Ortiz v. Alvarez
| Decision Date | 21 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:15-cv-00535-DAD-EPG,1:15-cv-00535-DAD-EPG |
| Citation | 341 F.Supp.3d 1087 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
| Parties | Sandra ORTIZ, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Gerardo ALVAREZ, et al., Defendants. |
Alexia D. Kirkland, Kirkland Law of California, Jeff Reich, The Reich Law Firm, Fresno, CA, for Plaintiffs.
Mart Benjamin Oller, IV, McCormick Barstow LLP, Justin Thomas Campagne, Thomas Elmer Campagne, Campagne & Campagne, A Prof. Corp., Wiley Russ Driskill, Lozano Smith, Fresno, CA, for Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This matter comes before the court on five separate motions for summary judgment, all of which were filed on October 24, 2017. The first four of these motions were filed by defendants Gerardo Alvarez and Parlier Unified School District (collectively "district defendants") for summary judgment in their favor as to each of the plaintiffs' claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. Nos. 132, 133, 134, 135.) The fifth motion was filed by defendants Youth Centers of America and Israel Lara (collectively "YCA defendants") seeking summary judgment in their favor as to each of plaintiff Alfonso Padron's claims brought against the YCA defendants. (Doc. No. 136.) A hearing on these motions was held on November 21, 2017. Attorney Jeff Reich appeared on behalf of plaintiffs Alfonso Padron and Elida Padron, and attorney Alexia Kirkland appeared on behalf of plaintiffs Gudelia Sandoval and Luis Ramos. Attorney Mart B. Oller appeared on behalf of the district defendants and attorney Justin T. Campagne appeared on behalf of the YCA defendants. Having considered the parties' briefs and oral arguments, and for the reasons stated below, the court will grant the district defendants' motions for summary judgment as to the § 1983 claims brought by plaintiffs Alfonso Padron and Elida Padron; grant the YCA defendants' motion for summary judgment as to claims brought by plaintiff Alfonso Padron; and deny the district defendants' motion for summary judgment as to the § 1983 claims brought by plaintiffs Gudelia Sandoval and Luis Ramos.
Plaintiffs commenced this action on April 7, 2015 against defendants Superintendent Gerardo Alvarez, Parlier Unified School District ("PUSD"), Youth Centers of America ("YCA"), and Israel Lara, the former director of YCA. (Doc. No. 1.) The case proceeds on plaintiffs' fourth amended complaint. (Doc. No. 67.) Therein, plaintiffs allege generally that defendant Alvarez, while acting as PUSD's Superintendent, solicited political campaign contributions from certain plaintiffs in exchange for terms of employment, used PUSD funds to support certain political candidates, and took adverse employment actions against plaintiffs based on their political affiliations. (Id. at ¶ 2.) Plaintiffs further allege that PUSD approved, through its school board, defendant Alvarez's decisions without affording plaintiffs due process. (Id. at ¶ 3.) Plaintiff Alfonso Padron separately alleges that the YCA defendants took adverse employment actions against him at the direction of defendant Alvarez. (Id. at ¶ 4.)
On October 24, 2017, defendant Alvarez filed separate motions for summary judgment as to each of the plaintiff's § 1983 claims.1 (Doc. Nos. 132, 133, 134, 135.) The YCA defendants filed a motion seeking summary judgment in their favor as to plaintiff Alfonso Padron's claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation actionable under § 1983 in violation of the First Amendment, and wrongful termination. (Doc. No. 136.) On November 7, 2017, plaintiffs Alfonso and Elida Padron filed their oppositions. (Doc. Nos. 141, 142, 143.) On November 14, 2017, the defendants filed their replies. (Doc. Nos. 144, 145, 146.) On November 17, 2017, defendant Alvarez filed replies in support of his summary judgment motions against plaintiffs Sandoval and Ramos, noting their non-opposition to his motions. (Doc. Nos. 148, 149.) Thereafter, on November 17, 2017, plaintiffs Sandoval and Ramos filed untimely oppositions, accompanied by an ex parte application for an extension of time. (Doc. Nos. 150, 151, 152.) At the November 21, 2017 hearing on the motions for summary judgment, the court granted the application for an extension of time, allowed the filing of the untimely oppositions by plaintiffs Sandoval and Ramos, and granted defendants fourteen days to file replies thereto. (Doc. No. 155.) Defendants thereafter filed their replies on December 5, 2017. (Doc. Nos. 157, 158.)
Summary judgment is appropriate when the moving party "shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
In summary judgment practice, the moving party "initially bears the burden of proving the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." In re Oracle Corp. Sec. Litig. , 627 F.3d 376, 387 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ). The moving party may accomplish this by "citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials" or by showing that such materials "do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that the adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A), (B). If the moving party meets its initial responsibility, the burden then shifts to the opposing party to establish that a genuine issue as to any material fact actually does exist. see Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). In attempting to establish the existence of this factual dispute, the opposing party may not rely upon the allegations or denials of its pleadings but is required to tender evidence of specific facts in the form of affidavits, and/or admissible discovery material, in support of its contention that the dispute exists. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1) ; Matsushita , 475 U.S. at 586 n.11, 106 S.Ct. 1348 ; Orr v. Bank of Am., NT & SA , 285 F.3d 764, 773 (9th Cir. 2002) (). The opposing party must demonstrate that the fact in contention is material, i.e., a fact that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law, see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ; T.W. Elec. Serv., Inc. v. Pac. Elec. Contractors Ass'n , 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir. 1987), and that the dispute is genuine, i.e., the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. see Wool v. Tandem Computs., Inc. , 818 F.2d 1433, 1436 (9th Cir. 1987).
In the endeavor to establish the existence of a factual dispute, the opposing party need not establish a material issue of fact conclusively in its favor. It is sufficient that "the claimed factual dispute be shown to require a jury or judge to resolve the parties' differing versions of the truth at trial." T.W. Elec. Serv. , 809 F.2d at 631. Thus, the "purpose of summary judgment is to ‘pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial.’ " Matsushita , 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348 (citations omitted).
"In evaluating the evidence to determine whether there is a genuine issue of fact," the court draws "all reasonable inferences supported by the evidence in favor of the non-moving party." Walls v. Cent. Contra Costa Cty. Transit Auth. , 653 F.3d 963, 966 (9th Cir. 2011). It is the opposing party's obligation to produce a factual predicate from which the inference may be drawn. see Richards v. Nielsen Freight Lines , 602 F.Supp. 1224, 1244–45 (E.D. Cal. 1985), aff'd , 810 F.2d 898, 902 (9th Cir. 1987). Undisputed facts are taken as true for purposes of a motion for summary judgment. Anthoine v. N. Cent. Counties Consortium , 605 F.3d 740, 745 (9th Cir. 2010). Finally, to demonstrate a genuine issue, the opposing party Matsushita , 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348 (citation omitted).
The court notes at the outset that the factual background relevant to the pending motions for summary judgment are unique as to each plaintiff. The court will therefore discuss each plaintiff, and the defendants' motions for summary judgment as to each plaintiff's claims, in turn.
The parties offer the following undisputed facts with respect to plaintiff Alfonso Padron's [hereinafter "Alfonso"] eighth cause of action under § 1983 for violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Defendant YCA is a California non-profit corporation that provides education and recreational services. (Doc. No. 143-2 at ¶ 16.) In approximately January 2014, YCA submitted a proposal to PUSD to provide counseling services at an elementary school. (Id. at ¶ 17.) On or about September 2014, YCA and PUSD entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") regarding counseling services. (Id. at ¶ 19.) In September 2014, YCA hired Alfonso to provide the counseling services set forth in the MOU. (Id. at ¶¶ 21–22.)
The parties dispute the circumstances surrounding Alfonso's eventual termination in November 2014. According to defendant YCA, PUSD notified YCA that it no longer wished to continue purchasing the services set forth in the MOU. (Id. at ¶ 23.) Thus, on November 3, 2014, YCA's Executive Director Edgar Pelayo...
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