Scott v. Godwin

• Citation: 147 S.W.3d 609
• Decision Date: 31 August 2004
• Docket Number: No. 13-02-096-CV.,13-02-096-CV.
• Parties: Wayne SCOTT and Gary Johnson, Appellants, v. Charles GODWIN, Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas

147 S.W.3d 609

Wayne SCOTT and Gary Johnson, Appellants, v. Charles GODWIN, Appellee.

No. 13-02-096-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Corpus Christi-Edinburg.

August 31, 2004.

Demetri Anastasiadis, Austin, for Appellants.

Kathleen L. Day, Corpus Christi, for Appellee.

Before Justices HINOJOSA, YAÑEZ, and CASTILLO.

OPINION

Opinion by Justice YAÑEZ.

Appellants, Wayne Scott and Gary Johnson, bring this interlocutory appeal from the trial court's orders denying their motions for summary judgment. Charles Godwin, appellee and cross-appellant, filed suit against appellants in their individual capacities alleging First Amendment violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and against cross-appellee, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ("TDCJ"), alleging violation of the Whistleblower Act. Appellants each moved for summary judgment, contending they were protected by qualified immunity. TDCJ filed a plea to the jurisdiction in the trial court. The trial court denied both motions for summary judgment and sustained TDCJ's plea to the jurisdiction. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

A. BACKGROUND

Charles Godwin was the Director of Training for the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ("TDCJ-ID") from July 1994 to March 2000. In this capacity, he was responsible for supervising the training of over 125,000 correctional officers.

In the Spring of 1999, Gary Johnson, the Director of TDCJ-ID, Edward Owens, the Deputy Director for Support Services and Godwin's immediate supervisor, and Godwin met to discuss the creation of a committee to overhaul the TDCJ-ID Training Department after: (1) the TDCJ-ID administration determined that the morale in the Training Department was low; (2) the Training Department had difficulty recruiting training sergeants; (3) an internal audit concluded that the Training Academy underutilized its existing staff and recommended a job staffing analysis; and (4) Godwin complained that he did not have enough training staff. The committee, comprised of people from a number of different departments within the agency, examined ways to enhance training to improve the safety of staff, offenders, and the public. The committee issued a draft report that summarized its findings and scheduled a meeting for January 12, 2000 to finalize recommendations to be submitted to the TDCJ-ID administration for review, approval, and possible implementation.

In December 1999, correctional officer Daniel Nagle was killed during an inmate takeover at the McConnell Unit in Beeville, Texas. In response to this incident, TDCJ officials advised the public that there was "no threat to security" and "no threat to officer safety and offender safety." Godwin strongly disagreed with these statements and wrote a letter to then Governor George W. Bush on January 12, 2000, communicating his belief that the incidents at the McConnell Unit were the direct result of dangerous trends in security over the past several years, as a result of misuse of public funds, malfeasance, and corruption. On January 14, 2000, the Corpus Christi Caller Times printed a story with the headline "Prison Officials Should Resign, Training Chief Says." In this article, Godwin called for the resignation of TDCJ's administrators and the members of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. On February 7, 2000, Godwin wrote a letter reiterating his complaints to Ronnie Earle, the Travis County District Attorney, and sent copies of this letter to the State Auditor, United States District Judge William Wayne Justice, and Godwin's attorney. On February 28, 2000, Godwin sent a letter to the members of the Texas Legislature outlining his concerns for correctional officer safety.

In March 2000, Mac Stringfellow, the Chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, requested a performance review of Godwin from Wayne Scott, TDCJ's Executive Director. On March 10, 2000, Scott, based on the recommendations of Gary Johnson and Edward Owens, transferred Godwin from his position as Director of Training to a newly created position of Director of the Job Development Network at TDCJ, with no loss of pay or benefits.

Godwin filed suit against appellants in their individual capacities, alleging First Amendment violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Appellants each moved for summary judgment, contending they were protected by qualified immunity. The trial court denied both motions. Godwin also filed suit against the TDCJ alleging violation of the Texas Whistleblower Act. TDCJ filed a Plea to the Jurisdiction which the trial court sustained. From these orders, both appellants and Godwin appeal.

B. JURISDICTION

Generally, we do not have jurisdiction over appeals from interlocutory orders because under Texas procedure, appeals are allowed only from final orders or judgments. Jack B. Anglin Co. v. Tipps, 842 S.W.2d 266, 272 (Tex.1992). Unless a statute specifically authorizes an interlocutory appeal, Texas appellate courts have jurisdiction only over final judgments. Cherokee Water Co. v. Ross, 698 S.W.2d 363, 365 (Tex.1985) (orig.proceeding).

Section 51.014(a)(5) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code expressly allows for an appeal from an order that denies a motion for summary judgment that is based on an assertion of immunity by an individual who is an officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(5) (Vernon Supp.2004). Section 51.014(a)(8) allows for an appeal from an order that grants or denies a plea to the jurisdiction by a governmental unit. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(8) (Vernon Supp.2004). Thus, because appellants, TDCJ employees, base their motion for summary judgment on immunity, and the TDCJ is a governmental unit, we have jurisdiction over this interlocutory appeal. See Mission Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Flores, 39 S.W.3d 674, 675 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.); City of Harlingen v. Vega, 951 S.W.2d 25, 27 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1997, no writ).

C. SUMMARY JUDGMENT BASED ON QUALIFIED IMMUNITY

Summary judgment for a defendant is proper only when the defendant negates at least one element of each of the plaintiff's theories of recovery, Science Spectrum, Inc. v. Martinez, 941 S.W.2d 910, 911 (Tex.1997), or pleads and conclusively establishes each element of an affirmative defense. City of Houston v. Clear Creek Basin Auth., 589 S.W.2d 671, 678 (Tex.1979). When reviewing a summary judgment, we take as true all evidence favorable to the nonmovant and indulge every reasonable inference in the nonmovant's favor. Am. Tobacco Co. v. Grinnell, 951 S.W.2d 420, 425 (Tex.1997).

When federal claims are litigated in state court, litigants are entitled to the full benefit of federal law. Lewis v. Guerrero, 978 S.W.2d 689, 692 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1998, no pet.).

The question of qualified immunity must be addressed as a threshold issue because this issue determines a defendant's immunity from suit, that is, his or her ability to avoid a trial altogether, rather than merely his or her immunity from damages. Brewer v. Wilkinson, 3 F.3d 816, 820 (5th Cir.1993). Qualified immunity is an immunity from suit available to government officials sued in their individual capacities under section 1983.¹ Scott v. Britton, 16 S.W.3d 173, 180 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2000, no pet.); Lewis, 978 S.W.2d at 693; see also Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 166, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993). Government officials performing discretionary functions have qualified immunity from liability for actions that do not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603, 614, 119 S.Ct. 1692, 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999); Scott, 16 S.W.3d at 180. Once the defendant official pleads good faith and demonstrates that the challenged actions occurred in the context of discretionary authority, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to rebut this defense. See Carrera v. Yepez, 6 S.W.3d 654, 661 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1999, pet. dism'd w.o.j.); see also Haynes v. City of Beaumont, 35 S.W.3d 166, 176 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2000, no pet.).

When a defendant has moved for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, a plaintiff must present concrete evidence to support the allegation of retaliation to survive the motion. Gerhart v. Hayes, 201 F.3d 646, 650 (5th Cir.2000). In conducting a qualified immunity analysis, the reviewing court first determines whether the plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right. See Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 231, 111 S.Ct. 1789, 114 L.Ed.2d 277 (1991); Wooley v. City of Baton Rouge, 211 F.3d 913, 919 (5th Cir.2000). If the court determines that the plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right, the next step is to determine whether the official's conduct was objectively reasonable at the time of the incident. Sanchez v. Swyden, 139 F.3d 464, 467 (5th Cir.1998); Mangieri v. Clifton, 29 F.3d 1012, 1016 (5th Cir.1994).

In the instant case, both Scott and Johnson asserted the defense of qualified immunity in their respective motions for summary judgment. It is undisputed that each was a governmental official. The summary judgment evidence established that Johnson's decision to recommend a transfer and Scott's decision to transfer Godwin involved the exercise of discretion. As such, the burden shifts to Godwin to rebut Scott and Johnson's qualified immunity defense.

1. Clearly Established Right

Our first inquiry is whether the law was clearly established in 2000 that transferring or demoting an employee following the publication of allegations involving official misconduct would violate the employee's First Amendment rights to free speech." `Clearly established' for purposes of qualified immunity means that [t]he contours of the right must...