Pucci v. Michigan Supreme Court

• Decision Date: 03 March 2009
• Docket Number: Case No. 08-10557.
• Citation: 601 F.Supp.2d 886
• Parties: Julie A. PUCCI, Plaintiff, v. MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT, Justices Clifford W. Taylor, Michael F. Cavanagh, Elizabeth A. Weaver, Maura D. Corrigan, Robert P. Young, Jr., Stephen J. Markman, Marilyn Kelly, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

601 F.Supp.2d 886

Julie A. PUCCI, Plaintiff, v. MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT, Justices Clifford W. Taylor, Michael F. Cavanagh, Elizabeth A. Weaver, Maura D. Corrigan, Robert P. Young, Jr., Stephen J. Markman, Marilyn Kelly, Defendants.

Case No. 08-10557.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

March 3, 2009.

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Sanford Plotkin, Sanford Plotkin Assoc., Joel B. Sklar, Detroit, MI, for Plaintiff.

Karen K. Kuchek, Michigan Department of Attorney General, Lansing, MI, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

DAVID M. LAWSON, District Judge.

This is the second lawsuit filed by the plaintiff, Julie Pucci, arising from the loss of her job as a deputy court administrator in the Michigan nineteenth district court located in the city of Dearborn. The first lawsuit is aimed at that court and its chief judge, who fired the plaintiff, she claims under the pretext of an administrative reorganization. The plaintiff alleged in that case that in fact she was fired, among other reasons, in retaliation for complaining about the chief judge's religious proselytizing from the bench and because he was upset by the plaintiff's intimate relationship with another judge in that court. The present case names the state supreme court and its justices (in their individual and official capacities) as defendants for sending a directive to the nineteenth district court that prohibited the plaintiff from advancement to the position of court administrator because she was cohabiting with the other judge out of wedlock, and therefore was in violation of the "spirit" of the supreme court's anti-nepotism policy. In a single-count complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the defendants' actions violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights because (1) the actions interfere with the plaintiff's right of association, affiliation, and intimate relationship; (2) they violate her right to equal protection of law; (3) they violate her substantive due process rights, and perhaps procedural due process rights because the plaintiff did not have a hearing on the interpretation of the rule; (4) the court's interpretation of the rule is vague, overbroad, arbitrary, and capricious; and (5) the defendants selectively applied the rule. The plaintiff seeks damages and various forms of injunctive and declaratory relief. The defendants have filed a poorly-drafted motion to dismiss or for summary judgment alleging that they are entitled to Eleventh Amendment, judicial, and qualified immunity, the plaintiff lacks standing, and the Court should exercise its discretion to refuse jurisdiction under the Declaratory Judgment Act. The plaintiff has filed a motion for summary judgment contending that she is entitled to the relief she requests as a matter of law. The Court heard oral argument from the parties on August 11, 2008. The Court now finds that the defendants are not entitled to judicial or sovereign immunity except in their official capacity, the plaintiff has no standing to sue these defendants for her termination from employment as deputy court administrator but has standing to seek redress for her failure to obtain a promotion, the plaintiff has no protectable property interest in a promotion to the position of court administrator, and the plaintiff's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were not violated by the action of the state supreme court or its justices. Therefore, the defendants' motion to dismiss or for summary judgment will be granted, the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment will be denied, and the case will be dismissed.

I. Facts and Proceedings

Julie Pucci first became employed by the nineteenth district court in March 1991 as a court typist, and she rose through the ranks to the position of assistant court administrator in 1995. That position was reclassified to Deputy Court Administrator in 1998. The Court Administrator was Doyne Jackson.

In 2001, the plaintiff entered into a live-in relationship with William C. Hultgren, one of the court's judges. In the fall of 2002, Mark W. Somers was elected to replace a retiring judge of the court, and he took office in January 2003. The bench then consisted of Judges Hultgren, Wygonik, and Somers. It appears that Judge Somers and Judge Hultgren were antagonistic toward each other over Hultgren's relationship with the plaintiff and the prospect of her advancement to the court administrator position. The state supreme court selects the chief judge of the local courts, but due to the unrest among the Dearborn court's members, the supreme court appointed Judge Leo K. Foran, a judge of a neighboring district court, to serve as the chief judge of the Dearborn court. His tenure as chief judge began in March 2005 and concluded in January 2006, when Judge Somers was appointed chief judge.

On March 30, 2005, Judge Foran announced his intention to reorganize the court's administrative structure by moving the plaintiff to court administrator to replace the retiring Doyne Jackson, and not filling the position of deputy court administrator. Judge Somers, who vigorously opposed the plaintiff's elevation to the court administrator position because of her relationship with Judge Hultgren, embarked upon a campaign to have the plaintiff removed as a court employee. On April 4, 2005, Somers wrote to regional court administrator Deborah Green asking her to reverse Judge Foran's decision and prevent the plaintiff from becoming the court administrator. On April 14, 2005, Somers wrote a letter to state court administrator Carl Gromek, asking him to reverse Judge Foran's appointment of the plaintiff as court administrator, remove Judge Foran as chief judge, and expand the terms of Administrative Order 1996-11 (the state court's anti-nepotism rule) to include "domestic partners" among those disqualified from court employment, which would result in the plaintiff's termination from her court position.

Apparently, Judge Somers's complaints attracted the supreme court's attention. Anne Boomer, administrative counsel to the supreme court, submitted an affidavit outlining the procedures taken by the court when dealing with such an issue:

5. When an issue is brought to the Court's attention, it is considered at its weekly administrative conference. The reports or memoranda are distributed the week prior to consideration, and there is often email traffic on specific proposals. Sometimes, the Court asks for more information or background on an issue.

6. The Court's action can range from declining to act and closing the file, to circulating the proposal to a specific group for comment, or publishing for comment. In some cases, the Court adopts an amendment with immediate effect.

7. Enforcement of administrative orders is handled by the state court administrator and its regional administrators.

Def.s' Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. K, Boomer Aff. In light of Somers's letter, the supreme court discussed altering the policy to prohibit the hiring or retention of domestic partners. Pl.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. F, Green Dep. 52. The policy was not amended because the court "had a hard time defining domestic partners and, quite frankly, we were afraid of getting into the whole homosexual relationship realm, and so it was just a door that we thought was way too complicated to open." Id. at 52-53.

At some point, Carl Gromek visited Judge Foran. According to Foran, Gromek began "yelling and screaming at the top of his voice" that Foran had "screwed up" by not posting the position of court administrator publicly before appointing Pucci. Pl.'s Mot., Ex. B. Foran Dep. 34-36. On May 10, 2005, Gromek sent Judge Foran a letter that states:

I referred this matter to the Court, and the Justices have concluded that Ms. Julie A. Pucci's romantic partnership with Judge Hultgren is a violation of the spirit of its antinepotism rule. While the Court is of the view that Ms. Pucci may remain employed with the 19th District Court in the capacity that predated her romantic relationship with Judge Hultgren, she cannot be advanced or otherwise be advantaged after the beginning of her romantic relationship with Judge Hultgren. Accordingly, Ms Pucci will not succeed Doyne E. Jackson as Court Administrator.

Pl.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. G.

In response to Gromek's letter, then-Chief Judge Foran amended his reorganization plan by appointing court clerk Sharon Langen as court administrator and retaining the plaintiff as the deputy court administrator. On July 7, 2005, Regional Court Administrator Deborah Green requested confirmation that Pucci's appointment as court administrator had been revoked.

A short time later, Judge Somers became chief judge. On October 10, 2006, Judge Somers sent out a memo announcing another administrative reorganization. He proposed to retain one court administrator and one clerk of the court and eliminate the position of deputy court administrator, held by the plaintiff. Sharon Langen was to continue as the court administrator until a new one was hired, and then she would be reassigned to the clerk of court position.

On October 25, 2006, the plaintiff applied for the position of court administrator. One day later, Chief Judge Somers responded via letter:

As you know, by letter dated May 10, 2005, the State Court Administrator advised all concerned parties that the Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court have concluded you are not eligible to assume the position of court administrator for the 19th District Court by virtue of your romantic domestic partnership with Judge Hultgren as the relationship "is a violation of the spirit of its antinepotism rule". A copy of Mr. Gromek's letter is attached. To my understanding, this conclusion was not dependent upon the fact Judge Hultgren was chief judge pro tem at that time. Although I was certainly...