Johnson v. City of Fort Wayne, Ind.
| Decision Date | 31 July 1996 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 95-1950,95-2655,s. 95-1950 |
| Citation | 91 F.3d 922 |
| Parties | 71 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1154, 68 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,269 Roy JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, Fort Wayne Fire Department of City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Paul W. Helmke, as Mayor of the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, et al., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Jack C. Brown, Indianapolis, IN, John O. Moss (argued), Moss & Associates, Indianapolis, IN, for Plaintiff-Appellant in No. 95-1950.
J. Timothy McCaulay (argued), Trina G. Gould, Helmke, Beams, Boyer & Wagner, Fort Wayne, IN, for Defendants-Appellees in No. 95-1950.
John O. Moss, argued, Moss & Associates, Indianapolis, IN, for John O. Moss in No. 95-2655.
Jack C. Brown, Indianapolis, IN, for Jack C. Brown in No. 95-2655.
Before FLAUM, EASTERBROOK and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.
Following his demotion, Roy Johnson, an African-American firefighter employed by the Fort Wayne Fire Department, commenced this action against the City of Fort Wayne and various municipal officials. Citing his demotion and various other employment actions, the complaint alleges, in ten counts, that the defendants violated his rights under Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the First Amendment, the substantive and procedural components of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court granted the City's motion for summary judgment and assessed attorneys' fees against Mr. Johnson and his attorneys, and Mr. Johnson appeals. For the reasons set forth in the following opinion, we affirm the judgment of the district court in part, reverse in part and vacate in part.
Roy Johnson, an African-American, has been employed by the Fort Wayne Fire Department ("the Department") since 1975. Mr. Johnson had advanced to the rank of Lieutenant when, on January 1, 1988, he was appointed by Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke to the position of Assistant Fire Chief and assigned the Department's labor relations responsibilities. At the time of Mr. Johnson's appointment to Assistant Chief, the Department's upper level command was comprised of six positions: Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief (Training), Assistant Chief (Administration), Assistant Mr. Johnson's difficulties began in January 1992 when Mayor Helmke appointed Payne Brown, who is also an African-American, to the position of Safety Director. The Safety Director acts as a liaison between the Mayor's Office and the Police and Fire Departments. Shortly after appointing Payne Brown to this position, Mayor Helmke ordered his new Safety Director to review the Fire Department's upper level management structure and to determine whether a fiscal savings could be realized through a reorganization. Brown did not complete the review and present a reorganization plan to Mayor Helmke until April 1993. In the interim, however, Mr. Johnson began to experience difficulties with the Department.
Chief (Shop), and Assistant Chief (Labor Relations).
In late 1992 or early 1993, Mr. Johnson and Payne Brown had a disagreement concerning the implementation of a random drug-testing policy for the Department. Mr. Johnson opposed implementing such a policy on the ground that random drug testing would violate the firefighters' collective bargaining agreement. Safety Director Brown, who favored random drug testing, considered Mr. Johnson's lack of support to be insubordination. At or around the same time, Mr. Johnson met with the City's EEOC officer to discuss racial discrimination that he claimed to have experienced in the Department and, through his attorney, wrote to Payne Brown on the same subject. Brown responded with a one-sentence letter telling Mr. Johnson to "[g]o ahead and sue." R.30, Ex. CC.
In February 1993, the Common Council of the City of Fort Wayne enacted City Ordinance G-06-93, which reestablished the Mayor's power to remove persons in "upper level policymaking positions" without cause.
On March 24, 1993, a Fort Wayne police captain spotted Mr. Johnson's Fire Department vehicle parked for an extended period of time at the Skyway Tavern in Fort Wayne. Considering it inappropriate for the vehicle to be parked there, the police captain notified Steve Hinton, the Fire Department's "on call" duty chief. Hinton indicated to the police captain that, if Mr. Johnson attempted to drive the vehicle from the Tavern, the police "should probably stop [Mr. Johnson] and ... see if he had been drinking." R.30, Deposition of Russell P. York, at 18. City Police Chief Neil Moore notified Payne Brown of the situation, and Brown dispatched a firefighter to the scene to retrieve the City vehicle if Johnson were unfit to drive. Brown did not instruct any member of the Police Department how to proceed. Acting on a suggestion made by Police Chief Moore, police officers at the scene made a discreet inquiry to Mr. Johnson about his sobriety level. Mr. Johnson requested and was administered a breathalyser test, which indicated that he had not consumed a detectable quantity of alcohol.
In April 1993, Safety Director Brown completed his study of the Fire Department's management structure and submitted a reorganization plan. The plan called for the elimination of five positions: Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief (Labor Relations), Assistant Chief (Administration), and two platoon captain positions. The plan also added an Assistant Fire Chief (Combat) position and a civilian position to handle residual duties not absorbed by other members of the Department.
Shortly after being advised by Payne Brown that his position was being eliminated, Mr. Johnson filed a complaint with the EEOC alleging that the Skyway Tavern incident and other exclusionary practices instituted by Brown amounted to harassment on account of his race. Consistent with the reorganization plan, Mr. Johnson was demoted to his prior rank of Lieutenant effective April 30, 1993. Also in April, Fire Chief Robert Barnes agreed, at the request of Mayor Helmke and Safety Director Brown, to resign his position and to return to his former rank of Captain effective June 1, 1993. On May 20, 1993, Fire Chief Barnes received permission to extend the effective date of his resignation to July 6, 1993 and to take vacation time before leaving office. During his vacation, Barnes was permitted to use the Fire Chief's car and was paid at the Fire Chief's grade. Steve Hinton was appointed as the new Fire Chief.
Mr. Johnson took vacation leave from May 3 to July 27. During this vacation, he was paid at Lieutenant grade and was denied the use of a Department vehicle. On May 10, 1993, Mr. Johnson filed a second complaint with the EEOC, alleging that he had been demoted on account of his race and in retaliation for his prior complaints. Upon returning from his vacation, Mr. Johnson applied for the newly created Assistant Chief (Combat) position. Chief Hinton did not interview Mr. Johnson for the position and selected Steve Adams, a white firefighter, to fill the post.
Beginning in August 1993, Mr. Johnson took sick leave for job-related stress; in October, Chief Hinton ordered Mr. Johnson to be evaluated by the City doctor. Mr. Johnson evidently did not comply with this directive; he was brought before a disciplinary committee in December for violating sick leave and for failing to comply with Chief Hinton's order. The charges were dropped when Mr. Johnson signed the necessary release forms. On February 11, 1994, Mr. Johnson filed a complaint with the EEOC alleging that the disciplinary proceedings and the Chief's order amounted to racial harassment and retaliation for his prior complaints. On March 15, 1994, Mr. Johnson filed a complaint with the EEOC alleging that he was not interviewed for the Assistant Chief (Combat) position on account of his race and in retaliation for his prior complaints.
In March 1994, Chief Hinton ordered Mr. Johnson to stay away from fire stations and fire scenes as long as he remained on sick leave. This order was communicated to Mr. Johnson by letter and circulated throughout the Department via memorandum. The parties disagree as to whether the order was issued in response to firefighter complaints about Mr. Johnson's visits, as Chief Hinton contends. Mr. Johnson asserts that no such complaints were made and that his visits were not disruptive. Mr. Johnson then filed a complaint with the EEOC--his fifth--alleging that Chief Hinton's order was retaliatory in nature. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Johnson returned to work and commenced the present action.
In his complaint, Mr. Johnson relies upon several theories of recovery. The complaint alleges, in ten counts, that the defendants violated his rights under Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the First Amendment, the substantive and procedural components of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. With respect to a number of these claims, Mr. Johnson seeks punitive damages against the City of Fort Wayne.
As the district court recognized, the complaint states a number of different theories of recovery, all of which may be characterized as disparate treatment claims. In its order disposing of this case, the district court noted that the lack of clarity in the presentation of the case created serious analytical impediments for the court. Nevertheless, its order carefully attempted to analyze the evidence submitted and to evaluate it in light of the rather cryptic complaint upon which the plaintiff had proceeded. Although we have the duty to evaluate independently the submission of the plaintiff, we have had the benefit of the labors of the district court. We have considered each evidentiary submission of the plaintiff with respect to each of the theories of recovery that can reasonably be said to be...
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