Elmendorf v. Howell
| Decision Date | 05 May 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-CV-1613.,95-CV-1613. |
| Citation | 962 F.Supp. 326 |
| Parties | Deborah ELMENDORF, Plaintiff, v. Donna HOWELL, Jackie Maier, Ted Davis and Gordon Larson, Individually and as members of the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District Board of Education, Joseph Bonita, Individually and as the former Superintendent of the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District, Janet Bain, as Assistant Superintendent of the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District, and the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District Board of Education, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York |
Walter, Thayer Law Firm, Albany, NY, for plaintiff; Lanny E. Walter, of counsel.
Ainsworth, Sullivan Law Firm, Albany, NY, for defendants; Robert Ruslander, of counsel.
On February 18, 1997, plaintiff moved for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule 56 asserting that she was entitled to a due process hearing prior to her termination as a tenured school principal, and that as a matter of law she was entitled to the position of Assistant Superintendent for the Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District. On that same date, the defendants, in their official and individual capacities, cross-moved pursuant to Federal Rule 12(b)(6), dismissing the plaintiffs complaint, and Federal Rule 56 granting summary judgment on the grounds that the causes of action alleged against the defendant's lacked merit as a matter of law and that there were no question of fact requiring a trial. On February 28, 1997, the defendants also made a motion pursuant to Federal Rule 12(b)(6) to dismiss the complaint as against the individual defendants, and Federal Rule 56 granting summary judgment on the grounds that the individual defendants were entitled to good-faith immunity from liability.
The plaintiff is a former tenured Principal of the public school, grades K to 12, operated by defendant Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District ("WAJ"). In an effort to save money and consolidate the responsibilities of three positions into two, WAJ abolished the positions of Building Principal and Elementary Coordinator, and created the position of Assistant Superintendent. The plaintiff was not hired for the newly created position.
This case arises from the plaintiff's claims that (1) she was not given a pre-termination hearing before being, in her opinion, discharged from employment from a tenured position, in violation of her due process rights as secured by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, and (2) she was not hired as the Assistant Superintendent in alleged contravention of New York Education Law § 2510(1) which requires that tenured employees whose positions are abolished must be hired for a subsequently created position with similar duties.
The defendants claim that the positions of Building principal and Assistant Superintendent are dissimilar. In general, the defendants allege that there are additional responsibilities connected to the new position, and that the Assistant Superintendent position requires additional certification not required by the Building Principal position. Moreover, the defendants contend that the plaintiff was afforded the opportunity to speak directly with the Superintendent or write to her concerning the Assistant Superintendent position, but declined. It is the defendants' position, therefore, that the plaintiff has received all the process she is due. The Court now turns to the issues presented.
The standard for granting a motion for summary judgment is well-settled. Summary judgment is appropriate when no genuine issues of material fact exist, and thus the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The movant bears the initial burden of showing the Court that, on the evidence before it, there is no genuine issue of material fact. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The nonmovant must then "set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 56(e). There must be more than a "metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Delaware & Hudson Rwy. Co. v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 902 F.2d 174, 178 (2d Cir.1990), quoting, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). "In considering a motion for summary judgment, the district court may rely on `any material that would be admissible or usable at trial.'" Azrielli v. Cohen Law Offices, 21 F.3d 512, 516 (2d Cir.1994), quoting, 10A Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil § 2721 at 40 (2d ed.1983). However, the Court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Azrielli, 21 F.3d at 517. Any assessments of credibility and all choices between available inferences are matters to be left for a jury, not matters to be decided by the Court on summary judgment. Id.; See, e.g., Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e), 1963 Advisory Committee Note; Agosto v. INS, 436 U.S. 748, 98 S.Ct. 2081, 56 L.Ed.2d 677, (1978); Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., 368 U.S. 464, 472-73, 82 S.Ct. 486, 490-491, 7 L.Ed.2d 458 (1962); Ramseur v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 865 F.2d 460, 465 (2d Cir.1989) 6 Moore's Federal Practice P 56.02 at 56-45 (2d ed.1993). "Only when reasonable minds could not differ as to the import of the evidence is summary judgment proper." Bryant v. Maffucci, 923 F.2d 979, 982 (2d Cir.1991). It is with the foregoing standards in mind that the Court turns to the issues presented.
Defendants contend that the common-law preclusion principles of res judicata and collateral estoppel apply to foreclose plaintiff from relitigating an issue previously decided by the Education Commission. Specifically, defendants assert that the doctrine of collateral estoppel bars plaintiff from relitigating the finding made by the Education Commissioner that the plaintiff was not entitled to the new position of Assistant Supervisor, because that position was dissimilar from her previous position as Building Principal. Plaintiff, in turn, responds that collateral estoppel should not be applied to the present case because the proceedings precipitating the decision of the Education Commissioner failed to provide plaintiff with a full and fair opportunity to fully litigate this issue.
It is settled law that when a state administrative agency "acting in its judicial capacity ... resolves disputed issues of fact properly before it which the parties have had an adequate opportunity to litigate," United States v. Utah Construction & Mining Co., 384 U.S. 394, 422, 86 S.Ct. 1545, 1560, 16 L.Ed.2d 642 (1966), "federal courts must give the agency's fact finding the same preclusive effect to which it would be entitled in the State's courts." University of Tennessee v. Elliott, 478 U.S. 788, 799, 106 S.Ct. 3220, 3226-3227, 92 L.Ed.2d 635 (1986); see also Astoria Federal Savings and Loan Ass'n v. Solimino, 501 U.S. 104, 105, 111 S.Ct. 2166, 2168, 115 L.Ed.2d 96 (1991) (). These preclusion principles serve the objectives of both promoting federalism and national unity, as well as enforcing repose. University of Tennessee, 478 U.S. at 798-799, 106 S.Ct. at 3226.
The state courts of New York will apply the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel to administrative decisions provided that certain threshold requirements are satisfied. See, e.g., Allied Chemical v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., 72 N.Y.2d 271, 277, 532 N.Y.S.2d 230, 232, 528 N.E.2d 153, 154-155 (1988). The general requirements for collateral estoppel under New York law are that the issue must be identical and necessarily decided in the prior proceeding, and that the party against whom preclusion is sought was accorded a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue in the prior proceeding. See, e.g., Id.
In addition to these initial requirements, the doctrine of collateral estoppel will not be applied to a decision made by an administrative agency unless the circumstances support a determination that the administrative agency was acting in a "quasi-judicial" character. Id. In order to determine whether an administrative agency was acting in a "quasi-judicial" capacity, it is necessary to examine four factors; namely: (1) did the agency have statutory authority to adjudicate the matter, (2) if so, were the procedures used adequate to ensure the parties were able to completely "air out" the issues, (3) did the parties expect the decision to be binding, and (4) would giving preclusive effect to the determination be consistent with the overall scheme of the agency. Id. The failure to establish any single factor precludes application of the doctrine.
It is as to the second factor, that the Court finds that the determination by the Education Commissioner was not made pursuant to a "quasi-judicial" process. The plaintiffs appeal was made on the paper record. No witnesses were called, and no evidentiary hearing held. In fact, as pointed out by the plaintiff, 8 N.Y.C.R.R. § 276.2(d) prohibits such a hearing. Accordingly, the Court will not collaterally estop the plaintiff from litigating the issue of whether the positions of Principal and Assistant Superintendent are similar or not, an issue decided by the Education Commissioner. Thus, the defendant's cross-motion for summary judgment is, to the extent stated herein, denied. Compare Ryan v. New York Telephone Co., 62 N.Y.2d 494, 503, 478...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Emma v. Schenectady City School Dist.
...Brooklyn, 543 F.2d 979, 984 (2d Cir. 1976) (same), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 929, 97 S.Ct. 1547, 51 L.Ed.2d 773 (1977); Elmendorf v. Howell, 962 F.Supp. 326, 332 (N.D.N.Y.1997); Conte v. Board of Educ., 58 A.D.2d 219, 397 N.Y.S.2d 471, 473 (4th Dep't 1977). Indeed, NYEL § 3012(1)(b) expressly ......
-
Winslow v. Pulaski Acad.
...to the New York Education Law, but they dispute whether she was entitled to a pre-termination hearing. In the analogous case of Elmendorf v. Howell , the plaintiff claimed that the defendants violated her due process rights by failing to conduct a pre-termination hearing when they abolished......
-
Broomer v. Huntington Union Free Sch. Dist.
...Educ., 612 F. Supp. 1568 (E.D.N.Y. 1985) and Goldberg v. Bd. of Educ., 777 F. Supp. 1109 (E.D.N.Y. 1991)); see also Elmendorf v. Howell, 962 F. Supp. 326, 332 (N.D.N.Y. 1997) ("Although it seems clear that under New York law, when a position held by a tenured individual is abolished no pre-......
-
Sever v. Bd. of Educ. of the Maine-Endwell Cent. Sch. Dist.
...position was abolished for legitimate reasons and there was not a similar position filled by the Board. See Elmendorf v. Howell, 962 F. Supp. 326, 332 (N.D.N.Y. 1997);4 see also Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371, 379 (1971);5 Elmendorf and DeSimone with Fairbairn v. Bd. of Educ. of South ......