Gallas v. The Supreme Ct. of Pennsylvania

Decision Date05 May 2000
Docket NumberNo. 115,No. 98-2138,115,98-2138
Citation211 F.3d 760
Parties(3rd Cir. 2000) GEOFF GALLAS, v. THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; THE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA; DEMOCRATIC CITY COMMITTEE; THE PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER OF THE TEAMSTERS UNION TEAMSTERS LOCAL 115; DOES 1-100; ROBERT N.C. NIX, JR., HONORABLE, in his official capacity as CHIEF JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; JOHN P. FLAHERTY, JR., HONORABLE, in his official capacity as JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; STEPHEN A. ZAPPALA, HONORABLE, individually and in his official capacity as JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; RALPH J. CAPPY, HONORABLE, individually and in his official capacity as JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; RONALD D. CASTILLE, HONORABLE, in his official capacity as JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; RUSSELL M. NIGRO, HONORABLE, individually and in his official capacity as JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; SANDRA SCHULTZ NEWMAN, HONORABLE, in her official capacity as JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA; NANCY SOBOLEVITCH, individually and in her ; ALEX BONAVITACOLA, HONORABLE, individually and in his official capacity as PRESIDENT JUDGE, COURT OF COMMON PLEAS; ESTHER SYLVESTER, HONORABLE, individually and in her official capacity as JUDGE, COURT OF COMMON PLEAS FAMILY DIVISION; VINCENT FUMO, HONORABLE, individually and in his official capacity as PENNSYLVANIA STATE SENATOR; JOSEPH DIPRIMIO, individually and in his official capacity as DEPUTY COURT ADMINISTRATOR FAMILY DIVISION, DOMESTIC RELATIONS BRANCH; ROBERT BRADY, individually and in his official capacity as CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC CITY COMMITTEE; JOHN MORRIS, individually and in his official capacity as Secretary Treasurer of Teamsters Local Union Geoff Gallas, Appellant UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Civ. No. 96-06450) District Judge: Honorable William H. Yohn, Jr. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Glenn J. Brown 246 West Broad Street Quakertown, PA 18951 Peter G. Friesen (argued) 656 Fifth Avenue, Suite F San Diego, CA 92101 Attorneys for Appellant

William H. Lamb (argued) William P. Mahon Lamb, Windle & McErlane, P.C. 24 East Market Street P.O. Box 565 West Chester, PA 19381-0565, Attorneys for Appellees Honorable Ralph J. Cappy, Honorable Stephen A. Zappala, Honorable Russell M. Nigro, and Nancy Sobolevitch

Alan J. Davis (argued) Burt M. Rublin Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP 1735 Market Street 51st Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103, Attorneys for Appellee Honorable Russell M. Nigro

James E. Beasley (argued) David A. Yanoff Beasley, Casey & Erbstein 1125 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19107-4997, Attorneys for Appellees The First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Honorable Alex Bonavitacola, Honorable Esther Sylvester, and Joseph DiPrimio

Richard A. Sprague (argued) Geoffrey R. Johnson Sprague & Sprague Suite 400, Wellington Building 135 South 19th Street Philadelphia, PA 19103, Attorneys for Appellee Vincent J. Fumo

Gabriel L.I. Bevilacqua Stephen M. Donweber Saul, Ewing, Remick & Saul LLP Centre Square West 1500 Market Street, 38th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102, Attorneys for Appellees Robert Brady and the Democratic City Committee

BEFORE: MANSMANN, GREENBERG, and ALARCON,* Circuit Judges

OPINION OF THE COURT

GREENBERG, Circuit Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes on before this court on appeal from various orders of the district court dismissing appellant Geoff Gallas' claims arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Pennsylvania common law. Gallas brought this action against various defendants, including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and several of its justices, principally alleging that they terminated him from his position as Executive Administrator of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania in violation of his constitutional rights and that court personnel unlawfully invaded his privacy when they publicly disclosed documents from domestic proceedings in which he was involved. The district court dismissed or granted the defendants summary judgment on each of Gallas' claims prior to trial. For the reasons we set forth herein, we will affirm.

A. Factual Background

On December 19, 1990, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, reacting to budgetary and administrative problems in the Philadelphia courts which comprise the First Judicial District ("FJD"), issued an order assuming control over the FJD. J.A. at 304, 412. See In re Blake, 593 A.2d 1267, 1268 (Pa. 1991). Pursuant to the order, the court assigned, respectively, Justice Ralph Cappy the task of "overseeing the reformation of the Administrative Structure of the Courts of the First Judicial District," and Justice Nicholas Papadakos the task of "overseeing the Budgetary Structure" of those courts. J.A. at 304. The Supreme Court, however, intended that its oversight of the FJD would be temporary, with control eventually returned to local judges and officials. J.A. at 413.

In the summer of 1991, a committee chaired by Justices James McDermott and Stephen Zappala of the Supreme Court conducted a search to select an Executive Administrator who would have the responsibility of "overseeing the administration of all ministerial functions" in the FJD's courts. J.A. at 415. This search resulted in Gallas' hiring for this position effective December 1, 1991. J.A. at 80, 415. According to Gallas' amended complaint, during the selection process Justices Zappala and Cappy and Nancy Sobolevitch, the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania, conveyed the importance of "instituting a `merit system' whereby employment and other issues in the FJD would be strictly governed by proper personnel processes, qualifications and performance"; these individuals further indicated to Gallas that "use of political patronage to fill positions in all three Philadelphia courts [Court of Common Pleas, Municipal Court, and Traffic Court] making up the FJD had been a serious problem in Philadelphia." J.A. at 85.

Gallas' complaint indicates that he "expressed concern and reticence about taking the job . . . [because] Philadelphia and its courts were vulnerable to improper political influence . . . [and] many persons, both inside and outside the FJD, previously derived improper benefit from that influence." J.A. at 85-86. This concern led Gallas to worry about job security, J.A. at 86, and prompted him to negotiate an oral "severance arrangement" which would entitle him to certain benefits if he should leave or be discharged. Supp. App. at 1206-11, 1214, 1708-17.

Gallas served as Executive Administrator for approximately four and one-half years. According to Gallas' complaint, during the course of his service various individuals pressured him to acquiesce in patronage appointments in the FJD. Gallas claims that in 1992 Justices Zappala and Cappy instructed him to accommodate job appointments favored by two public figures, Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo and Robert Brady,1 the chairman of the Democratic City Committee. Gallas alleges that Zappala and Cappy specifically warned him that his failure to honor Fumo's requests could result in the loss of his job. J.A. at 87-88. Gallas further alleges that Fumo and Brady and their respective associates contacted him on multiple occasions concerning requests that certain individuals be hired or promoted. J.A. at 87-88. According to Gallas, he resisted demands for such appointments, and in March 1993, Fumo and Brady told him that his failure to honor their requests would lead them to "turn the dogs" on him. J.A. at 88. As the district court summarized, Gallas endured a "rocky" tenure as Executive Administrator during which he "attempted to walk a fine line between accommodating the personnel requests of local politicians and instituting objective, process-oriented standards for making personnel decisions." Gallas v. Supreme Court of Pa. , No. CIV. A. 966450, 1998 WL 22081, at *2 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 22, 1998).

Gallas' service as Executive Administrator came to an end pursuant to a March 26, 1996 order of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (the "March 26 order") which provided for an "administrative reorganization of the First Judicial District." According to affidavits from justices of the Supreme Court, the court issued this order because the progress that had been achieved during the Supreme Court's oversight justified returning the FJD to local control.2 J.A. at 412, 425, 427. The March 26 order eliminated the position of Executive Administrator and created an Administrative Governing Board for the FJD to be comprised of the three president judges and the three administrative judges of the district, along with the Administrator of the Pennsylvania Courts. The order directed the Administrative Governing Board to select a Court Administrator and Budget Administrator for the FJD, with the persons in these two positions being responsible for many of the duties the Executive Administrator had performed. The order named Gallas as Budget Administrator effective April 1, 1996, "[s]ince it is anticipated that it may take a short time . . . for the Administrative Governing Board to organize itself."3 J.A. at 308-12.

Meanwhile, there were problems in Gallas' marriage, and on September 22, 1995, his wife filed a Petition for Protection from Abuse ("PFA") alleging that he had physically abused her. J.A. at 92. Gallas claims that court personnel improperly released this PFA to the public on three separate occasions. According to Gallas' complaint, unknown court personnel released the contents of the PFA to the Democratic City Committee "within two hours" of its filing. J.A. at 93. Then, on September 26, 1995, the PFA was released to the Philadelphia Daily News by order of Esther Sylvester, the Administrative Judge of the...

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