Gorman v. Roberts

• Decision Date: 17 October 1995
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 94-D-673-N.
• Citation: 909 F. Supp. 1479
• Parties: Charles Johnny GORMAN, Jr., Plaintiff, v. G.M. ROBERTS, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

909 F. Supp. 1479

Charles Johnny GORMAN, Jr., Plaintiff, v. G.M. ROBERTS, et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 94-D-673-N.

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Northern Division.

October 17, 1995.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Robert J. Varley, Montgomery, AL, for plaintiff.

Janie B. Johnston Clarke, Robert M. Alton, III, Department of Transportation, Legal Division, Montgomery, AL, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DE MENT, District Judge.

Before the court is the defendants G.M. Roberts, D.W. Vaughn, V.E. Richey, J.L. Blankenship, R.J. Green, Jack Norton, Perry Hand, and Joe Thrasher's motion to dismiss, motion to rescind the order granting plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis and motion to quash service of process filed June 28, 1994, which the court construes as a motion for summary judgment.¹ The plaintiff responded in opposition on July 11, 1994. Also before the court is defendant Mark Peevy's motion for summary judgment filed February 17, 1995. The plaintiff failed to respond to defendant Mark Peevy's motion. Because the motions involve similar issues and arise from the same set of facts in relation to the court's discussion of supplemental jurisdiction, the court will address them simultaneously in that discussion. After careful consideration of the arguments of counsel, the relevant case law and the record as a whole, the court finds that the defendants G.M. Roberts, D.W. Vaughn, V.E. Richey, J.L. Blankenship, R.J. Green, Jack Norton, Perry Hand, and Joe Thrasher's (hereafter "defendants") motion is due to be granted. The court further finds that defendant Mark Peevy's motion is due to be denied as moot.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

On a motion for summary judgment, the court is to construe the evidence and factual inferences arising therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Summary judgment can be entered on a claim only if it is shown "that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). As the Supreme Court has explained the summary judgment standard:

The plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there can be no genuine issue as to any material fact, since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the non-moving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The trial court's function at this juncture is not "to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510-11, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citations omitted). A dispute about a material fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510; see also Barfield v. Brierton, 883 F.2d 923, 933 (11th Cir.1989).

The party seeking summary judgment has the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for the motion and of establishing, based on relevant "portions of `the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions in the file, together with affidavits, if any,'" that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. Once this initial demonstration under Rule 56(c) is made, the burden of production, not persuasion, shifts to the nonmoving party. The nonmoving party must "go beyond the pleadings and by his own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

In meeting this burden the nonmoving party "must do more than simply show that there is a metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Corp. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). That party must demonstrate that there is a "genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. An action is void of a material issue for trial "where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party." Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. at 1356; see also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2510.

FINDINGS OF FACT

This case is essentially composed of a retaliatory harassment action brought under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983 and 1985. The plaintiff, who filed this case pro se, also attempts to enforce his First Amendment rights, and his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights through § 1983.² Further, the plaintiff attempts to invoke the court's jurisdiction under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.³

The plaintiff, Charles Johnny Gorman, Jr. (hereafter "Mr. Gorman"), is currently employed with the Alabama Department of Transportation and is on leave without pay due to medical problems. However, on June 10, 1992, Mr. Gorman received an employment termination letter from the Director of the Department, and another letter on July 14, 1992, which the Department considered to be an amended termination letter. The reasons given in the letters for termination of Mr. Gorman's employment were as follows:

Falsifying your Application for Examination with the State of Alabama contained in the June 10, 1992 letter.

... for the good of the service and for failing to list certain criminal convictions in the state court of Alabama.... Furthermore the felony nature of the crimes of which you were convicted disqualifies you from performing your job duties as Equal Employment Officer contained in the July 14, 1992 letter. (Emphasis supplied.)

See State of Alabama Highway Dep't v. State Personnel Bd., CV-92-2581 (Ala.Ct.App. 1993) (attached to Def.'s Mot. to Dis.).

A hearing was held before a hearing officer on August 12, 1992, at which Mr. Gorman was present. Mr. Gorman alleged that his right to due process was violated, and as a result, he should be reinstated. The hearing officer rejected this contention and recommended Mr. Gorman's termination. The State Personnel Board rejected the recommendation of the hearing officer and reinstated Mr. Gorman finding a violation of his right to due process. Thereafter, the Board's decision was affirmed by the Circuit Court of Montgomery County and reaffirmed by the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Mr. Gorman filed this complaint alleging numerous violations on June 1, 1994, and subsequently filed an almost identical complaint on June 2, 1994, in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County.

DISCUSSION

A. Claims Under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, and 1985

The court will first address Mr. Gorman's attempt to invoke the court's jurisdiction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The defendants contend that Mr. Gorman's claims under § 1981 require that he allege "injury because of discrimination due to his ... race" and his failure to do so renders these claims meritless. Defs' Mot. to Dis. at 2. In support thereof, the defendants rely on Masel v. Industrial Commission of Illinois, 541 F.Supp. 342 (D.C.Ill.1982).

Section 1981 prohibits race discrimination in making and enforcing contracts and is a statutory remedy available in both private and public sectors.⁴Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., 421 U.S. 454, 459-60, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 1719-20, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1975). Prior to the 1991 amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Supreme Court of the United States narrowly construed the right "to make and enforce contracts" clause of § 1981(a). In Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U.S. 164, 109 S.Ct. 2363, 105 L.Ed.2d 132 (1989), the Court held that § 1981 "covers conduct only at the initial formation of the contract and conduct which impairs the right to enforce contract obligations through the legal process." Thus, conduct affecting "the terms and conditions of continuing employment" was not actionable. Goldsmith v. City of Atmore, 996 F.2d 1155, 1160 (11th Cir.1993) (quoting Patterson, 491 U.S. at 179, 109 S.Ct. at 2374).

In 1991, the Civil Rights Act (hereafter the "Act") was amended, expanding the coverage of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 to include claims of racial discrimination based upon wrongful termination. Pub.L. No. 102-166, S. 1745, 102d Cong., 1st Sess. (1991) (Congress passed the Act on November 7, 1991, which was signed into law on November 21, 1991, by former President George Bush.). The Act effectively reverses Patterson and its progeny and now permits claims for intentional racial discrimination in "... the making, performance, modification, and termination of employment contracts," as well as "... the enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms and conditions of the contractual relationship." 42 U.S.C. § 1981(b). Hence, the Act maximizes the overlap between Title VII and § 1981 and allows an aggrieved party alleging intentional discrimination to alternatively seek recourse under both statutes.

Mr. Gorman's claim under § 1981 requires proof of intentional discrimination. General Bldg. Contractors Ass'n., Inc. v. Pennsylvania, 458 U.S. 375, 391, 102 S.Ct. 3141, 3150, 73 L.Ed.2d 835 (1982); Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 246-48, 96 S.Ct. 2040, 2051, 48 L.Ed.2d 597 (1976); Baldwin v. Birmingham Bd. of Educ., 648 F.2d 950, 954 (5th Cir.1981).⁵ Further, section 1981 only applies to racial discrimination, not to...