Miller v. City of Nederland by and through Wimer
| Decision Date | 08 September 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:96-CV-614.,1:96-CV-614. |
| Citation | 977 F.Supp. 432 |
| Parties | Robert MILLER, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF NEDERLAND, By and Through, City Manager, Andre WIMER, and Steve Hamilton, Individually and in his official capacity as Director of Public Works for the City of Nederland, and Robbie Smith, Individually and in his official capacity as Street Supervisor for the City of Nederland, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas |
Laurence Wade Watts, Timothy M. Bowne, Watts & Associates, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff.
Frank David Calvert, Benckenstein & Oxford, Beaumont, TX, for Defendants.
This matter is before the court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, which Defendants filed on July 10, 1997. Plaintiff filed a response to Defendants' motion on July 14, 1997. Upon consideration of the motion, response, and applicable law, the court is of the opinion that Defendants' motion should be GRANTED IN PART and Plaintiff's pendent state claims should be REMANDED to state court.
On June 26, 1973, the City of Nederland, Texas, hired Robert Miller ("Miller") as an at-will employee. Miller worked for the City of Nederland ("City") for 22 years and rose to the rank of "Laborer II," a classification given to City workers who enjoy a low level of supervisory responsibility. Miller's employment ended when the City terminated him on June 26, 1995. Miller subsequently filed this action in state court in the 172nd Judicial District Court of Jefferson County, Texas, asserting both federal and state claims. Defendants later removed this action to federal court. Jurisdiction is proper under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367.
According to the Defendants, Miller's 22 year term of employment with the City was not without turmoil. From 1973 to 1983, Miller received at least three written reprimands or warnings concerning his violations of City policies. Defendants also assert that Miller received numerous verbal reprimands from his supervisor, Robbie Smith ("Smith"), for various work-related problems. Further, Miller missed 70 days of work from 1993 through 1995 for sick leave.
Miller's work-related problems ultimately came to a head on June 23, 1995. That morning, Miller asserts that he was having some personal problems at home and felt that he needed to take a day off to "clear his mind." Miller has admitted in his deposition that he decided to take one of his sick leave days and go fishing. Pursuant to the City's sick leave policy, Miller went to work early that morning and left a note on Smith's office door, notifying Smith that Miller was taking a sick day because he had an upset stomach. When Smith arrived at work, two City employees told him that Miller was not sick but had actually gone fishing at nearby Keith Lake. Smith and a City police officer then drove to Keith Lake where they spotted Miller's truck. Smith immediately returned to his office, obtained a camera, and returned to Keith Lake where he photographed Miller returning to his truck around 2:00 p.m. that same day. Smith then contacted his supervisor, Steve Hamilton ("Hamilton"), Director of Public Works, and informed him of Miller's conduct.
On June 26, 1995, Smith sent a written memorandum to Hamilton recommending that the City terminate Miller's employment for violations of City of Nederland Ordinance No. 147, Article V § 5, which states that evidence regarding abuse of the City's sick leave policy constitutes grounds for prompt dismissal by the employee's department head or the city manager. See City of Nederland Ordinance No. 147, Art. V § 5. Hamilton had previously sent a similar recommendation to City Manager Andre Wimer ("Wimer") on June 25, 1995. Hamilton ultimately terminated Miller on June 26, 1995, for violating the City's sick leave policy and provided him with a statement of reasons for his termination. The City also provided Miller with an order of termination informing him of his right to appeal the termination. Miller appealed his termination to a three-member panel which upheld the City's decision to terminate Miller's employment. Miller then appealed to the Nederland City Council on July 24, 1995, which also affirmed the City's decision to terminate Miller's employment.
Miller subsequently filed the present cause of action against the City, by and through City Manager Wimer in his official capacity, Hamilton, individually and in his official capacity as Director of Public Works for the City of Nederland, and Smith, individually and in his official capacity as Street Supervisor for the City of Nederland. Miller seeks monetary and equitable relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Article 1, Sections 3 and 19, of the Texas Constitution, claiming that Defendants terminated his employment in violation of his right to due process and right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and the Texas Constitution. Defendants now move for summary judgment.
The purpose of summary judgment is to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims or defenses. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554-55, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Summary judgment is proper if the "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c). A dispute about a material fact is genuine "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The substantive law identifies which facts are material. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. The party moving for summary judgment has the burden to show that there is no genuine issue of fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See id. at 247, 106 S.Ct. at 2509-10. If the movant bears the burden of proof on a claim or defense on which it is moving for summary judgment, it must come forward with evidence that establishes "beyond peradventure all of the essential elements of the claim or defense." Fontenot v. Upjohn Co., 780 F.2d 1190, 1194 (5th Cir. 1986) (emphasis in original). But if the nonmovant bears the burden of proof, the movant may discharge its burden by showing that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmovant's case. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. at 2553-54. In this instance, the movant is not required to offer evidence to negate the nonmovant's claims. Lujan v. National Wildlife Fed'n, 497 U.S. 871, 885-86, 110 S.Ct. 3177, 3187-88, 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990). Once the movant has carried its burden, the nonmovant "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(e). The nonmovant must adduce affirmative evidence. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 257, 106 S.Ct. at 2514-15.
Summary judgment evidence is subject to the same rules that govern admissibility of evidence at trial. Lavespere v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works, Inc. 910 F.2d 167, 175-76 (5th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 859, 114 S.Ct. 171, 126 L.Ed.2d 131 (1993). In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court cannot make credibility determinations, weigh evidence, or draw inferences for the movant. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510 (1986). The evidence of the nonmovant, however, is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in the nonmovant's favor. Id.
Miller alleges that Defendants are liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating his right to due process and right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Smith and Hamilton contend that they are entitled to qualified immunity with respect to Miller's claims against them in their individual capacity. Further, the City and the individual defendants, in their official capacities, contend that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law on Miller's federal claims because he did not suffer a cognizable constitutional injury.
Smith and Hamilton argue that they are entitled to qualified immunity from Miller's § 1983 claims. Qualified immunity shields a public official from civil damages liability in his individual capacity. Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 638, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3038, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987). Qualified immunity is an affirmative defense which must be plead. Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 231, 111 S.Ct. 1789, 1792-93, 114 L.Ed.2d 277 (1991); Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 815, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2736-37, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982); Gomez v. Toledo, 446 U.S. 635, 640, 100 S.Ct. 1920, 1923-24, 64 L.Ed.2d 572 (1980). To prevail on a qualified immunity defense, the defendant must show that he did "not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Harlow, 457 U.S. at 818, 102 S.Ct. at 2738. The court asseses the reasonableness of the defendant's conduct "in light of the legal rules that were `clearly established' at the time [the action] was taken." Creighton, 483 U.S. at 639, 107 S.Ct. at 3038. Further, a legal right is clearly established only if "the contours of the right [are] sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right." Id. at 640, 107 S.Ct. at 3039.
Because Smith and Hamilton have raised the defense of qualified immunity, Miller must show, as a threshold matter, that they violated a clearly established constitutional right. Miller alleges that Smith and Hamilton violated his rights to substantive due process, procedural due process, and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to due...
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