Ruppert v. LEHIGH CTY.
Decision Date | 19 September 1980 |
Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 80-2479. |
Citation | 496 F. Supp. 954 |
Parties | Warren RUPPERT, Keith D. Mann, and David A. Hemond, adult individuals v. LEHIGH COUNTY, a political subdivision. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Bernard V. O'Hare, Bethlehem, Pa., for plaintiffs.
J. E. Roberts, Sol., Lehigh County, Allentown, Pa., for defendant.
Complaining that defendant Lehigh County impermissibly intruded upon their exercise of First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, plaintiffs, two former and one present county employees, instituted this action to recover lost wages and to obtain reinstatement pendente lite. Additionally, plaintiffs Ruppert and Mann alleged that defendant terminated their employment without notice or an opportunity to be heard; plaintiff Hemond alleged similar constitutional infractions concerning a ten-day suspension he received. Now moving to dismiss, defendant contends that plaintiffs did not have a constitutionally protected property or liberty interest in their employment. Alternatively, defendant argues, even if plaintiffs had a property interest in their employment under the Pennsylvania Public Employees Act of 1970, 43 P.S. § 1101.101 et seq., plaintiffs cannot realize any potential benefits thereunder without adducing an extant collective bargaining agreement as well as exhausting initially unfair labor practice charges with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. 43 P.S. § 1101.1301.
Hoffman v. Montour County, ___ Pa. Cmwlth. at ___, 411 A.2d at 1320. Accordingly, defendant's motion to dismiss ¶¶ 9, 16 and 23 will be granted. See Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). See also Mikkilineni v. United Engineers & Constructors, Inc., 485 F.Supp. 1292 (E.D.Pa.1980), Griesemer v. Retail Store Employees Union, Local 1393, 482 F.Supp. 312 (E.D.Pa.1980) and Dezura v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 470 F.Supp. 121 (E.D.Pa.1979), aff'd, 612 F.2d 571 (3d Cir. 1980) ( ).
In contrast, however, plaintiffs do not need to identify any liberty interest in order to vindicate alleged infractions of their right to free speech. Even if plaintiffs had no constitutional right to continued employment with defendant, they still could not be terminated or suspended for exercising a constitutional right. See Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 92 S.Ct. 2694, 33 L.Ed.2d 570 (1972) and Farkas v. Thornburgh, 493 F.Supp. 1168 (E.D.Pa.1980). Therefore, defendant's motion to dismiss ¶¶ 10, 17 and 24 will be denied.
Finally, defendant also moves for a more definite statement of ¶¶ 10, 17 and 24 of the complaint, in which each plaintiff alleged that "the real reason for his termination or suspension was his exercise of his right to free speech guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution". Defendant complains that these allegations are "unintelligible" and "fail to limit the scope of the lawsuit or define the issue or issues which defendant must meet in the litigation". Defendant's Brief at 8.
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