Pierce v. Engle

• Decision Date: 20 November 1989
• Docket Number: 88-2118-S.,Civ. A. No. 87-2526-S
• Citation: 726 F. Supp. 1231
• Parties: Barbara PIERCE and Preston Pierce, Plaintiffs, v. Harold ENGLE, Jr., Cleo Luthi, James Robison, Charles Hoggatt, D.W. Cookson, and Lloyd Luthi, Defendants. Barbara PIERCE and Preston Pierce, Plaintiffs, v. UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 386, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Kansas

726 F. Supp. 1231

Barbara PIERCE and Preston Pierce, Plaintiffs, v. Harold ENGLE, Jr., Cleo Luthi, James Robison, Charles Hoggatt, D.W. Cookson, and Lloyd Luthi, Defendants.

Barbara PIERCE and Preston Pierce, Plaintiffs, v. UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 386, Defendant.

Civ. A. Nos. 87-2526-S, 88-2118-S.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

November 20, 1989.

Michael R. Lawless and Susan Ellmaker, Overland Park, Kan., for plaintiffs.

J. Steven Pigg, Fisher, Patterson, Sayler & Smith, Topeka, Kan., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SAFFELS, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on defendants' motion for summary judgment. In connection with their summary judgment motion, defendants have also moved for leave to file a supplemental memorandum in support, which the court will grant as uncontested. D.Kan. 206(g). In addition, defendants have submitted a motion to supplement their witness and exhibit list and a motion for protective order and to quash a deposition duces tecum.

In this consolidated action, plaintiff Preston Pierce, a former high school principal for Unified School District 386 ("U.S.D. 386") in Madison, Kansas, asserts that he was deprived of property and liberty interests without due process of law in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because his contract for the position of principal was not renewed when it expired in August 1986 and because of school board actions in connection with his leave of absence in late 1985 and early 1986. Preston Pierce also claims that his contract as principal for grades 7 through 12 was non-renewed because of his status as a recovering alcoholic in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794. He further claims that a nonrenewal because of alcoholism constitutes a state law tort claim for wrongful discharge. Barbara Pierce alleges that the nonrenewal of her contracts to drive a school bus and to provide concessions at school sporting events constitute a deprivation of a property interest without due process in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Both Pierces are suing the school district and the individual school board members who voted in 1986 not to renew plaintiffs' respective contracts.

A moving party is entitled to summary judgment only when the evidence indicates that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Maughan v. SW Servicing, Inc., 758 F.2d 1381, 1387 (10th Cir.1985). The requirement of a "genuine" issue of fact means that 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 moving party has the burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. This burden "may be discharged by `showing' — that is, pointing out to the district court — that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). "A party opposing a properly supported motion for summary judgment may not rest on mere allegations or denials of his pleading, but must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256, 106 S.Ct. at 2514. Thus, the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment. Id. The court must consider factual inferences tending to show triable issues in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Bee v. Greaves, 744 F.2d 1387, 1396 (10th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1214, 105 S.Ct. 1187, 84 L.Ed.2d 334 (1985).

For purposes of the present motion, the material and uncontested facts can be briefly summarized as follows. At the time relevant to this cause of action, Preston Pierce was employed as a principal by U.S.D. 386 pursuant to a written contract running from August 8, 1984 to August 7, 1986. Mr. Pierce assumed that his contract would be extended because it had been extended in previous years, Pierce having served as principal since 1977. On November 5, 1985, Mr. Pierce was told that the school board had authorized him to take a leave of absence, due at least in part to Mr. Pierce's alcohol-related problems. On November 13, 1985, Mr. Pierce was admitted to St. Francis Hospital for an alcohol and drug rehabilitation program. Although Mr. Pierce presented the board with a release from the treatment facility authorizing his return to work on January 6, 1986, the school board decided that Pierce should not resume his duties as principal until January 20, 1986. Preston Pierce was paid through the end of his contract, receiving his last check in September, 1986 with no deduction in pay for the November 13, 1985 through January 20, 1986 leave of absence. After entering treatment, Mr. Pierce did not attempt to hide the fact that he had had problems with alcohol.

On February 27, 1986, the school board adopted a resolution which read as follows:

Because of adverse economic conditions in Madison, Kansas and in order to save school district funds for programs which the school board feels are necessary, the Board of Education of U.S.D. No. 386, Madison, Kansas, will begin a one-principal system beginning in the 1986-87 school year. The principal for the 1986-87 school year shall be responsible for administering both the elementary school and the high school.

On March 17, 1986, the board passed a resolution of nonrenewal of Preston Pierce's contract "in regard to a previous resolution of a one-principal system in U.S.D. 386 for 1986-87" "since the position has been abolished." Pierce was notified of the board's intent not to renew his contract and requested by a letter dated March 27, 1986, a meeting with the board pursuant to K.S.A. 72-5453. A meeting was held April 2, 1986 at which the president of the board stated that the reason for Pierce's nonrenewal was because of the economic situation in the district and the board again resolved not to renew Mr. Pierce's contract for the 1986-87 school year. Pierce has a state certification to be a principal only for grades 7 through 12; he was not certified to be a principal for the entire school, grades K through 12, as required by state law. The other principal, who was employed by the board as grade school principal at the time Pierce served as high school principal, was state-certified for all grade levels and was retained by the board for the new one-principal system.

Preston Pierce first accused the board of not renewing his contract because of his status as a recovering alcoholic in an October, 1987 letter from his attorneys; Pierce filed no discrimination charges with state or federal agencies. In deposition, Pierce stated that in addition to his problems with alcohol, other factors may have played a role in the board's decision not to renew his contract, such as board members' general dissatisfaction with his job performance and personal animosity which existed between Pierce and some of the individual board members.

Barbara Pierce, Preston Pierce's wife, was employed as a school bus driver under a written contract which began on August 22, 1985 and ran through the last day of the 1986 school year. The contract was subject to termination by either party on one-month's notice. Barbara Pierce also had a written contract with U.S.D. 386 to provide concessions for certain school sporting events for the 1985-86 school year. Barbara Pierce was advised by a letter dated July 15, 1986 that the board had decided to combine bus routes for the following school year, resulting in a reduction of one bus driver; Mrs. Pierce was further advised that U.S.D. 386 would not offer her a contract to drive a school bus for the 1986-87 school year. Pursuant to a suggestion by the new principal, the concessions were operated by high school students during the 1986-87 school year; consequently, Mrs. Pierce was not offered a contract to sell concessions at school sporting events for that year.

Plaintiff Preston Pierce's Claim Under the Rehabilitation Act

Defendants move for summary judgment on Preston Pierce's claims under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, because by Preston Pierce's own admissions in his deposition, his termination was not "solely by reason of his handicap" and thus no claim is stated under the Act. To state a claim under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, a plaintiff must prove (1) that he is a "handicapped person" under the Act; (2) that he is "otherwise qualified" for the position sought; (3) that he is being excluded from the position solely by reason of his handicap; and (4) that the position exists as a part of a program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Anderson v. Univ. of Wis., 665 F.Supp. 1372, 1391 (D.Wis.1987), aff'd, 841 F.2d 737 (7th Cir.1988).

In this case, Preston Pierce contends that the board voted not to renew him because of his status as a recovering alcoholic and because of a general dissatisfaction with his job performance and that the stated economic reasons were merely pretextual. In considering the elements necessary to state a claim under the Rehabilitation Act in the context of defendants' motion for summary judgment, the court finds that the admissions in Preston Pierce's deposition establish that he does not claim that he was dismissed solely because of his alcoholism, but because of several factors, among them his alcohol-related problems. Thus, even if a factual issue exists regarding the role Mr. Pierce's alcoholism played, if any, in the board's decision not to renew his contract, plaintiff Pierce has failed to create a genuine issue of material fact, i.e., one from which a reasonable jury could find in his favor, regarding whether his status as a recovering alcoholic was the sole reason for the nonrenewal. Thus, the court will grant summary judgment for defendants' with regard to Preston...