Myers v. Town of Landis

• Decision Date: 22 March 1996
• Docket Number: Civil No. 4:94CV700.
• Citation: 957 F.Supp. 762
• Parties: Buford T. MYERS, Plaintiff, v. TOWN OF LANDIS; and Gene R. Beaver in his official capacity as Mayor of the Town of Landis, and in his individual capacity, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of North Carolina

957 F.Supp. 762

Buford T. MYERS, Plaintiff, v. TOWN OF LANDIS; and Gene R. Beaver in his official capacity as Mayor of the Town of Landis, and in his individual capacity, Defendants.

Civil No. 4:94CV700.

United States District Court, M.D. North Carolina, Salisbury Division.

March 22, 1996.

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Robert M. Elliot, Elliot, Pishko, Gelbin & Morgan, P.A., Winston-Salem, NC, for Plaintiff.

Allan R. Gitter, James Redfern Morgan, Jr., Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem, NC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BULLOCK, Chief Judge.

This is a suit by Buford T. Myers against the Town of Landis, North Carolina and its Mayor, Gene Beaver. Myers used to work for the town, and he alleges that he was fired in retaliation for exercise of his right to free speech. He asserts several claims under federal and state law. Now before the court are Myers's motion for leave to amend his complaint and the motion of all defendants for summary judgment. For the reasons discussed in this memorandum opinion, Myers's motion for leave to amend will be granted, and the defendants' motion for summary judgment will be granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are undisputed. Until April 1994, Buford T. Myers, the plaintiff, worked for the town of Landis, North Carolina. Myers held several positions at different times, including laborer and mechanic. On August 3, 1989, while Myers was the town's mechanic, he spoke to an agent of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation ("SBI") regarding allegations that the Mayor of Landis, Gene R. Beaver, had illegally taken town property for his own use and had improperly directed town workers to do projects for the benefit of private persons (including Mayor Beaver) on town time. The investigation closed without any charges being brought against Mayor Beaver.

Another town employee who spoke to the SBI agent regarding the allegations against Mayor Beaver was Willie Deadmon, Director of Public Works for the Town of Landis. About a month after Deadmon spoke with the SBI agent, the town board voted to fire Deadmon, purportedly for having been rude to citizens of Landis while performing his duties. Myers believed that the real reason for Deadmon's termination was Deadmon's cooperation with the SBI's investigation of the Mayor. Myers wrote a statement attacking what he saw as the "railroading" of Deadmon and complaining about the town's treatment of its employees and cuts in their benefits. Besides Myers, eleven other employees of Landis signed the statement and Myers read the statement aloud at a meeting of the town board on September 5, 1989.

In the years that followed these incidents, Myers suffered a series of reverses related to his employment. In the fall of 1990, Myers was transferred from his job as a mechanic to a laborer's duties. The transfer did not then mean a cut in pay. Roughly a year later, however, Myers suffered a pay cut from $12.68 per hour to $7.03 because of a town-wide reclassification of jobs. Myers had varying duties as a laborer, and by the spring of 1994, Myers had been assigned to the mowing detail. Finally, on March 7, 1994, the town board voted to hire a private company to cut the grass, and Myers consequently lost his job. This suit followed.

ANALYSIS

Myers alleges violations of his right to free speech under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and his right to substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. He also alleges violations of his rights to free speech and substantive due process under the Constitution of North Carolina and wrongful discharge under state law. The defendants have moved for summary judgment on all of Myers's claims.

A party is entitled to summary judgment "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 fact is material if it could affect the outcome of the suit. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute is genuine "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party." Id.

1. Federal Right to Free Speech

Myers claims that he suffered a pay cut and lost his job because of his protected speech to the SBI agent and before the town board. He seeks damages from Mayor Beaver in his individual and official capacities and from the Town itself. The defendants say that Myers has failed to establish a genuine issue of material fact such that this claim should go to the jury. Further, Mayor Beaver asserts the defense of qualified immunity from damages in his individual capacity and the Town asserts that it is immune from punitive damages. The court will address these arguments in turn.

a. Violation of Substantive Right

Because of the First Amendment, which applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, e.g., McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm'n, 514 U.S. 334, ___ n. 1, 115 S.Ct. 1511, 1514 n. 1, 131 L.Ed.2d 426 (1995), a state or local government may not fire or otherwise retaliate against one of its employees for exercise of his right to free speech. Pickering v. Board of Educ., 391 U.S. 563, 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 1734, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968); DiMeglio v. Haines, 45 F.3d 790, 804 (4th Cir.1995). However, because a state has an interest in ensuring that its employees provide effective services to its citizens, the state may subject its employees to restraints that it could not apply to citizens in general. See Pickering, 391 U.S. at 568, 88 S.Ct. at 1734. Under Pickering and the cases that have followed it, a state employee's speech on a matter of public concern is protected if the employee's interest in speaking outweighs the state's interest as an employer in promoting the efficient delivery of public services. Id.

The Fourth Circuit has explained how to do the balancing that Pickering requires.

[The court] must first determine whether [the plaintiff's] speech involved an issue of public concern. If the speech regarded an issue of public concern, [the court should] next determine whether [the plaintiff] would have been dismissed "but for" [his] protected speech. Finally, we decide whether [the plaintiff's] exercise of free speech is outweighed by the [state's countervailing interest in providing effective service].

Hall v. Marion Sch. Dist. No. 2, 31 F.3d 183, 192 (4th Cir.1994) (citations omitted).

i. Public Concern

For speech to be on a matter of public concern, it must relate to a "matter of political, social, or other concern to the community." Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 146, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 1689, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983). In contrast, an employee's personal grievances about his employment are not matters of public concern. Daniels v. Quinn, 801 F.2d 687, 690 (4th Cir.1986). The proper classification depends on whether the employee was speaking as a citizen or as an employee, DiMeglio, 45 F.3d at 805, and the inquiry is one of law, Connick, 461 U.S. at 148 n. 7, 103 S.Ct. at 1690 n. 7.

Myers claims that his transfer, pay cut, and ultimate discharge were in retaliation for his meeting with an agent of the SBI and for reading his statement to the Town Board. Both events involved speech on matters of public concern. When Myers met the SBI agent, Myers accused Mayor Beaver of taking city property for his own use and of having town employees work for the benefit of individual citizens (including the Mayor himself) on town time. (SBI Report.) Accusing the highest elected town official of a breach of public trust and criminal wrongdoing is speech on a matter of public concern. See Connick, 461 U.S. at 149, 103 S.Ct. at 1691; Davis v. Ector County, 40 F.3d 777, 782 (5th Cir.1994) ("There is perhaps no subset of `matters of public concern' more important than bringing official misconduct to light."). The speech is of public concern despite being made privately to the SBI agent. Givhan v. Western Line Consol. Sch. Dist., 439 U.S. 410, 415-16, 99 S.Ct. 693, 696-97, 58 L.Ed.2d 619 (1979); Maciariello v. Sumner, 973 F.2d 295, 299 (4th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1080, 113 S.Ct. 1048, 122 L.Ed.2d 356 (1993).

Myers's statement before the Town Board also touched on a matter of public concern, despite the defendants' argument to the contrary. Much of the statement did consist of generalized grievances about benefits and working conditions, and these grievances are not protected. Connick, 461 U.S. at 148, 103 S.Ct. at 1690. However, the statement began with an accusation that Willie Deadmon was "being railroaded on a bunch of dreamed up charges" in retaliation for his participation in the SBI's investigation of Mayor Beaver. (Def.Ex. f at 1.) An allegation that a public official has tried to cover up wrongdoing by retaliating against a whistleblower is itself an accusation of significant wrongdoing and a matter of public concern.

ii. Causation

The defendants assert that they are entitled to summary judgment because, they say, Myers has failed to adduce evidence that he was fired because of his statements. The structure for this part of the inquiry is controlled by the Supreme Court's decision in Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 97 S.Ct. 568, 50 L.Ed.2d 471 (1977). The plaintiff has the initial burden of showing that his protected speech was a "substantial" or "motivating" factor behind his discharge. Id. at 287, 97 S.Ct. at 576. If the plaintiff makes this showing, the defendant can still escape liability by showing that the plaintiff would have been discharged even without the impermissible motive. Id.

Myers's evidence creates a triable issue of the cause of his discharge. In the five years following his statements, Myers was...