Moore v. Bonner, Civ. A. No. 80-1540-1.

• Decision Date: 05 November 1981
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 80-1540-1.
• Parties: Wilhelmina MOORE, Plaintiff, v. Henry E. BONNER, individually and in his official capacity as Superintendent of Schools for Berkeley County and Chairman of the Berkeley County Board of Education; Marvin Wiggins, Joseph Myers, Harold Staley, Graydon Gray, James Barry, Carolyn Lewis, Dorothy Bryan, David Fashion, J. P. Peagler and Roy Strickland, each individually and in his or her official capacity as a member of The Berkeley County Board of Education and The Berkeley County School District, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina

526 F. Supp. 143

Wilhelmina MOORE, Plaintiff, v. Henry E. BONNER, individually and in his official capacity as Superintendent of Schools for Berkeley County and Chairman of the Berkeley County Board of Education; Marvin Wiggins, Joseph Myers, Harold Staley, Graydon Gray, James Barry, Carolyn Lewis, Dorothy Bryan, David Fashion, J. P. Peagler and Roy Strickland, each individually and in his or her official capacity as a member of The Berkeley County Board of Education and The Berkeley County School District, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 80-1540-1.

United States District Court, D. South Carolina, Charleston Division.

November 5, 1981.

Elliott T. Halio and Allan R. Holmes, Halio & Holmes and Arthur C. McFarland, Charleston, S. C., for plaintiff.

Kenneth L. Childs and David T. Duff, Childs & Duff, Columbia, S. C., R. Markley Dennis, Jr., Dennis, Dennis & Watson, Moncks Corner, S. C., for defendants.

ORDER

HAWKINS, District Judge.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Before the court is defendants' motion for summary judgment. The motion is based, inter alia, on the defenses of res judicata and/or collateral estoppel, statute of limitations, and failure to plead necessary facts, as well as the absence of genuine issues of material fact, thus foreclosing liability, with respect to several of plaintiff's theories of recovery. Having fully considered the briefs which have been filed and the arguments of counsel at the hearing held in the matter on September 21, 1981, and after receiving additional letter briefs from counsel subsequent to the argument, the court enters the following order granting defendants' motion on the basis of administrative collateral estoppel.¹

This action was brought pursuant to the Civil Rights Acts of 1886 and 1871, Sections 1981, 1983 and 1985(3) of Title 42 of the United States Code, to redress alleged violations of plaintiff's rights under the First, Fifth, Thirteenth,² and Fourteenth Amendments to the Federal Constitution in regard to the defendants' decision not to renew plaintiff's teaching contract for the school year 1980-81. More specifically, plaintiff claims that the decision not to renew her contract was the product of race discrimination and retaliation for the exercise of her rights to free speech and association rather than the result of her unprofessional conduct and insubordination as determined by defendant Berkeley County Board of Education. Plaintiff also alleges that the manner in which the decision to nonrenew her contract was reached constitutes a denial of her right to procedural due process.

FACTS

The facts relevant to the motion and the procedural history to this action are largely undisputed. The precipitating incident in plaintiff's nonrenewal occurred on January 24, 1980, at the Cross High School within defendant Berkeley County School District, where plaintiff was employed as a guidance counselor. On that date, plaintiff intervened in the administering of a mastery test to students which was being given to them by a Title I reading coordinator, allegedly because neither the students nor their parents had been provided the customary advance notice of the examination. According to the complaint, an angry discussion ensued between the plaintiff and the reading coordinator, who was a white female.

Following the January 24th³ incident, plaintiff was requested by defendant Henry E. Bonner, Superintendent of the School District, to provide a written description of what transpired on that date concerning her actions with respect to the administration of the test. Plaintiff responded with a two-sentence letter,⁴ which defendant Bonner apparently considered insufficient as a description of the incident.

By letter dated February 19, Bonner stated to plaintiff that her written "description" was not satisfactory. He asked that she explain in more detail what had taken place on January 24th and why plaintiff had believed she should involve herself in the administration of the reading test. The letter also indicated that plaintiff's explanation might have a bearing on whether or not she would be recommended for reemployment during the 1980-81 school year.

Plaintiff responded to the February 19th correspondence with a letter in which she indicated her desire, if charges had been brought against her, to be given a written statement of such allegations along with the identity of the individual making the charges. Because Bonner had stated that her response might have an effect on her reemployment, plaintiff also requested an open public hearing before the Board of Education on the matter. Plaintiff's letter to Bonner did not contain any description of the January 24th incident.

By letter dated April 1st, Bonner informed plaintiff that she had deliberately disregarded the instructions of his February 19th correspondence to provide a written account of the incident on January 24th. He stated that, as a consequence, he was planning to recommend to the Board of Education that her contract not be renewed for the following year. Bonner further stated that if the Board of Education upheld his recommendation, the plaintiff would then be entitled to a formal hearing on the question of her nonrenewal. It appears that Bonner heard nothing more from the plaintiff.

On April 14th, Bonner notified plaintiff that at a special meeting held on April 10th, the Board of Education had voted not to renew her contract for the 1980-81 school year. Plaintiff also was informed at this time of her right to request in writing a formal hearing before the Board. She subsequently did invoke her right to a hearing, which was held on May 6th, pursuant to the provisions of the South Carolina Teacher Employment and Dismissal Act, S.C.Code Ann. § 59-25-410, et seq. (1976 and 1980 Cum.Supp.).

By letter dated May 16th, plaintiff was informed that upon consideration of the case subsequent to the hearing, the Board had voted to uphold the earlier determination not to renew her contract. The reasons given for the dismissal were plaintiff's unprofessional conduct and insubordination in connection with the January 24th incident and its aftermath. Plaintiff did not appeal the Board's decision to the state circuit court as she might have done within thirty days under South Carolina law. See, S.C.Code Ann. § 59-25-480 (1976). The plaintiff filed a claim with the South Carolina Employment Security Commission and on August 7, 1980, the claims adjudicator found in favor of her. This finding was appealed to the Appeals Tribunal and on September 22, 1980, the prior finding of the claims adjudicator was upheld. On August 15th, plaintiff filed the present complaint challenging her nonrenewal in federal court.

DISCUSSION

It is the defendants' contention, based on the decision of the Berkeley County Board of Education upholding plaintiff's dismissal on the grounds of unprofessional conduct and insubordination, that the instant suit is barred under the doctrine of res judicata, or at a minimum that the Board's determination as to the reasons for the dismissal is entitled to preclusive effect under the principle of collateral estoppel.⁵ Plaintiff argues that, at least under the present circumstances, a state administrative proceeding cannot support a finding of res judicata or collateral estoppel in a subsequent judicial action brought under the civil rights law.

Plaintiff's argument is essentially rebutted by two decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90, 101 S.Ct. 411, 66 L.Ed.2d 308 (1980), and United States v. Utah Construction & Mining Co., 384 U.S. 394, 86 S.Ct. 1545, 16 L.Ed.2d 642 (1966). In United States v. Utah Construction & Mining Co., supra, the Court followed the more modern view⁶ that res judicata and collateral estoppel principles do apply to administrative determinations. The Utah Construction & Mining holding has expressly been followed by the court of appeals for this circuit. See, Pettus v. American Airlines, Inc., 587 F.2d 627, 628 n.1 (4th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 883, 100 S.Ct. 172, 62 L.Ed.2d 112 (1979) ("The fact that the decision-maker in the initial adjudication was an administrative agency is of no consequence. For `res judicata effect may attach to determinations of administrative agencies in appropriate circumstances.'"). In Allen v. McCurry, supra, the Court held that rules of res judicata and collateral estoppel are generally applicable to civil rights actions initiated pursuant to Section 1983.⁷ The Court based its decision on the legislative history of Section 1983 and the strong policy considerations central to the doctrines of res judicata, collateral estoppel, and federalism.

In determining when an administrative action constitutes res judicata or collateral estoppel, the question to be answered is whether the administrative body "is acting in a judicial capacity and resolves disputed issues of fact properly before it which the parties ... had adequate opportunity to litigate ... in that both parties had a full and fair opportunity to argue their version of the facts and an opportunity to seek court review of any adverse findings." United States v. Utah Construction & Mining Co., supra 384 U.S. at 422, 86 S.Ct. at 1560. It is this court's opinion that the criteria for application of res judicata and/or collateral estoppel to an administrative determination have been satisfied in the present case.

Initially, it is clear that the Berkeley County Board of Education functioned as an adjudicative body at the May 6th hearing when it considered the question of plaintiff's nonrenewal, which question was certainly a matter properly before it under the relevant state statute. Pursuant to the Teacher Employment and Dismissal Act, a teacher who receives notice that he or she will not be reemployed for the ensuing year may, within fifteen days of notification, request in writing a hearing before the district board of trustees. See, S.C.Code Ann. §§ 59-25-420 (19...