Springer v. Seaman

• Decision Date: 16 June 1987
• Docket Number: No. 86-1809,86-1809
• Citation: 821 F.2d 871
• Parties: 43 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 37,162, 55 USLW 2694 Beresford N. SPRINGER, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. Gretchen SEAMAN, et al., Defendants, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 871

821 F.2d 871

43 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 37,162, 55 USLW 2694

Beresford N. SPRINGER, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. Gretchen SEAMAN, et al., Defendants, Appellees.

No. 86-1809.

United States Court of Appeals,

First Circuit.

Argued Jan. 7, 1987.

Decided June 16, 1987.

Harold L. Lichten, Portland, Me., with whom Angoff, Goldman, Manning, Pyle, Wanger & Hiatt, P.C., Boston, Mass., was on brief, for plaintiff, appellant.

Theodore H. Kirchner, Portland, Me., for Michael Seaman.

Paula D. Silsby, Asst. U.S. Atty., with whom Richard S. Cohen, U.S. Atty., Portland, Me., was on brief, for Gretchen Seaman, Dorothy McGlincey and U.S. Postal Service.

Before COFFIN, Circuit Judge, ROSENN, ^* Senior Circuit Judge, and SELYA, Circuit Judge.

ROSENN, Senior Circuit Judge.

Beresford Nelson Springer (Springer), an independent contract postal carrier, alleges that the United States Postal Service (Postal Service) terminated his contract on May 21, 1985, as a result of an improper investigation instigated by the racially motivated misconduct of the individual defendants, Dorothy McGlincey, Postmaster of the Town of West Newfield; her son, Michael Seaman, a town selectman; and her daughter-in-law, Gretchen Seaman, a postal employee. Springer sued these individuals and the Postal Service for violations of 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1981, 1985, 1986, and 2000d, and the fifth and fourteenth amendments. The district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment because it concluded that the individual defendants' actions were not the proximate cause of Springer's dismissal and that the Postal Service had not acted improperly. ¹ Springer had sought to discover Postal Service documents relating to its investigatory procedure. The district court denied this motion.

Springer appeals both from the grant of summary judgment and from the order denying discovery. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

I.

Springer is a black man living in rural Maine with his wife Debra, who is white, and their three children. For over ten years, Springer worked as a contract mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. He had a perfect work record, and the people on his route regarded him highly, many of them signing petitions for his reinstatement and writing letters on his behalf after his contract was terminated. No one on his mail route had ever made any complaint through his long term of carrier service.

In 1981, the Postal Service discontinued its interstate carrier system. Springer was assigned to work out of the West Newfield, Maine Post Office. The new postmaster, Dorothy McGlincey, hired her daughter-in-law, Gretchen Seaman (Gretchen), as the postal clerk. McGlincey's son, Michael Seaman (Michael), was a selectman for the town, and was otherwise unemployed.

There was a great deal of evidence that these three were racially biased against Springer and that Michael Seaman wanted Springer's job for himself. After Springer's termination, Michael telephoned a postal inspector, stating that he had been instrumental in having a letter of complaint written by the board of selectmen to the postmaster general and that he was interested in getting Springer's job. Witnesses testified that Michael had stated that "he didn't like Nelson (Springer) because Nelson's a colored guy ... married to a white woman, and he don't like that. He says, 'I don't care for them salt and peppers. Let's get him out of town,' " and "the nigger in the post office has got to go." Other witnesses testified that Gretchen had called Springer a "black bastard" and had said "it's bad enough I have to work with that nigger bastard." The Springers' child testified that the Seamans' child had told him "My mother says black people are to be owned and not to work. Your father is stupid; black people are all stupid and that is why my mother got your father's job." Another witness testified that Gretchen had said, "I'm going to get Nelson. I'm going to get him out of this post office." Although it was not part of her job to do so, Gretchen began in 1983 to keep a secret file on Springer, apparently containing fabricated complaints and allegations.

In December 1984, Springer signed for a certified letter sent to Karen Ring, a patron on his route, who was not at home. Springer states that he understood that he had been given permission to do so by the Rings, and apparently this was true at least on a prior occasion, if not as a continuing matter. The Rings did not file a complaint; Mrs. Ring said, "I figured [it was done] for my benefit so I didn't have to go to the post office to pick up the letter." Gretchen reported the incident to Michael, who told the other selectmen about it, adding falsely that this had happened before, and that the Rings were very upset. ²

Michael undertook to draft a letter from the selectmen to the officials of the Postal Service whose names were apparently supplied by Gretchen and McGlincey, complaining of Springer's allegedly dishonest carrying of the mail. The letter was signed by the chairman, but the initials "MS/rrj" appear in the corner. The town selectmen never contacted Springer or the Rings about the matter. Shortly thereafter, McGlincey called the Postal Service to complain about Springer, and Gretchen wrote a letter of complaint containing numerous apparently unfounded allegations including reckless driving and mishandling of mail and food stamps and suggestions of drunkenness and low character.

The Postal Service assigned the matter to Inspector R.J. Moreland. Moreland did not attempt to verify the allegations against Springer, but instead decided to test Springer's honesty with undeliverable mail containing small items of value.

On January 14, 1985, Moreland sent to McGlincey five fictitiously addressed letters containing money or redeemable coupons which McGlincey was to give to Springer to attempt to deliver. The expectation was that the letters, if not deliverable, would be returned to McGlincey, who would then return them to the Postal Service. At the time, Moreland did not know that McGlincey was related to Michael Seaman, the person who wrote the original letter of complaint, or that McGlincey was related to Gretchen Seaman, the other person who filed the complaint against Springer.

The five letters were put into Springer's delivery mail on January 15. Springer returned each of the five undeliverable letters, including those containing money, when he came back at the end of the day to the West Newfield post office, where he found two U.S. Postal Service inspectors waiting. Springer signed a waiver of his Miranda rights and was interrogated by the inspectors for about an hour concerning his mail delivery practices. When Springer left the post office, the five letters, the inspectors, and McGlincey were still there.

Moreland called McGlincey the next day to confirm that she was sending back the five letters that Springer had returned. He also stated that since everything was returned, he assumed that Springer was honest and the whole matter would be closed. McGlincey, however, then informed Moreland that only two of the five letters remained in the post office, and that the other three had disappeared. Indisputedly, Springer did not have a key that would give him access to the inner post office, where the letters were, once he left; McGlincey, however, did have a key to the inner office, as did Gretchen. McGlincey remained at the post office after the inspectors and Springer left. McGlincey usually took the post office trash bag to the town dump every week. Springer's wife, Debra, and her mother were among those who habitually scavenged the West Newfield town dump, especially the weekly trash from the Postal Service, to find free coupons, free samples, magazines, offers, and so forth.

Moreland did nothing further about the Springer investigation until several months later when one of the coupons in question was returned to the Postal Service bearing the signature of Janet Perkins, Debra Springer's mother. Springer claims that Debra found this coupon in the town dump trash bag and gave it to her mother, who in turn cashed the coupon and received five dollars. In April and May several more test letters were placed in Springer's mail. One letter mailed April 8, 1985, contained a $5 bearer coupon and a return postcard offering a $3.98 pen and pencil set. The bearer coupon was sent in endorsed by Debra Springer, and the postcard was returned and filled out by the plaintiff himself.

On May 15 the inspectors returned to the West Newfield Post Office, requested that Springer sign a waiver of his Miranda rights, and interrogated him for over three hours. Eventually, Springer claims, the inspectors suggested that they would criminally prosecute his mother-in-law and involve his wife and children if he did not cooperate. Springer was concerned about his mother-in-law, who was ill, and also about the effect of a criminal prosecution on his son's chances for the scholarship to Dartmouth College he was seeking. Springer wrote out a confession, which he testified had been dictated to him by the inspectors, and signed it.

The details of the investigation and the confession were forwarded to Paul Vogel, manager of the Transportation Management Office, who was the only person authorized to terminate Springer's contract. He stated that based upon Springer's signed confession and "upon the findings of an investigation conducted by the Postal Service inspection and not upon any decision or recommendation of the Postmaster of West Newfield, Maine or any other employee at that Post Office acting on her behalf," he terminated Springer's contract. A grand jury, however, reviewed the evidence and declined to indict Springer.

In 1985, Springer filed his complaint. During discovery, Springer requested production of Postal Service documents relating to rules for carrier investigations. The district court denied the request for discovery, finding that Springer...