Jackson v. Delta Special School Dist. No. 2
| Decision Date | 02 August 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-2941,A,No. 2,2,95-2941 |
| Citation | 86 F.3d 1489 |
| Parties | 71 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1207, 110 Ed. Law Rep. 574 Vickie JACKSON, Appellant, v. DELTA SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, NO. 2; Ronald Smead, individually and in his official capacity as Superintendent of Delta Special School District; Hollis Mankin, individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of Delta Special School District; Linda Lee, individually and in her official capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of Delta Special School District; Jerry Don Wilson, individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of Delta Special School District; Cecil Simpson, individually and in his official capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of Delta Special School District; Mary Scales, individually and in her official capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of Delta Special School District; Linda Wargo, individually and in her official capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of Delta Special School District, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Richard Wilson Roachell, Little Rock, Arkansas (argued), for appellant.
Charles S. Gibson, Dermott, Arkansas (argued), for appellees.
Before WOLLMAN, HEANEY, and MAGILL, Circuit Judges.
Vickie Jackson, principal of Delta Special School District No. 2 (Delta), brought this action alleging that her termination by Delta was in retaliation for her filing of a gender discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After the jury found in her favor, the district court granted Delta's renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law. Jackson appeals both this ruling and the district court's failure to order her reinstatement as school principal after the jury found that Delta violated the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act (ATFDA), Ark.Code Ann. § 6-17-1501 (Michie 1993). We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Vickie Jackson was hired as the elementary school principal of Delta for the 1991-92 school year. At the end of this school year, Delta's Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Gunn, left the school district, and Jackson applied for the position. Delta did not interview Jackson for this position, and it hired Ronald Smead, who was to report for work on July 1, 1992. At the request of superintendent Gunn, Jackson was promoted to principal of all grades from kindergarten through high school.
Jackson admitted that she was "upset" at not being interviewed for the superintendent's position. In response, she carried on what was described by the district court as a "campaign of vilification and the worst type of rumormongering and false witness against Ronald Smead." Order Granting Judgment N.O.V. at 6 (June 23, 1995). "This vendetta, consisting of the most derogatory charges imaginable," id., began shortly before Smead arrived and continued throughout the ensuing school year.
As noted by the district court, Id. at 7. Evelyn Beatty, Jackson's secretary, testified that Jackson, on more than one occasion, mentioned to Beatty and others that Smead was a drug dealer: "She told me that she had an inside source at the state police department and that he had told her that Mr. Smead was under investigation for drug trafficking." Tr. at 308. Beverly Morales, Smead's bookkeeper, confirmed that Jackson spread these rumors, noting that Jackson Tr. at 296.
Another of Jackson's favorite rumors was that Smead was a womanizer. Edward Burnett, an employee of the school district, testified that, even before Smead took over as superintendent, Jackson was spreading such rumors: "she told me that where he had formerly worked that she had talked with a teacher or something and she had told her that he was a womanizer and was having an affair." Tr. at 273.
Not content with calling Smead a drug dealer and a womanizer, Jackson also spread rumors that Smead had a drinking problem and that "there was a DWI at one time." Tr. at 42. Jackson also mentioned to Morales and Beatty that Smead had financial problems in other districts with which he had been associated.
Nowhere in the 191 pages of Jackson's trial testimony does she ever deny spreading these rumors; at best she quibbles over the exact terminology she used. As the district court noted,
She said she had never heard the word "womanizer" before, but "... [I] guess I could have said something ..." [Tr. at 331]. She probably said "trouble with women" [Tr. at 338]. She admitted making derogatory remarks to Ms. Morales and Ms. Beatty [Tr. at 333]. She admitted telling the women Mr. Smead had "some problems with drugs over at Kingsland" but denied using the term "drug dealer" [Tr. at 333-34].
Order at 9. Jackson also admitted to telling her co-employees that Smead had a drinking problem that resulted in a DWI charge. Tr. at 42, 170. Finally, when Jackson was asked during cross-examination if she had ever mentioned to her co-employees "[a]ny of the financial trouble we've talked about, drug dealing or whatever terms you used and trouble with women," Jackson responded, Tr. at 346.
Jackson's motive for spreading these rumors is clear: she was distraught at not receiving the superintendent position and so she "embarked on a vendetta to make life miserable for Smead." Order at 2. Morales testified that Jackson stated that the school district "hadn't treated her right" in not interviewing her for the superintendent's position and that "she [Jackson] could make everyone miserable," Tr. at 283, and that "the board had hired Mr. Smead knowing his background and that she [Jackson] could make a call to the newspapers and make it hard for everyone." Tr. at 287. On this, Jackson certainly kept her word.
Jackson succeeded in creating an intolerable atmosphere of tension at Delta. Beatty noted that Jackson's continued statements caused a problem at the school and affected Beatty's productivity. Beatty eventually relayed Jackson's comments to Smead because the comments "became such a problem" and "caused so much tension" and because Jackson's co-employees "couldn't work with it." Tr. at 306. Morales confronted Jackson about the negative comments. According to Morales,
[s]he [Jackson] would just come up to me or to anyone and, you know, just start talking, just start saying things about Mr. Smead.... And at that time I had, you know, was real busy in my job and I'd had my fill of it. I got tired of listening to her. I mean, I didn't ask to hear it. I told her finally I was just tired of her shit.
....
But I was mad; I was upset and I just, that's what I said. I said I was tired of every breath that I heard from her being negative about Mr. Smead. I said I was in the middle ... and I was just sick of hearing about it.
Tr. at 284. When asked if she considered Jackson's conduct to be professional, Morales responded "no."
On January 4, 1993, Smead relieved Jackson of her disciplinary duties regarding high school students and bus students. Jackson complained to the school board that this action constituted gender discrimination. Although there was evidence that discipline at the high school had suffered while Jackson was in charge, the school board reinstated Jackson as chief disciplinarian at its February 1993 meeting. The board denied that Smead had discriminated against Jackson.
On February 26, 1994, Jackson filed an EEOC charge claiming that Smead's action constituted gender discrimination. The EEOC chose not to accept the case, instead issuing Jackson a right to sue letter. Jackson chose not to file a lawsuit on this allegation of discrimination.
In early March, Smead decided to recommend to the Delta school board that it terminate Jackson. Smead cited thirteen instances of unprofessional conduct and fifteen instances of inefficiency and insubordination by Jackson during the previous year as grounds for the proposed dismissal. 1
Before Jackson was terminated, she was afforded an opportunity to present her case to the school board. She was notified on April 27, 1993, that a hearing before the school board had been set for 8 p.m. on April 30, 1993. However, Jackson's attorney advised her that under the ATFDA only she could order a hearing, and thus she was under no obligation to attend the meeting set up by the school board. Jackson chose to not attend the meeting, at which the school board formally discharged her. At this meeting, the school board voted to pay Jackson her salary until the end of the contract year.
On May 3, 1993, Jackson's attorney sent a letter to the president of the Delta school board requesting an open hearing, but Jackson received no response to the letter.
On June 11, 1993, Jackson filed a second charge of discrimination with the EEOC, claiming that her termination was in retaliation for her filing of the February 1993 discrimination claim with the EEOC. Jackson received a right to sue letter from the EEOC. She brought this suit in federal district court, alleging that Delta, Smead, and the school board (1) violated her procedural due process rights by terminating her and (2) retaliated against her for filing the gender discrimination claim with the EEOC in February of 1993. In a supplemental state law claim brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367 (1994), Jackson alleged that Delta violated the ATFDA by not granting her a hearing after she requested it, thereby requiring her reinstatement.
The jury returned a verdict for Jackson. The jury...
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