Martone v. Johnston School Committee

• Decision Date: 03 June 2003
• Docket Number: No. 2002-95-Appeal.,2002-95-Appeal.
• Parties: Louis MARTONE v. JOHNSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

824 A.2d 426

Louis MARTONE v. JOHNSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

No. 2002-95-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

June 3, 2003.

Gregory A. Carrara, Jeffrey D. Sowa, Richard A. Skolnik, Nicholas Trott Long, Providence, for Plaintiff.

Stephen Robinson, Providence, Michael Robinson, Newport, for Defendant.

Present: WILLIAMS, C.J., FLANDERS, and GOLDBERG, JJ.

OPINION

WILLIAMS, Chief Justice.

The defendant, Johnston School Committee (committee), appeals from a Superior Court judgment of mandamus, requiring it to provide a hearing to the plaintiff-teacher, Louis Martone (Martone), in accordance with G.L.1956 § 16-13-5.¹ For the reasons set forth herein, we sustain the committee's appeal and vacate the Superior Court judgment. The facts pertinent to this appeal are as follows.

I Facts and Travel

Martone is a tenured teacher at Johnston High School. In a letter dated May 17, 2001, then-superintendent, Michael W. John, Ph.D. (John), informed Martone that he was being placed on "leave with pay * * * pending [an] investigation of matters of a confidential nature regarding [Martone's] professional conduct." Although the letter did not detail the reason for the suspension, the impetus behind Jolin's actions was an allegation that Martone had sexually harassed a fellow teacher.

On August 22, 2001, John sent another letter to Martone, this time informing him that the Johnston School Department (department) had completed its investigation into the matter. The letter was entitled "Letter of Reprimand." According to Jolin, Martone admitted making the alleged harassing statements. John further informed Martone that, although he may not have made the statement with malevolent intent, the language he used was "highly unprofessional and in violation of the [department's] Harassment Policy." John also advised Martone that a copy of the letter of reprimand would remain in his permanent file pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the teachers' union and the committee. Nevertheless, Martone was permitted to resume his teaching duties contingent upon his completing a sexual harassment course.

On August 30, 2001, union representative Rita Kerwick Blythe (Blythe) filed a grievance with the committee on Martone's behalf. The grievance alleged that John's August 22 letter was "issued without just cause." She also demanded that the letter be declared "null and void and expunged from any and all records." Pursuant to Article II, § 3 of the CBA, a teacher's grievance should be directed first to the teacher's principal or supervisor, then to the superintendent, the school committee and finally, to an arbitrator. Blythe requested that the grievance "proceed directly to the school committee level" and be heard during the executive session of the next meeting. The committee agreed to hear the grievance at its next meeting, which was scheduled for September 11, 2001. Because of the terrorist attacks on our country, the committee rescheduled the meeting and hearing on Martone's grievance. Since that time, the committee twice has continued the hearing at Martone's request. For reasons that are not clear from the record, the committee has not yet heard Martone's grievance.

On November 27, 2001, Martone filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in Superior Court, seeking to force the committee to conduct a hearing pursuant to § 16-13-5. Thereafter, the committee filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Martone never had been "suspended," and therefore he was not entitled to a hearing pursuant to § 16-13-5. The committee further argued that, because Martone first had elected to invoke the contractual grievance process, the election of remedies doctrine precluded him from requesting a § 16-13-5 hearing.

At the mandamus hearing, the hearing justice discussed the election of remedies doctrine in general, but he did not resolve that issue. Rather, he concluded that Martone had been suspended according to § 16-13-5 and that he was entitled to a hearing pursuant to that section. Accordingly, he denied the committee's motion to dismiss, issued the writ and stayed the imposition of any further disciplinary action for Martone's failure to complete the sexual harassment training pending the outcome of the hearing. The committee timely appealed. The Rhode Island Association of School Committees and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals filed amicus memoranda to support the committee's argument that Martone had not been suspended.

II Analysis

This Court has clearly outlined the requirements for issuing a writ of mandamus.

"A writ of mandamus should issue only when (1) the party petitioning for such an extraordinary remedy has shown a clear legal right to obtain the relief sought by the writ; (2) the respondent(s) has a ministerial legal duty to perform the requested act without discretion to refuse; and (3) the petitioner possesses no adequate remedy at law." P.J.C. Realty, Inc. v. Barry, 811 A.2d 1202, 1205 (R.I.2002) (quoting Providence Teachers Union Local 958 v. Providence School Board, 748 A.2d 270, 272 (R.I.2000)).

Once these prerequisites have been shown, it is within the sound discretion of the Superior Court justice to ultimately issue the writ. See Wood v. Lussier, 416 A.2d 690, 693 (R.I.1980)

. In this case, Martone does not have a clear legal right to a § 16-13-5 hearing because he initially elected to challenge the sanctions imposed against him through the CBA grievance process.

A Election of Remedies

This Court long has adhered to the election of remedies doctrine to "mitigate unfairness to both parties by preventing double redress for a single wrong." State Department of Environmental Management v.. State Labor Relations Board, 799 A.2d 274, 277 (R.I.2002) (DEM). Pursuant to the election of remedies doctrine, "when one party to a CBA attempts to take advantage of the grievance procedure and loses, * * * that party [is prohibited] from pursuing the same dispute in the courts of this state." Id. at 278 (quoting Cipolla v. Rhode Island College Board of Governors for Higher Education, 742 A.2d 277, 281 (R.I.1999)). Similarly, "when one party to a CBA attempts to take advantage of a statutorily-prescribed administrative remedy and loses, the election-of-remedies doctrine prohibits that party from pursuing the same dispute through a grievance procedure." School Committee of North Kingstown v. Crouch, 808 A.2d 1074, 1080 (R.I.2002).

Recently, this Court reaffirmed the force and breadth of the election of remedies doctrine in DEM. DEM, 799 A.2d at 278. In that case, DEM employees learned that DEM was posting a part-time job opening for a "principal forester." Id. at 276. The employees' union contended that the posting violated its CBA with DEM. Id. The union then filed a grievance with DEM pursuant to the CBA requesting that the posting be lifted and that DEM create an opening for a full-time position. Id. After DEM rejected its request, the union appealed to the Department of Administration's Office of Labor Relations, which also denied the union's request. Id. Pursuant to the CBA's grievance procedures, the union could further pursue the matter only through binding arbitration. Id. At that point, however, the union complained to the state Labor Relations Board, which heard the case pursuant to G.L.1956 § 28-7-9(b)(5). DEM, 799 A.2d at 276. The board ultimately granted a cease-and-desist order forbidding DEM to create the part-time position. Id at 279. This Court held that the matter was improperly before the board because, by first initiating the grievance process, the union had selected its remedy and "should have pursued that remedy to its conclusion." Id. at 278 (quoting Cipolla, 742 A.2d at 282).

In this case, the parties agree that Martone is entitled to a hearing before the committee. However, the appeals process would be markedly different if the committee were hearing a case pursuant to the grievance process or § 16-13-5. According to the CBA, a grievance heard by the committee may only be appealed through the arbitration process. Conversely, the committee's decision after a § 16-13-5 hearing may only be appealed to the Department of Secondary Education or Elementary Education and then to the Superior Court. See § 16-13-4. Thus, the remedy elected by Martone is of great significance.

On August 30, 2001, Martone filed a grievance pursuant to the CBA. Thereafter, on November 27, 2001, he petitioned the Superior Court for a writ of mandamus demanding that the committee provide him a hearing pursuant to § 16-13-5.² By initially electing to use the grievance process to challenge the sanction that the committee imposed against him, Martone "had selected the remedy to adjudicate [his] claim, and [he] should have pursued that remedy to its conclusion." DEM, 799 A.2d at 278 (quoting Cipolla, 742 A.2d at 282). Accordingly, pursuant to the election of remedies doctrine, Martone is not entitled to a § 16-13-5 hearing.

Martone contends that the election of remedies doctrine does not apply to this case because his grievance and demand for a § 16-13-5 hearing were designed to challenge different actions taken by the committee. Specifically, he contends that he attempted to nullify the letter of reprimand from his employment file through the grievance process. Conversely, he argues that he demanded a § 16-13-5 hearing to review the "suspension" imposed against him in Jolin's June 25 letter. However, as described in DEM, "the doctrine of election of remedies is equitable in nature and has at its core the salient purpose of preventing unfairness to the parties." DEM, 799 A.2d at 278. We believe that the remedies Martone sought through his grievance and request for a § 16-13-5 hearing are sufficiently similar to trigger the equitable doctrine of election of remedies. Like the resolution of the union's claim in DEM, the propriety of the sanctions imposed against Martone depends on the same...