Robinson v. Egnor

• Decision Date: 22 November 1988
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 88-0380-A.
• Citation: 699 F. Supp. 1207
• Parties: Catherine ROBINSON, Plaintiff, v. Jack EGNOR, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia

699 F. Supp. 1207

Catherine ROBINSON, Plaintiff, v. Jack EGNOR, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 88-0380-A.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Alexandria Division.

November 22, 1988.

Diane C. Gravis, Falls Church, Va., for plaintiff.

Paula Newett, Asst. U.S. Atty., Alexandria, Va., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ELLIS, District Judge.

Introduction

This defamation suit raises personal jurisdiction and immunity issues, the latter ultimately proving dispositive. Specifically, plaintiff Catherine Robinson, a United States Marshals Service employee and a Virginia citizen, claims Defendant Jack Egnor, United States Marshal for Colorado and a Colorado citizen, defamed her character in several telephone calls he made to persons in Illinois and Virginia. Egnor, in response, argues that this Court's exercise of personal jurisdiction over him is statutorily and constitutionally inappropriate. He asks, therefore, that Robinson's case be dismissed or that it be transferred to the District of Colorado.¹ In the alternative, Egnor moves for Summary Judgment, claiming he is entitled to absolute immunity.

This matter is before the Court on defendant's motion to dismiss, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2), Fed.R.Civ.P., for lack of personal jurisdiction and defendant's motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment on the ground of absolute immunity. The parties argued the motions orally and the Court took the matter under advisement pending submission of answers to interrogatories pertinent to the issues raised by the motions. While the record, not surprisingly, discloses some disputed facts as to the alleged defamation, these disputes do not affect resolution of the personal jurisdiction or immunity issues. For the reasons stated herein, the Court concludes that personal jurisdiction over Egnor is appropriate, but that Egnor is entitled to immunity. It therefore grants Egnor's motion for summary judgment.

Facts

Robinson is Program Manager for the Court Security Division of the United States Marshals Service. She works at Marshals Service Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.² Robinson is responsible for hiring and supervising approximately 1,200 Court Security Officers ("CSOs"). CSOs help protect the federal judiciary in the United States' ninety-three judicial districts.³ They are hired from independent security companies. Robinson develops criteria for the selection and training of CSOs and reviews contract proposals submitted by security companies offering to furnish CSOs. Robinson also serves as a liaison between the Marshals Service and the security companies.

Among the contractors plaintiff deals with on a regular basis is Aegis Services, Ltd. ("Aegis"). Headquartered in Chicago, Aegis is the private security guard company the government selected to provide CSOs for the District of Colorado. James Griffiths, who works in Chicago, is Aegis' administrative manager for the Denver security contract. Donald Woods is Aegis' on-site supervisor for CSOs in Denver. Griffiths is Woods' supervisor. Robinson's duties include evaluating the performance of Aegis employees, including Woods, and discussing their status with Aegis administrators.

Defendant Egnor has served as United States Marshal for the District of Colorado since March 9, 1987. In that capacity, Egnor is responsible, inter alia, for security at the U.S. Courthouse in Denver, Colorado. Prior to the incidents complained of here, Egnor had encountered continuing administrative problems with respect to Aegis' contract performance. These problems related to the inability of Woods and Marshals Service employees to work together. On February 8, 1988, Woods and a supervisory Deputy Marshal had a disagreement about the physical placement of guards inside the courthouse. The Deputy Marshal informed his immediate superior, Chief Deputy United States Marshal Charles Papaccio, of this disagreement. On February 11, 1988, Papaccio telephoned Robinson in Virginia to report the problem and to seek her advice.

According to Egnor, on February 11, 1988 — the same day as Papaccio's phone call to Robinson — a CSO in Denver told a Deputy Marshal there that Robinson had attempted to contact Woods about Papaccio's complaints. Such communications, if they occurred, would be highly unusual. This CSO also stated that Robinson and Woods were involved in a dating relationship. The Deputy Marshal told Papaccio the substance of his conversation with the CSO. Papaccio, in turn, told Egnor.

In response to these allegations, Egnor telephoned Griffiths in Chicago. He told Griffiths that the Marshals' office in Denver was having problems with Woods. He also told Griffiths that he had heard that Woods and Robinson had a dating relationship. In Egnor's view, this allegation, if true, would present a conflict of interest. According to Griffiths, Egnor told him that the relationship between Robinson and Woods was intimate. Griffiths claims he informed Egnor that, to his knowledge, Robinson and Woods had only met once, and Woods had only infrequent telephone conversations with Robinson. Griffiths claims that Egnor nonetheless insisted that Woods and Robinson had an intimate relationship. The next morning, Egnor called Griffiths again and said he was going to speak with Robinson's superiors about the potential conflict of interest. That same day, Egnor called Ralph Zurita, Chief of the Court Security Division and Robinson's immediate superior, at Marshals Service Headquarters. During this phone conversation, Egnor told Zurita of the allegation that Robinson was intimately involved with Woods. Egnor told Zurita that, if true, this situation would present a conflict of interest for Robinson. Zurita investigated the allegation, concluded it was unfounded and called Egnor to report this. Robinson claims that Egnor's telephone calls to Griffiths and Zurita were defamatory.

Pertinent to the threshold jurisdictional issue are the number and nature of Egnor's Virginia contacts. They are, for clarity, enumerated below:

(1) Egnor has twice visited Virginia on Marshals Service business. In April 1987, Egnor visited Virginia for a two-day orientation meeting for new Marshals. In October 1987, Egnor spent two days in Virginia attending the Marshals Service Awards Ceremony. During his second visit to Virginia, Egnor met with Zurita;

(2) During his nineteen month tenure as Marshal, Egnor estimates he has written or telephoned one or another of the twenty-four Marshals Service departments in Virginia once or twice per month.⁴ These contacts are in addition to those giving rise to this action and in addition to those specifically identified in the remaining numbered paragraphs here. In approximate quantitative terms, therefore, it appears that Egnor has had, over the nineteen month period, at least fifty contacts with the Marshal Service's Virginia headquarters:

(3) Egnor has spoken by telephone with employees of the Court Security Division in Virginia six times;

(4) Egnor has sent two letters to the Court Security Division in Virginia;

(5) Egnor has spoken by telephone with John Twomey, Deputy Director of the Marshals Service in Virginia, either three or four times;

(6) Egnor has spoken by telephone several times with Joseph Lazar in the Marshals Service Office of General Counsel located at the Virginia Headquarters;

(7) Egnor has also spoken once or twice by telephone with Lawrence Dieffenback of the United States Marshals Service in Virginia;

(8) Egnor has spoken with Robinson once, on January 10, 1988. On February 4, 1988, Egnor followed up this conversation with a memorandum mailed to Robinson in Virginia.

In a more general sense, it is worth noting that while Egnor exercises some independence in directing his Colorado office, he follows the policies set by Headquarters, uses its support services and generally cooperates with Headquarters in the management of his Colorado personnel. Headquarters in Virginia also handles the hiring and dismissal of deputy marshals in Colorado and elsewhere. Finally, Egnor also works with Headquarters on various financial matters, including Headquarters' allocations for the payment of overtime and travel expenses for deputy marshals.

Analysis

A. Personal Jurisdiction

Personal jurisdiction analysis is a two-step process: First, this Court must determine whether the Virginia long-arm statute authorizes the exercise of personal jurisdiction. Put another way, the question is whether the statute's terms reach the defendant. Second, if the statutory requirements are met, this Court must then determine whether the assertion of personal jurisdiction comports with the Due Process Clause. In other words, the inquiry in the second step is whether the statute's reach in this instance exceeds its constitutional grasp. See Blue Ridge Bank v. Veribanc, 755 F.2d 371, 373 (4th Cir.1985); Peanut Corporation of America v. Hollywood Brands, Inc., 696 F.2d 311, 313 (4th Cir.1982) (citing Haynes v. James H. Carr, Inc., 427 F.2d 700, 703 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 942, 91 S.Ct. 238, 27 L.Ed. 2d 245 (1970)); Eastern Scientific Marketing v. Tekna-Seal, Inc., 696 F.Supp. 173 (E.D.Va.1988). Robinson bears the burden of demonstrating jurisdiction once the existence of personal jurisdiction has been questioned. McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 298 U.S. 178, 182, 56 S.Ct. 780, 782, 80 L.Ed. 1135 (1936); Haynes, 427 F.2d at 704.

Robinson claims Subsection A(4) of Virginia's long-arm reaches Egnor here. That subsection provides:

A. A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person, who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action arising from the person's:

. . . . .

4. Causing tortious injury in this Commonwealth by an act or omission outside this Commonwealth if he regularly does or solicits business, or engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered, in Virginia.

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