Rujawitz v. Martin

Decision Date02 April 2009
Docket NumberNo. 08-1625.,08-1625.
PartiesMark RUJAWITZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Timothy MARTIN, former Secretary of the Department of Transportation of the State of Illinois, Defendant-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Jack A. Strellis, Attorney (argued), Strellis, Faulbaum & Field, Waterloo, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Brian F. Barov, Attorney (argued), Office of the Attorney General, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before BAUER, POSNER and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

BAUER, Circuit Judge.

Mark Rujawitz sued Timothy Martin, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that his substantive property right to employment had been violated. The district court granted Martin's motion to dismiss holding that there was no property right present. On appeal, Rujawitz argues that a favorable procedural ruling converted his at-will status to tenure, establishing such a right. For the following reasons, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

For approximately thirteen years, Rujawitz worked for IDOT as a Civil Engineer IV, an at-will position. This run, however, came to a halt on October 27, 2004, when Rujawitz was discharged for unlawful conduct, disruptive conduct and failure to follow a supervisory directive. The termination was prompted by Rujawitz's failure to abide by an injunction, which required him to remain at least 100 feet from his ex-girlfriend, also an IDOT employee.

A disciplinary panel reviewed the discharge and found that although not "totally without fault," Rujawitz did not violate the injunction because the contact with his ex-girlfriend was incidental. The panel also found that Rujawitz's due process was violated because IDOT did not provide sufficient documentation supporting the charges. With these findings, the panel recommended that termination was too severe and that a lesser level of discipline was more appropriate.

Martin concurred with the panel's recommendations and ordered that: (1) Rujawitz be reinstated; (2) the discharge be changed to suspension without pay (including back-pay) for a certain period; and (3) Rujawitz be transferred to a different office.

Rujawitz then brought this civil rights action, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Martin, claiming that his substantive due process right to property was violated when he was denied back-pay and constructively discharged by the transfer. Rujawitz argued that IDOT's decision to utilize the disciplinary panel and Martin's concurrence with the panel's recommendations endowed him with substantive due process rights. Martin moved to dismiss the action; the district court granted Martin's motion, holding that the panel's recommendation and Martin's concurrence did not establish a property right in continued employment, since at most, it reinstated Rujawitz as an at-will employee. The district court also held that no protectable, contractual property interest existed because IDOT's policy manual expressly stated as much and that there was no agreement giving Rujawitz a tenured-employee status.

This timely appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

On appeal, Rujawitz argues that the district court erred in concluding that he had no protected property interest in his continued employment with IDOT and by granting Martin's motion to dismiss his due process claim. Specifically, Rujawitz argues that because IDOT employed the disciplinary panel, which ultimately reversed Rujawitz's discharge, and Martin adopted the panel's recommendation, a substantive property right was established. Our review of a district court's grant of a motion to dismiss is de novo. Andonissamy v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 547 F.3d 841, 847 (7th Cir.2008). When ruling on a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), we accept all well-pleaded allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of Rujawitz. Id.

In order to make his due process claim, Rujawitz must first demonstrate that he had a constitutionally protected property interest. Border v. City of Crystal Lake, 75 F.3d 270, 273 (7th Cir.1996); Moss v. Martin, 473 F.3d 694, 700 (7th Cir.2007) (citations omitted). We look to Illinois law to determine whether he had a substantive property interest in his employment with IDOT. Moss, 473 F.3d at 700. Under Illinois law, a person has a property interest in his job where he has a legitimate expectation of his continued employment based on a legitimate claim of entitlement. Id. (citing Krecek v. Bd. of Police Comm'rs of La Grange Park, 271 Ill.App.3d 418, 207 Ill.Dec. 227, 646 N.E.2d 1314, 1318 (1995)). "To show a legitimate expectation of continued employment, a plaintiff must show a specific ordinance, state law, contract or understanding limiting the ability of the a state or state entity to discharge him." Moss, 473 F.3d at 700 (quoting Krecek, 207 Ill.Dec. 227, 646 N.E.2d at 1318-19).

We begin by stating that there is neither an ordinance, a state law, nor an express employment agreement that would upgrade Rujawitz's status from at-will to tenure. IDOT's policy manual expressly stated that it did not...

To continue reading

Request your trial
153 cases
  • Hamerski v. Belleville Area Special Servs. Coop.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of Illinois
    • March 20, 2018
    ...ordinance, state law, contract or understanding limiting the ability of the state or state entity to discharge him." Rujawitz v. Martin , 561 F.3d 685, 688 (7th Cir. 2009) (quoting Moss , 473 at 700 ; Krecek , 207 Ill.Dec. 227, 646 N.E.2d at 1319 ). In the contracting sense, "the terms of e......
  • In re Jahelka
    • United States
    • U.S. Bankruptcy Court — Northern District of Illinois
    • October 27, 2010
    ...as true all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-movant. Rujawitz v. Martin, 561 F.3d 685, 688 (7th Cir.2009). Wachovia's amended complaint alleges the following facts. Jahelka was president and a shareholder of a small closely-he......
  • Perez v. Astrue
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois
    • July 3, 2012
  • Sellers v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharms., Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of Illinois
    • July 25, 2012
    ...accepts as true all well-pled factual allegations and draws all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor. See Rujawitz v. Martin, 561 F.3d 685, 688 (7th Cir.2009); St. John's United Church of Christ v. City of Chicago, 502 F.3d 616, 625 (7th Cir.2007), cert. denied,553 U.S. 1032, 128 ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT