Pucci v. Somers

• Decision Date: 16 December 2011
• Docket Number: Case No. 07–10631.
• Parties: Julie A. PUCCI, Plaintiff, v. Chief Judge Mark W. SOMERS, in his individual capacity, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

834 F.Supp.2d 690

Julie A. PUCCI, Plaintiff,

v.Chief Judge Mark W. SOMERS, in his individual capacity, Defendant.

Case No. 07–10631.

United States District Court,

E.D. Michigan,

Southern Division.

Dec. 16, 2011.

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

Christina M. Grossi, Michael O. King, Jr., Michigan Department of Attorney General, Lansing, MI, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW, REMITTITUR, AND STAY, AND GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR ATTORNEY'S FEES AND PREJUDGMENT INTEREST

DAVID M. LAWSON, District Judge.

Defendant Mark Somers has moved to set aside a jury verdict finding that he violated plaintiff Julie Pucci's federal constitutional rights, or, failing that, to reduce the damage award against him. The plaintiff opposes the motion and seeks attorney's fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 and prejudgment interest. The Court heard argument on the motions in open court on December 13, 2011. The Court now finds that a proper balance of the interests of the plaintiff and defendant under Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Tp. High School Dist. 205, Will County, Illinois, 391 U.S. 563, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968), yields the conclusion that the plaintiff engaged in conduct protected by the First Amendment, and the defendant retaliated against her for engaging in that conduct. The damage award is not excessive or beyond the range supported by the proofs. The plaintiff is entitled to attorney's fees and costs, but not in the amount she claims. And the defendant is not entitled to a stay of the judgment pending appeal without posting a supersedeas bond. Therefore, the Court will deny the defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law, stay, and remittitur, and grant in part and deny in part the plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees and prejudgment interest.

I.

The facts of the case are well known to the parties and have been recited in detail in previous opinions of this Court and the Sixth Circuit. See Pucci v. Nineteenth Dist. Court, 628 F.3d 752, 755–60 (6th Cir.2010); Pucci v. Nineteenth Dist. Court, 565 F.Supp.2d 792, 796–802 (E.D.Mich.2008). After the case was remanded to this Court by the court of appeals, it was tried to a jury beginning June 22, 2011. The jury returned a verdict on June 30, 2011 finding that when the defendant fired the plaintiff from her job as deputy court administrator at the Nineteenth District Court in Dearborn, Michigan, he violated the plaintiff's right to procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, and he retaliated against her in violation of the First Amendment. The jury assessed compensatory damages in the amount of $434,361 for economic loss and $100,000 for noneconomic loss. The jury also assessed punitive damages of $100,000 for the violation of the plaintiff's right to due process of law, and $100,000 for retaliation in violation of the First Amendment. The jury found for the defendant on the plaintiff's claim of sex discrimination.

The Court submitted special interrogatories to the jury to decide fact issues that could relate to the Pickering balancing test the Court would apply later. The jury answered “Yes” to the question: Did the plaintiff's act of lodging a complaint about the defendant's use of religious references in the performance of his judicial duties cause, or could it have caused, disharmony in the workplace at the Nineteenth District Court? The jury answered “No” to the question: Did the plaintiff's activity of lodging a complaint about the defendant's use of religious references in the performance of his judicial duties impair the plaintiff's ability to perform her duties?

The Court entered judgment on June 30, 2011 in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant in the amount of $734,361. On July 8, 2011, the defendant moved for relief from judgment so he could file his motion for judgment as a matter of law. The Court granted the defendant's motion for relief from judgment on October 24, 2011, 2011 WL 5110400, suspending the judgment pending adjudication of the motion requesting relief under Pickering. On July 13, 2011, the plaintiff moved for attorney's fees, and on July 14, 2011, the defendant moved for judgment as a matter of law, stay and remittitur.

II.

The cornerstone of the defendant's argument in favor of a judgment as a matter of law and remittitur is that the plaintiff's First Amendment claim must be dismissed because her workplace complaints about Judge Somers proselytizing from the bench cannot be protected speech. The defendant insists that even if the complaint raised a matter of public concern, the plaintiff's interest in speaking out on those issues did not outweigh her employer's interest in promoting an efficient workplace. The defendant then reasons that if the First Amendment claim is dismissed, then the proofs cannot support the compensatory damage award on the remaining procedural due process violation claim, so the judgment should be remitted to reflect only the punitive damage award on that claim.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a) allows the Court to grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law “[i]f a party has been fully heard on an issue during a jury trial and the court finds that a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the party on that issue.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a)(1). The defendant in this case preserved his right to make such a motion after judgment by moving for such relief after presentation of all the evidence at trial and specifying the same grounds he raises here. SeeFed.R.Civ.P. 50(b); Ford v. Cnty. of Grand Traverse, 535 F.3d 483, 492–93 (6th Cir.2008); Portage II v. Bryant Petrol. Corp., 899 F.2d 1514, 1522 (6th Cir.1990).

The Seventh Amendment to the Constitution provides that “no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.” U.S. Const. Am. VII. Therefore, in reviewing a motion for judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b), the Court must give substantial deference to the jury's verdict. Radvansky v. City of Olmsted Falls, 496 F.3d 609, 614 (6th Cir.2007). “The motion may be granted only if in viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, there is no genuine issue of material fact for the jury, and reasonable minds could come to but one conclusion, in favor of the moving party.” Gray v. Toshiba Am. Consumer Prods., Inc., 263 F.3d 595, 598 (6th Cir.2001) (citing K & T Enters., Inc. v. Zurich Ins. Co., 97 F.3d 171, 174–76 (6th Cir.1996)). “Neither the district court nor the reviewing court may reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of witnesses.” Radvansky, 496 F.3d at 614 (citing Gray, 263 F.3d at 600).

The element of the First Amendment claim challenged by the defendant in the present motion is the plaintiff's protected conduct. “To demonstrate First Amendment protection, a public employee must show (1) that the speech at issue addresses a matter of public concern, and (2) that the employer had no overriding state interest in efficient public service that would be undermined by the speech.” Silberstein v. City of Dayton, 440 F.3d 306, 318 (6th Cir.2006) (citing Pickering, 391 U.S. at 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731). In the prior appeal of this case, the Sixth Circuit has already held that the complaints the plaintiff made touched on a matter of public concern. Pucci, 628 F.3d at 768 (holding that “the nature of Pucci's complaints implicates the propriety and legality of public, incourt judicial conduct, and renders her speech of sufficient public gravity to warrant First Amendment protection”). The defendant's argument focuses on the counterweight component of the balancing test—the overriding state interest in quashing the speech—which, he says, is supported by the jury's answers to the special interrogatories.

“Application of the Pickering balancing test is a matter of law for the court to decide.” Farhat v. Jopke, 370 F.3d 580, 593 (6th Cir.2004) (citing Leary v. Daeschner, 349 F.3d 888, 898 (6th Cir.2003)). However, “there may be some factual questions for a jury.” Id. at 589. As the Eighth Circuit explained, “[a]lthough the court should resolve each of these questions as a matter of law, ‘[a]ny underlying factual disputes concerning whether the plaintiff's speech is protected ... should be submitted to the jury through special interrogatories or special verdict forms.’ ” Washington v. Normandy Fire Protection Dist., 328 F.3d 400, 404 (8th Cir.2003) (quoting Shands v. City of Kennett, 993 F.2d 1337, 1342 (8th Cir.1993)); see also Bennis v. Gable, 823 F.2d 723, 729 & n. 6 (3d Cir.1987). “For example, the jury should decide factual questions such as the nature and substance of the plaintiff's speech activity, and whether the speech created disharmony in the work place. The trial court should then combine the jury's factual findings with its legal conclusions in determining whether the plaintiff's speech is protected.” Shands v. City of Kennett, 993 F.2d 1337, 1342–43 (8th Cir.1993) (citations omitted).

The defendant reasons that it would have been appropriate to suppress the speech because Pucci's complaint caused or could have caused disruption in the workplace, as the jury found. He asserts that the plaintiff's complaints were informal and private, the plaintiff became aware of the defendant's religious references through her role as deputy court administrator, and the relationship between the defendant and Judge Hultgren deteriorated after the defendant was told of the plaintiff's complaint about defendant Somer's conduct, causing a disruption in the workplace. The defendant insists that the Nineteenth District Court had a compelling interest in maintaining morale and the efficiency of public operations, as well as an interest in ensuring that judges operate effectively,...