Richardson v. City of Albuquerque
| Decision Date | 22 September 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-1501,86-1501 |
| Citation | 857 F.2d 727 |
| Parties | 48 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 38,513 Sandra RICHARDSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE, a municipal corporation; Harry Kinney, Mayor of the City of Albuquerque; Frank A. Kleinhenz, Chief Administrative Officer of the City of Albuquerque; Shirley Harris, Director of Personnel Services of the City of Albuquerque; Albuquerque Police Department; E.L. Hansen, Chief of the Albuquerque Police Department; Larry Michalsheck, Director of Training of the Albuquerque Police Academy; William Blankenship, individually and as Lieutenant in the Albuquerque Police Department; Paul T. Williams, individually and as former Director of Training for the Albuquerque Police Academy; Rudy Vigil, individually and as former Administrative Officer of the Albuquerque Police Academy; William Riley, individually and as former Training Sergeant of the Albuquerque Police Academy; Grady Taute, individually and as former Staff Instructor of the Albuquerque Police Academy; and Tom Valdez, individually and as former Class Officer of the Albuquerque Police Academy, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Alice G. Hector of Hector & Associates, P.A., Albuquerque, for plaintiff-appellant.
Judy K. Kelley, Asst. City Atty. (James H. Foley, City Atty., and John W. Pope, Asst. City Atty., with her on the briefs), Albuquerque, N.M., for defendants-appellees.
Before HOLLOWAY, Chief Judge, McWILLIAMS, Senior Circuit Judge, and BRORBY, Circuit Judge.
Sandra Richardson brought claims of sex, age, and handicap discrimination under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 against the City of Albuquerque and defendant police officers arising out of her termination as a police cadet. Richardson further claimed her termination, without notice and hearing, denied her due process in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Richardson also asserted pendent state claims of breach of contract, wrongful discharge, intentional interference with contract, outrageous conduct, and defamation. At the conclusion of Richardson's case, the trial court directed a verdict for the defendants on her due process claim. The jury returned a verdict for the defendants on all other claims.
Richardson asserts on appeal that the trial court erred in denying her motion for a new trial because the jury's verdict for the defendants is against the weight of the evidence. She also asserts the trial court erred in directing a verdict on her due process claim because its ruling ignored her assertion that she had a property interest in her position as a probationary employee. We AFFIRM.
At trial, Richardson presented the following evidence. Richardson was a thirty-nine year old female at the time she applied for admission to the Albuquerque police cadet academy. During the application process, she learned that her uncorrected eyesight did not meet minimum requirements for admission. The City and Richardson entered into an agreement conditioning her admission to the police academy upon her ability to perform all duties with special contact lenses and "[i]f said contacts do not remain attached during all duties or training or Richardson is unable to wear these special lenses for extended periods including all duty or training times, she agrees that she may be immediately terminated."
Richardson also learned that in order to be admitted to the police academy she must pass a state-mandated agility test which included a timed 440-yard run, an obstacle course, a 150-pound body drag, and a car push. For over six months Richardson did personal physical training designed to enable her to pass the agility test. In June 1982, Richardson passed the initial physical agility test and was admitted to the academy class beginning in November.
At the beginning of the academy, all cadets were given a physical fitness test. Cadets who did not perform well were placed in the "fat squad," a remedial training program that met at the end of other regular activities. Richardson was rated "excellent" for aerobic condition, and "fair" for dynamic strength. She was placed on the "fat squad." Nearly all the cadets in Richardson's class were placed on the "fat squad" at some time during the academy. The defendant police instructors yelled at Richardson during physical training and during every run. Instructors told Richardson she was "blind as a bat" and would get people killed. They accused her of having sexual problems with her husband and having a sexual preference for other women. Instructors called her an "old hag," and laughed at remarks that she was older than other cadets' mothers. During physical training, the instructors yelled at Richardson for not doing exercises, although she testified that she was doing the exercise required. The instructors refused to give her credit for exercises which they felt she did incorrectly. During a practice agility test in December, Richardson failed three of the four timed events.
During a boxing match at which Richardson's nose was broken, she lost one of her contact lenses. When she reported this to the instructor, he told her not to worry about it. The instructor then attempted to terminate Richardson based upon breach of her agreement. The chief of police decided she would not be terminated.
Two weeks later, Richardson was removed from class and terminated. She received a disciplinary charge sheet which stated:
Between 11-16-82 and 12-15-82, you failed to adequately complete the entire physical tasks required in your physical training at the Albuquerque Police Academy. Your inability to pass these physical requirements as outlined in the attached documentation is now resulting in your termination, effective immediately.
The attached documentation indicated Richardson had failed to physically improve, constantly fell behind on runs, and failed a physical agility test. Also attached were cadet counseling forms documenting Richardson's inability to perform various physical tasks. During the processing of her termination, Richardson contested the charge sheet's supporting documentation. She stated her inability to progress in running was due to instructors' continual harassment, and the low count on push-ups and sit-ups was due to the instructors refusing to count her exercises.
At trial, Richardson presented testimony of her athletic trainers that she was physically fit at the time she entered the academy. Exercise physiologists testified that the academy training program was not designed to improve cadets' physical performance nor were the levels of expected performance gauged to the individual's sex or age. They also testified on the adverse effect of stress on physical performance.
At trial, the defendants presented the following evidence. The police academy instructors testified that verbal harassment was part of the high-stress training to prepare cadets for real life work on the streets. The purpose of this military-type training was to mold the individuals into one unit. Cadets from Richardson's class testified that they all received harassment like Richardson and that this high level of stress prepared them well for their current duties as police officers. Lieutenant Williams stated that Richardson told him the stress of having to perform physically in the academy was having a negative psychological impact on her performance.
The defendants testified Richardson was terminated solely because she was unable to perform the physical requirements set by the academy. Richardson was unable to perform the same number of sit-ups and push-ups as the rest of the class. She always fell behind during runs, sometimes finishing ten minutes late. Women were not treated differently from men because both had to perform the same job. Defendants testified they were actively recruiting women for the academy. They had no reason to terminate women, because they can perform well in the field. All cadets were required to reach the same level of performance regardless of age. Cadets who were age thirty and forty have graduated from the academy. Just before Richardson was admitted to the academy, the police department removed the age limit, because it had determined older applicants brought more maturity to the job. The defendants also testified they were not happy with Richardson's waiver of the vision requirements, but they did not treat her differently as a result of it. The jury returned a verdict for the defendants on all counts.
Richardson asserts the jury's verdict for the defendants on her claims of sex, age, or handicap discrimination is not supported by substantial evidence. Following trial, Richardson filed a motion for new trial, alleging the verdict for the defendants was against the weight of the evidence. The trial court denied the motion finding the defendants vigorously defended against the plaintiff's claims and the jury could have reasonably concluded the plaintiff failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence her claims of discrimination.
A motion for a new trial made on the ground that the verdict of the jury is against the weight of the evidence normally presents a question of fact and not of law and is addressed to the discretion of the trial court. Black v. Hieb's Enterprises, Inc., 805 F.2d 360, 363 (10th Cir.1986); Brown v. McGraw-Edison Co., 736 F.2d 609, 617 (10th Cir.1984); Harris v. Quinones, 507 F.2d 533, 535 (10th Cir.1974); Community Nat'l Life Ins. Co. v. Parker Square Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 406 F.2d 603, 605 (10th Cir.1969); Champion Home Builders v. Shumate, 388 F.2d 806, 808 (10th Cir.1967). On review, the trial court's decision to deny a motion for new trial will stand absent a showing of a manifest abuse of discretion. Brown, 736 F.2d at 617; Howard D. Jury, Inc. v. R. & G. Sloane Mfg. Co., 666 F.2d 1348, 1352 (10th Cir.1981); Walter v. Warner, 298 F.2d 481, 484 (10th Cir.19...
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