Doyle v. Lehi City, Corp.

• Decision Date: 06 December 2012
• Docket Number: No. 20100420–CA.,20100420–CA.
• Parties: William A. DOYLE, an individual, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. LEHI CITY, a municipal corporation; Blythe Bray; Daniel Harrison; and Amanda Len Mackintosh, Defendants and Appellees.
• Court: Utah Court of Appeals

291 P.3d 853
723 Utah Adv. Rep. 7

William A. DOYLE, an individual, Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
LEHI CITY, a municipal corporation; Blythe Bray; Daniel Harrison; and Amanda Len Mackintosh, Defendants and Appellees.

No. 20100420–CA.

Court of Appeals of Utah.

Dec. 6, 2012.

[291 P.3d 856]

Justin D. Heideman, Provo, for Appellant.

David C. Richards and Sarah E. Spencer, Salt Lake City, for Appellee.

Before Judges ORME, McHUGH, and VOROS.

OPINION
ORME, Judge:

¶ 1 William A. Doyle appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Lehi City, Daniel Harrison, Blythe Bray, and Amanda Len Mackintosh (collectively, Appellees). Doyle claims that the district court erred in striking portions of affidavits he submitted in opposition to Appellees' motion for summary judgment, in concluding that Harrison and Bray were entitled to qualified immunity, and in determining that his notice of claim was inadequate, thereby barring his defamation and breach of contract causes of action. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 Lehi City, through its recreation department, offers a variety of sports programs to its residents, including a youth baseball program, at a sports facility known as the “Legacy Center.” At all times relevant to this case, Lehi employed Harrison as Director and Bray as Assistant Director of both the Lehi City Recreation Department and the Legacy Center. Additionally, Lehi employed Mackintosh as a youth sports field supervisor during the 2006 youth baseball season. Doyle is well known in the Lehi City youth sports community, having volunteered as a coach for many years.

¶ 3 Before each youth sport season, the Legacy Center staff meets to discuss the need for changing any rules governing that sport. The staff might alter a sport's governing rules for many reasons, such as improving efficiency, resolving scheduling issues, and addressing player or coach concerns. The ultimate determination of which rules will be used each season falls within the discretion of the Lehi City Recreation Department.

¶ 4 Prior to the 2006 youth baseball season, the Legacy Center staff implemented various changes to the baseball league's governing rules. Specifically, Lehi altered rules regarding the manner in which the league's player draft was carried out and how the league would choose a team as its representative in the state youth baseball tournament.

¶ 5 Doyle was selected as a volunteer coach for a team of nine- and ten-year-old boys during the 2006 “Pinto League” baseball season. As a condition of coaching, Doyle filled out and signed a Volunteer Coach Application and Agreement (the Agreement), which contained a code of conduct. The code of conduct required Doyle to follow all Lehi City policies and procedures while volunteering,

[291 P.3d 857]

practice good sportsmanship and fair play, provide safe playing instructions to his team, refrain from yelling and using profanity, and show respect to all players, coaches, officials, and spectators. By signing the Agreement, Doyle agreed that “if [he] d[id] not abide by the Volunteer ‘Code of Conduct’ [he could] be removed as a volunteer, and [could] be prohibited from volunteering in the future.”

¶ 6 In his capacity as a volunteer coach, Doyle was not compensated by the City, nor did he receive any other tangible benefit in exchange for his service. Indeed, in the many years Doyle served as a volunteer coach, he never received any form of compensation from the City.

¶ 7 During the 2006 season, Doyle voiced his concerns to Legacy Center personnel about the rule changes that had been made. Doyle was particularly vocal about the changes to the youth baseball draft, contending that it “allowed certain teams to be unfairly stacked with an inordinate and disproportionate amount of talented players.” Doyle also raised concerns to Bray about “other matters of fairness and safety” that he believed needed to be addressed. To gain support for his complaints, Doyle started a petition concerning Lehi City recreation programs and solicited signatures at the Legacy Center during baseball games.

¶ 8 Also during the 2006 season, Legacy Center personnel either observed or received reports from Mackintosh and others of Doyle becoming angry and yelling at Legacy Center employees, using profanity in front of players, and instructing his team to engage in rough tactics. Doyle questions the veracity of some of these reported incidents and alleges that Bray told him that Lehi City “needed more coaches” like him.

¶ 9 After the 2006 season, Bray met with Harrison to discuss Doyle's conduct during the season. Bray related to Harrison her observations and other reports she had received regarding incidents of Doyle behaving inappropriately. At that time, Bray and Harrison decided to take no action against Doyle; instead, they elected to wait and see whether Doyle applied to volunteer as a coach for the 2007 youth baseball season.

¶ 10 In March 2007, Doyle submitted a Volunteer Coach Application. Bray and Harrison met to determine what course of action to take. At Harrison's request, Bray prepared a list detailing Doyle's alleged inappropriate conduct during the 2006 season. Harrison also asked Bray to determine whether there were enough other volunteer applicants to cover all of the coaching spots for the 2007 youth baseball season. Bray confirmed that there were. Harrison and Bray then jointly decided that volunteers other than Doyle would be given the opportunity to coach.

¶ 11 Apparently as a courtesy to a long-time volunteer, Harrison called Doyle prior to the 2007 youth baseball season and asked him to come to his office to discuss the upcoming season.¹ During the meeting, Harrison reviewed for Doyle the list prepared by Bray detailing the improper conduct Doyle allegedly engaged in during the 2006 season. Harrison then informed Doyle that as a result of his behavior, he had not been selected as a volunteer coach for the 2007 youth baseball season. Harrison informed Doyle, however, that he could apply to be considered as a youth baseball coach for the 2008 season.

¶ 12 Upset at not being selected as a volunteer coach for the 2007 season, Doyle requested a meeting with Lehi City Manager Jamie Davidson and Assistant City Manager Ron Foggin. This request was denied, but Lehi City Risk Manager Scott Sampson later called Doyle and informed him that the City was standing by Harrison and Bray's decision not to select Doyle as a coach for the 2007 season. Not long after the phone call, a billboard displaying a graphic of two skunks and the phrase “Something stinks in Lehi City Recreation” appeared along I–15 in Utah County. The billboard also directed viewers to a now-defunct website titled “www. citystinkers. com.” Affidavits submitted

[291 P.3d 858]

by Appellees in support of their motion for summary judgment attributed the website to Doyle.

¶ 13 Doyle continued asking for a meeting to discuss his rejection as a volunteer coach, which was finally held on May 3, 2007. Doyle; Doyle's attorney; the Mayor of Lehi City, Howard Johnson, who happened also to be Doyle's father-in-law; Foggin; and Sampson all attended the meeting. City officials informed Doyle that if he agreed to take down the billboard and website, and improve his behavior, he could coach in the 2007 season. Doyle refused to do so, according to affidavits.²

¶ 14 A second meeting was held during which Doyle met with Lehi City officials, including the mayor and city manager. After this meeting, Lehi City representatives again informed Doyle that they were standing by their decision not to select him as a volunteer coach during the 2007 season but reiterated that he could reapply in 2008.

¶ 15 Doyle subsequently filed suit. In Doyle's complaint, he alleged numerous causes of action, including that the City, through Bray and Harrison, had violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments by denying him the opportunity to volunteer as a baseball coach during the 2007 season—a form of retaliation, Doyle alleges, for exercising his free speech rights to raise concerns about the management of the City's youth baseball program. Further, Doyle alleged causes of action for defamation, breach of contract, and equitable estoppel. Doyle also asked for attorney fees. Appellees filed a motion for summary judgment, supported by several affidavits. In response, Doyle filed a memorandum opposing summary judgment along with various affidavits supporting his position. Appellees then filed their reply memorandum and a motion to strike Doyle's affidavits. The district court granted Appellees' motion to strike Doyle's affidavits in part, and thereafter granted summary judgment in Appellees' favor. Doyle appeals.

ISSUES AND STANDARDS OF REVIEW

¶ 16 First, Doyle alleges that the district court erred in striking portions of affidavits he submitted in opposition to Appellees' summary judgment motion. We ordinarily review a district court's decision to strike portions of an affidavit for an abuse of discretion. See Cabaness v. Thomas, 2010 UT 23, ¶ 50, 232 P.3d 486.

¶ 17 Doyle next alleges that the district court erred in concluding on summary judgment that Bray and Harrison enjoyed qualified immunity from his First and Fourteenth Amendment claims, that he had no liberty or property interest in his volunteer position sufficient to maintain a due process challenge, and that Lehi City could not be held liable for any unconstitutional acts of its employees. We review the district court's summary judgment decision, including its rulings regarding these constitutional issues, for correctness. See Chen v. Stewart, 2004 UT 82, ¶ 25, 100 P.3d 1177.

¶ 18 Doyle also contends that the district court erred in concluding that he failed to comply with the notice of claim provision of the Governmental Immunity Act. SeeUtah Code Ann. § 63G–7–401(3)(a)(ii) (2011). Whether a notice of claim is adequate presents a question of law, which we review for correctness. See Thimmes v. Utah...