Lancaster v. Independent School Dist. No. 5, s. 97-5063

• Decision Date: 28 July 1998
• Docket Number: Nos. 97-5063,97-5208,s. 97-5063
• Citation: 149 F.3d 1228
• Parties: , 128 Ed. Law Rep. 67, 14 IER Cases 257, 98 CJ C.A.R. 4039 Ron LANCASTER, Plaintiff--Appellant, v. INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 5, also known as Jenks Public Schools, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, separately and Kirby Lehman in his official capacity as superintendent and Terri Almon, Mark Sharp, Mike Baab and Ben Maples as members of the Jenks Public Schools Board of Education; Kirby Lehman, individually; Billie Mills, individually; Terri Almon, individually; Mark Sharp, individually; Mike Baab, individually; Ben Maples, individually and in their official capacities as members of the Jenks Public Schools Board of Education, Defendants--Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

Page 1228

149 F.3d 1228

41 Fed.R.Serv.3d 552, 128 Ed. Law Rep. 67,

14 IER Cases 257,

98 CJ C.A.R. 4039

Ron LANCASTER, Plaintiff--Appellant, v. INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 5, also known as Jenks Public Schools, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, separately and Kirby Lehman in his official capacity as superintendent and Terri Almon, Mark Sharp, Mike Baab and Ben Maples as members of the Jenks Public Schools Board of Education; Kirby Lehman individually; Billie Mills, individually; Terri Almon individually; Mark Sharp, individually; Mike Baab individually; Ben Maples, individually and in their official capacities as members of the Jenks Public Schools Board of Education, Defendants--Appellees.

Nos. 97-5063, 97-5208.

United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit.

July 28, 1998.

Submitted on the briefs: ^*

Stephen L. Andrew and D. Kevin Ikenberry, Stephen L. Andrew & Associates, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

J. Douglas Mann and Jerry A. Richardson, Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold, Tulsa Oklahoma, and William S. Leach, Rhodes, Hieronymus, Jones, Tucker & Gable, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before PORFILIO, McKAY and TACHA, Circuit Judges.

TACHA, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging a violation of his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments in connection with his suspension as head football coach of the Jenks High School football team and the subsequent nonrenewal of his coaching contract. On February 25, 1997, the Northern District of Oklahoma granted defendants' motion for summary judgment on all claims. On March 13, 1997, defendants filed for attorney's fees under Fed.R.Civ.P. 37. Defendants were awarded $3,773 for attorney's fees on August 11, 1997, after plaintiff filed his notice of appeal. Plaintiff appeals the district court's ruling on summary judgment and the award of attorney's fees. We take jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Ron Lancaster was employed with the Jenks School District in Oklahoma for over five years, beginning in January 1991. Each year, plaintiff executed a standard teacher's contract and a separate extra duty assignment contract. Under the extra duty contract, plaintiff was compensated additionally for acting as the head coach of the Jenks High School football team and supervising a summer football camp. The extra duty assignment contract recited that there was no "tenure" for the assignment, the assignment was subject to termination at any time without a reason or a hearing, the assignment was completely severable from plaintiff's teaching contract, and the assignment was for a one year term with no assurances that it would be renewed in subsequent years.

On September 8, 1995, although the Jenks High School football team was ahead 17-7 against its opponent, plaintiff decided to talk to the team to prevent another unexpected loss such as one the team had experienced the previous year. Plaintiff asked everyone except the football players to leave the locker room and shut the door behind them. Plaintiff asked the starters to come forward. When three starters disobeyed the request, plaintiff grabbed the players by their jerseys and/or shoulder pads and brought them forward. In his deposition, plaintiff admitted he yelled in a very loud voice, he may have cussed at the starters, and his face was red with veins popping out on his neck. Plaintiff claims his conduct was "an act" intended to motivate the team.

After the football game, Dr. Kirby Lehman, Superintendent of the Jenks School District, heard rumors through his daughter, a Jenks High School band member, that "something bad" had happened in the locker room. Dr. Lehman contacted Mike Means, Jenks High School Principal, to investigate the situation. Teachers and parents of players reported statements made by players regarding the halftime incident. Those statements accused the plaintiff of yelling, using profanity, grabbing players, and kicking equipment during his halftime speech.

In mid-September 1995, Dr. Lehman suspended Lancaster from his coaching position pending further investigation of the alleged incident. The suspension did not affect plaintiff's regular teaching duties or his income. After a few days of investigation, plaintiff was reinstated contingent upon his agreement to abide by certain terms designed to prevent any repetition of the alleged conduct. At the reinstatement meeting, Dr. Lehman advised plaintiff of complaints against him regarding his treatment of football players, including the halftime incident. Dr. Lehman then wrote Mr. Lancaster a letter summarizing the reinstatement meeting, reviewing the allegations against him, and formally reprimanding him for his behavior. Following the meeting, the Jenks School District issued a press release describing plaintiff's suspension as an "internal personnel issue" that was being resolved cooperatively. The press release stated plaintiff would return to his head football coaching position.

On September 19, 1995, the Tulsa World reported plaintiff's reinstatement. The plaintiff was quoted as saying that he had been told there was "no conclusive evidence" to warrant his suspension and "[t]here was no formal complaint against me and really nothing that came out of this of any kind." In November 1995, plaintiff was quoted again in the Tulsa World as saying "no one has ever given us an explanation (for the one-game suspension). There is still a stigma attached to what happened."

On January 16, 1996, plaintiff met with Mr. Means and Tommy Burns, then athletic director, to discuss his request for a mutual press release exonerating him of any wrongdoing. The parties could not agree on the content of a mutual press release and none was issued.

On February 15, 1996, plaintiff was informed by Mr. Means and Mr. Burns of their recommendation that the Jenks Board of Education not renew plaintiff's extra duty contract for the 1996-97 school year. Mr. Means supported his written recommendation to the Board with attachments detailing Lancaster's inappropriate behavior and failure to follow school rules on a number of occasions dating back to early 1992. At a February 19, 1996 Board meeting, which the plaintiff attended, the Board unanimously voted not to renew plaintiff's extra duty coaching contract. At a later meeting, the Board voted to continue employing plaintiff in his teaching capacity for the 1996-97 school year. The plaintiff resigned his employment from the Jenks School District on July 29, 1996.

In a thorough opinion, the district court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff's section 1983 claims and dismissed the remaining state law claims. See Lancaster v. Independent Sch. Dist. No. 5, No. 96-C-337-BU, slip op. (N.D.Okla. Feb. 26, 1997). On appeal, plaintiff contends summary judgment should have been denied on the section 1983 claims because the record reveals genuine issues of material fact. Plaintiff also appeals the dismissal of his state law claims. Finally, plaintiff appeals the district court's award of attorney's fees to the defendants. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the decision of the district court on each of the issues raised by the plaintiff.

DISCUSSION

I. Section 1983 Claims

We review the grant or denial of summary judgment de novo, applying the same legal standard used by the district court. See Wolf v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 50 F.3d 793, 796 (10th Cir.1995). Summary judgment is appropriate if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

A. First Amendment Claim

Lancaster contends the school board violated his First Amendment rights by terminating him as a result of his constitutionally protected remarks to the Tulsa World. We affirm the district court on the basis that Lancaster's speeches were not matters of public concern.

Whether a public employer's action in response to an employee's speech violates the employee's First Amendment rights depends on whether the speech was related to a matter of public concern, or simply related to internal office affairs. See Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 143-49, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983). The pertinent inquiry is whether plaintiff spoke as a citizen or an employee. See Schalk v. Gallemore, 906 F.2d 491, 495 (10th Cir.1990) (per curiam).

[W]hen a public employee speaks not as a citizen upon matters of public concern, but instead as an employee upon matters only of personal interest, absent the most unusual circumstances, a federal court is not the appropriate forum in which to review the wisdom of a personnel decision taken by a public agency allegedly in reaction to the employee's behavior.

Connick, 461 U.S. at 147, 103 S.Ct. 1684; see also Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 349, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 48 L.Ed.2d 684 (1976). Whether speech relates only to personal matters as an employee as opposed to public matters as a citizen depends on the "content, form, and context of a given statement, as revealed by the whole record." Connick, 461 U.S. at 147-48, 103 S.Ct. 1684. If the matter is of public concern, the court must balance plaintiff's interest as a citizen against the state's interest "in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees." Pickering v. Board of Ed., 391 U.S. 563, 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968).

Lancaster's comments in the Tulsa World do not constitute matters of "public concern." Media publicity of a dispute is not determinative of whether a public employee's speech was a matter of public concern. See Our finding that the speech was not of public concern makes it unnecessary for the court to address whether the interests of the defendant outweighed the plaintiff's interests, whether plaintiff's speech was knowingly false, and whether plaintiff's speech was a motivating or a substantial factor for the...