Lockhart v. Cedar Rapids Community School Dist.
| Decision Date | 25 April 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. C 96-301-MWB.,C 96-301-MWB. |
| Citation | 963 F.Supp. 805 |
| Parties | Robert L. LOCKHART, Plaintiff, v. CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
Matthew Glasson, Glasson Grove, Sole & McManus, Cedar Rapids, for Plaintiff.
Terry L. Abernathy, Matthew G. Novak, Pickens, Barnes & Abernathy, Cedar Rapids, for Defendant.
In what at first appears to be a garden-variety case of a former public employee who alleges he was discharged in violation of federal and state law, there is an important and far-reaching question of Iowa law that, surprisingly, is one of first impression: Did the Iowa legislature, by enacting a provision of the Iowa Public Employment Relations Act that authorizes public employers to "[s]uspend or discharge public employees for proper cause," Iowa Code § 20.7(3), intend to abrogate the common-law presumption that public employees are employed "at will"? The former public employee has asserted a federal claim, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for unconstitutional deprivation of a property interest in his job purportedly created by Iowa Code § 20.7(3), as well as state-law claims of wrongful discharge in violation of Iowa Code § 20.7(3) and wrongful discharge in violation of the public policy articulated in Iowa Code § 20.7(3). Consequently, interpretation of § 20.7(3) figures significantly in each of the plaintiff's claims. The employer has moved to dismiss the complaint before filing its answer, asserting both a lack of "federal question" jurisdiction, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1), and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Thus, before reaching the question of the import of Iowa Code § 20.7(3), the court must first determine whether the plaintiff employee's amendment of his complaint cured pleading defects in his federal claim identified by the defendant. Nonetheless, the bulk of this opinion is devoted to the question of the proper interpretation of § 20.7(3) and the further matter of whether that important question should properly be certified to the Iowa Supreme Court.
Plaintiff Robert L. Lockhart was an employee of defendant Cedar Rapids Community School District. He was discharged from the School District on June 21, 1996. On September 19, 1996, Lockhart filed this complaint against the School District, in which he asserted three claims under federal and state law. In count one, Lockhart asserts that his discharge deprived him of property rights for which he is entitled to relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In count two, he alleges a wrongful discharge in violation of Iowa Code § 20.7(3). In count three, he alleges a wrongful discharge in violation of a well-defined public policy of the State of Iowa, which he contends is articulated in § 20.7(3).
The School District filed a motion to dismiss on October 17, 1996 with a request for oral argument. The School District contends that Lockhart has failed to plead a claim within the jurisdiction of the court, because count one fails to allege any constitutional violation for which relief could be granted under § 1983. Without proper allegation of a § 1983 claim, the School District maintains that federal jurisdiction does not exist in this case. Next, the School District has moved to dismiss all three counts for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. In support of this portion of its motion, the School District submitted matters outside of the pleadings which the School District contends establish that no genuine issue of material fact exists and Lockhart's claims are inadequate as a matter of fact and law. The School Board briefed its motion and has submitted a statement of undisputed facts including six exhibits. Thus, the School District clearly contemplated disposition of this part of its motion pursuant to the terms, not of Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), but of Fed.R.Civ.P. 56.
On October 30, 1996, Lockhart filed a memorandum in resistance to the School District's motion as well as an affidavit in support of his resistance. Thus, Lockhart also anticipated that the court would consider matters outside of the pleadings in resolving the School District's motion to dismiss. Lockhart asserts that jurisdiction is proper, because he has asserted a constitutional violation and therefore has raised a federal question in count one of his complaint. Lockhart disputes the facts as presented by the School District and maintains that the discharge was unlawful.
Simultaneously with his resistance to the School District's motion to dismiss, Lockhart filed an amended complaint. The amended complaint varies from the original complaint with respect to count one. Although that count still alleges that Lockhart's discharge constituted a deprivation of a property interest by the School District acting under the color of state law, it now adds that the discharge "was in violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America." Lockhart concludes the amended version of count one by asserting jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The School District filed a reply brief on November 4, 1996, which supplements its argument that the discharge was proper under both the federal Constitution and state law. On February 10, 1997, Lockhart filed a supplemental resistance to the School District's motion. In his supplemental resistance, Lockhart specifically enumerates which paragraphs of the School District's statement of undisputed facts he denies and also adds an additional affidavit.
On January 22, 1997, this court entered an order informing the parties that the School District's motion to dismiss would be construed as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided for in Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, because the parties have submitted matters outside of the pleadings for consideration by the court in resolving the motion. The court heard oral arguments on the matter on March 11, 1997. At the oral arguments, the court requested further briefing on two issues: (1) whether Iowa Code § 20.7(3) negates the presumption of at-will employment; and (2) whether a post-deprivation hearing was required in this case to satisfy due process requirements. The parties submitted the requested briefs on March 21, 1997.
The court will consider first the School District's facial challenge to jurisdiction over the complaint and the question of whether Lockhart's amended complaint cures the jurisdictional defect. The court will then turn to the portion of the motion to dismiss that has been converted into a motion for summary judgment, the portion asserting failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
The School District has asserted that Lockhart has failed to...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Ibp, Inc. v. Foust
...have been described in detail in several recent decisions in this district. For example, the court in Lockhart v. Cedar Rapids Community Sch. Dist., 963 F.Supp. 805 (N.D.Iowa 1997), outlined these standards as follows: The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recognizes "that summary judgment is......
-
Hill v. Hamilton County Public Hosp.
...1997); Security State Bank v. Firstar Bank Milwaukee, N.A., 965 F.Supp. 1237, 1239-40 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Lockhart v. Cedar Rapids Community Sch. Dist., 963 F.Supp. 805 (N.D.Iowa 1997). Thus, the court will not consider those standards in detail here. Suffice it to say that Rule 56 itself prov......
-
Corcoran v. Land O'Lakes, Inc.
...1997); Security State Bank v. Firstar Bank Milwaukee, N.A., 965 F.Supp. 1237, 1239-40 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Lockhart v. Cedar Rapids Community Sch. Dist., 963 F.Supp. 805 (N.D.Iowa 1997). Thus, the court will not consider those standards in detail here. Suffice it to say that Rule 56 itself prov......
-
Green v. The Servicemaster Co.
...1997); Security State Bank v. Firstar Bank Milwaukee, N.A., 965 F.Supp. 1237, 1239-40 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Lockhart v. Cedar Rapids Community Sch. Dist., 963 F.Supp. 805 (N.D.Iowa 1997). Thus, the court will not consider those standards in detail here. Suffice it to say that Rule 56 itself prov......