment on any grounds supported by the record and presented to the [district] court." Hernandez v. Velasquez, 522 F.3d 556, 560 (5th Cir.2008).

III. Discussion

Cuadra challenges the summary judgment entered on his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claims.⁵ We address each issue in turn.

A. Cuadra's Fourth Amendment Claims

1. No Free-Standing Malicious Prosecution Claim

Cuadra alleges that the Appellees violated his Fourth Amendment rights by intentionally withholding information and manipulating evidence to procure his indictment. To the extent that Cuadra alleges that the Appellees violated his constitutional rights by engaging in malicious prosecution, that argument is foreclosed by our decision in Castellano v. Fragozo, 352 F.3d 939, 958 (5th Cir.2003) (en banc). In Castellano, we noted that "[t]he initiation of criminal charges without probable cause may set in force events that run afoul of explicit constitutional protection—the Fourth Amendment if the accused is seized and arrested, for example, or other constitutionally secured rights if a case is further pursued." Id. at 953. However, we held that a freestanding 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim based solely on malicious prosecution was not viable. Id. at 942. Rather, the claimant must allege "that officials violated specific constitutional rights in connection with a 'malicious prosecution.' " Id. at 945. Thus, Cuadra's attemptto assert a free-standing § 1983 malicious prosecution claim fails as a matter of law.⁶

2. Independent Fourth Amendment Violations

Cuadra has not raised a genuine issue of material fact as to any other possible violation of his ...