Laskaris v. Thornburgh

• Decision Date: 18 May 1984
• Docket Number: No. 83-5191,83-5191
• Citation: 733 F.2d 260
• Parties: Peter J. LASKARIS, Appellant, v. Richard THORNBURGH, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Thomas Larson, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Dennis Hilton and Representative John Peterson, Richard Thornburgh, Thomas Larson and John Peterson, Appellees. Michael SKAPURA, Appellant, v. Richard THORNBURGH, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Thomas Larson, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation, John Harhigh, Director of Bureau of Personnel; James I. Scheiner, Deputy Secretary for Administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; all in both their official and individual capacities, Richard Thornburgh, Thomas Larson and James I. Scheiner, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 260

733 F.2d 260

Peter J. LASKARIS, Appellant, v. Richard THORNBURGH, Governor of the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania, Thomas Larson, Secretary of the

Pennsylvania Department of

Transportation, Dennis Hilton

and Representative

John Peterson,

Richard Thornburgh, Thomas Larson and John Peterson, Appellees.

Michael SKAPURA, Appellant, v. Richard THORNBURGH, Governor of the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania, Thomas Larson, Secretary of the Pennsylvania

Dept. of Transportation, John Harhigh, Director of Bureau of

Personnel; James I. Scheiner, Deputy Secretary for

Administration of the Pennsylvania Department of

Transportation; all in both their official and individual capacities,

Richard Thornburgh, Thomas Larson and James I. Scheiner, Appellees.

No. 83-5191.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued Jan. 26, 1984.

Decided April 24, 1984.

Rehearing Denied May 18, 1984.

Mark D. Speaker, argued, Gilbert J. Helwig, Wendy Taylor Homyak, Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay, Pittsburgh, Pa., for appellants.

Norman H. Stark, argued, MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton, Erie, Pa., for appellee Peterson.

Carleton O. Strouss, argued, Robert H. Raymond, Jr., Spencer A. Manthorpe, Jay C. Waldman, Office of Chief Counsel, Pa. Dept. of Transp., Harrisburg, Pa., Alton P. Arnold, Jr., Deputy Atty. Gen., Pittsburgh, Pa., for Thornburgh, Larson & Scheiner.

Before ADAMS and GARTH, Circuit Judges, and COHEN, ^* District Judge.

OPINION OF THE COURT

GARTH, Circuit Judge:

In this case appellants Peter J. Laskaris and Michael Skapura contend that they were improperly denied a jury trial on their claims that they were unlawfully discharged because of their political affiliation. We hold that Laskaris and Skapura's claims for compensatory and punitive damages entitled them to a jury trial. The district court's failure to award a jury trial, however, was harmless, because the evidence produced at trial was insufficient to avoid a directed verdict in favor of the defendants. Thus we affirm.

I.

Laskaris and Skapura were employees of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). Laskaris began his job as a Personnel Analyst 2, Labor Relations Coordinator in 1974. Skapura became Director of Municipal Services, Administrative Officer 3 in 1971. Each was discharged on August 15, 1979, about eight months after defendant Richard Thornburgh took office as Governor of Pennsylvania.

Laskaris (on Nov. 6, 1980) and Skapura (on July 24, 1981) brought suit in federal district court under 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1983 and 1985 (1976), ¹ alleging that they were discharged because of their political affiliation. They contended that defendants Thornburgh, Thomas Larson (Secretary of PennDOT), James Scheiner (Deputy Secretary) and John Peterson ² (a Pennsylvania State Representative), who were Republicans, were responsible for the discharge of Laskaris and Skapura, and acted because Laskaris and Skapura were Democrats. (John Harhigh, Personnel Director at PennDOT, was also named a defendant in the initial complaints, but he was dismissed by consent of all parties at the beginning of the trial). They sought, inter alia, reinstatement, back pay, and compensatory and punitive damages.

The defendants moved to dismiss on the ground that the eleventh amendment to the U.S. Constitution immunized them from suit. The district court granted the motion to dismiss, but this court reversed and remanded for trial. Laskaris v. Thornburgh, 661 F.2d 23 (3d Cir.1981).

On August 31, 1982, the district court granted defendants' motion to strike Laskaris and Skapura's demand for a jury trial. The case proceeded to trial without a jury. After Laskaris and Skapura had presented their evidence, the court granted Governor Thornburgh's motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b) on the ground that upon the facts and the law the plaintiffs had shown no right to relief against him. The other defendants also filed Rule 41(b) motions, which the court held in abeyance until the close of trial.

After trial, the court granted Representative Peterson's 41(b) motion, and held Larson and Scheiner not liable under sections 1983 and 1985. The court adopted Larson and Scheiner's findings of fact and conclusions of law. It held that Laskaris and Skapura had failed to demonstrate that their political affiliation was a motivating factor in the decision by Larson and Scheiner to dismiss them. Rather, the court found, Laskaris and Skapura were discharged as part of an overall reorganization of PennDOT. The court found that their dismissal was motivated by a desire to improve PennDOT's operations and not for any political reasons. Moreover, the court found, there was no evidence that either Governor Thornburgh or Representative Peterson participated in the dismissal decision. Thus the court entered judgment for all defendants. ³ Laskaris v. Thornburgh, No. 80-178 (W.D.Pa. Jan. 27, 1983); Skapura v. Thornburgh, No. 81-168 (W.D.Pa. Jan. 27, 1983).

II.

Laskaris and Skapura sought compensatory or punitive damages in addition to their requests for back pay, reinstatement and declaratory and injunctive relief. A party seeking compensatory and punitive damages or other legal relief under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981 has a right to a jury trial. Edwards v. Boeing Vertol Co., 717 F.2d 761, 763 (3d Cir.1983); see Curtis v. Loether, 415 U.S. 189, 194, 94 S.Ct. 1005, 1008, 39 L.Ed.2d 260 (1974) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3612). This is true even though the claim is based upon the same facts that support equitable claims. Edwards, 717 F.2d at 763. Thus, although the request for back pay under section 1983 seeks only equitable relief, Gurmankin v. Costanzo, 626 F.2d 1115, 1122-23 (3d Cir.1980), a claim for compensatory and punitive damages is a legal claim entitling the plaintiff to a jury trial. E.g., Dolence v. Flynn, 628 F.2d 1280, 1282 (10th Cir.1980) (per curiam) (citing cases). See Moore v. Sun Oil Co., 636 F.2d 154 (6th Cir.1980).

Thornburgh et al. argue that even if this is true, Laskaris and Skapura's claims for compensatory and punitive relief must be supported in order to entitle them to a jury trial. They cite Hildebrand v. Board of Trustees, 607 F.2d 705 (6th Cir.1979), and Lynch v. Pan American World Airways, 475 F.2d 764, 765 (5th Cir.1973), as support for this proposition. Hildebrand held that when it appears prior to trial that no genuine issue of material fact exists with respect to damages, there is no right to a jury trial on those claims. Lynch held that unsupported allegations of compensatory and punitive damages do not alter the equitable nature of a proceeding.

To the extent that these cases can be read to require a plaintiff to aver specific facts or evidence in support of his claim for compensatory or punitive damages, we reject them as being incompatible with our precedents. As long as it appears from the pleadings that there is an issue triable of right by a jury, the plaintiff is entitled to a jury trial. Canister Co. v. Leahy, 182 F.2d 510, 513 (3d Cir.1950), cert. denied, 342 U.S. 893, 72 S.Ct. 201, 96 L.Ed. 669 (1951). In considering a demand for a jury trial, a court looks to the substance of the pleadings; the test is whether the issues raised are triable to a jury. Owens-Illinois, Inc. v. Lake Shore Land Co., 610 F.2d 1185, 1189 (3d Cir.1979); Plechner v. Widener College, Inc., 569 F.2d 1250, 1251 (3d Cir.1977).

Compensatory damages for deprivation of constitutionally protected rights are available under the civil rights statutes. Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. 247, 98 S.Ct. 1042, 55 L.Ed.2d 252 (1978) (Sec. 1983); see Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., 421 U.S. 454, 460, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 1720, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1975) (Sec. 1981). Compensation for damages upon discharge from employment is not limited to back pay. Bueno v. City of Donna, 714 F.2d 484, 493-94 (5th Cir.1983) (Secs. 1985, 1986). Punitive damages are also available, at least where the plaintiff shows that the defendants' conduct is motivated by evil motive or intent, or that it involves reckless or callous indifference to others' federally protected rights. Smith v. Wade, 461 U.S. 30, 103 S.Ct. 1625, 75 L.Ed.2d 632 (1983). Thus the claims were cognizable under the statutes pleaded, and the complaint was sufficient to entitle Laskaris and Skapura to a jury trial.

III.

Error in striking the demand for a jury trial is harmless if a directed verdict for the defendant would have been warranted. See Amoco Oil Co. v. Torcomian, 722 F.2d 1099, 1105 (3d Cir.1983); EEOC v. Corry Jamestown Corp., 719 F.2d 1219, 1225 (3d Cir.1983). A verdict may be directed for a defendant only where there is insufficient evidence from which a jury could reasonably find for the opponent, the court viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the opponent, and giving him the advantage of every fair and reasonable inference. See, e.g., Fireman's Fund Ins. Co. v. Vide Freeze Corp., 540 F.2d 1171, 1177-78 (3d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1053, 97 S.Ct. 767, 50 L.Ed.2d 770 (1977). A court cannot weigh the evidence or judge its credibility. Id. If there is conflicting evidence that could reasonably lead to inconsistent inferences, a verdict may not be directed. Id.

In order to avoid a directed verdict, and bring his case to a jury, a plaintiff alleging that he was discharged in violation of his first amendment rights must show that his protected conduct was a substantial or motivating factor in the decision; it is only then that the defendant must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the decision would have been the same in the absence of the protected conduct. Mount Healthy Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287, 97 S.Ct. 568, 576, 50 L.Ed.2d 471 (1977).

Laskaris and Skapura alleged that their first amendment rights were infringed because their political affiliation was the reason for their being discharged. First amendment rights of nonpolicymaking employees like Laskaris and Skapura ⁴ are violated if their respective...