Stoddard v. School Dist. No. 1, Lincoln County, Wyo., s. 77-1418
| Decision Date | 05 January 1979 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 77-1418,77-1419,s. 77-1418 |
| Citation | 590 F.2d 829 |
| Parties | Annabel STODDARD, Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant, v. SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1, LINCOLN COUNTY, WYOMING and Board of Trustees, Walter Brog, L. D. Frome, Rex Bateman, in their official capacity; and J. Dennis Dayton, Principal, in his official capacity; and Carwin H. Linford, Superintendent, in his official capacity; and Joe Deromedis, Roland Johns and J. Dennis Dayton, Individually, Defendants-Appellants-Cross-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Michael H. Gottesman, Washington, D.C. (of Bredhoff, Gottesman, Cohen & Weinberg, David Rubin, Washington, D.C., and Patrick E. Hacker, Cheyenne, Wyo., on the brief), for plaintiff-appellee-cross-appellant.
Dennis L. Sanderson, Kemmerer, for defendants-appellants-cross-appellees.
Before McWILLIAMS, BARRETT and McKAY, Circuit Judges.
Annabel Stoddard, a nontenured teacher in the elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming for the school years of 1973-74 and 1974-75, was denied renewal of her teaching contract for the school year of 1975-76. She later instituted the present action against her former employers, alleging that they had failed to renew her teaching employment for reasons violative of the First and Fourteenth Amendments and of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The named defendants are: (1) School District No. 1, Lincoln County, Wyoming, in which the elementary school in Cokeville, Wyoming is located; (2) the Board of Trustees for School District No. 1, in their official capacity; (3) the school superintendent and the school principal in their official capacities; (4) two members of the Board of Trustees, Joe Deromedis and Roland Johns, who reside in Cokeville, Wyoming, in their individual capacities; and (5) the school principal, J. Dennis Dayton, in his individual capacity.
By answer the defendants alleged, in effect, that Stoddard's contract was not renewed because of teaching deficiencies and that constitutionally impermissible reasons played no part in the Board's decision not to renew her contract of employment.
Trial of the case was to a jury, with both general verdicts and special interrogatories being submitted to the jury for its consideration. One form of general verdict was in favor of all defendants and against the plaintiff.
A second form of general verdict was in favor of the plaintiff and against "the following defendants," who were then classified in six different groupings which the trial court referred to as Groups A through F. Group A was all defendants in their official capacities and defendants Deromedis, Johns and Dayton, individually. Group B was Dayton, individually, and the members of the Board of Trustees and the school superintendent in their official capacities. Group C was the School District, and the Board of Trustees and the school superintendent in their official capacities. Group D was the defendants Deromedis and Johns in their individual capacities, the School District, and the Board of Trustees and the superintendent in their official capacities. Group E was the defendant Dayton as an individual. Group F was the defendants Deromedis and Johns, individually. The jurors were instructed that if they found for the plaintiff, they should place a check mark beside such groups as they unanimously believed were liable to the plaintiff. This form of general verdict also provided appropriate blank spaces for the fixing of compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorney's fees.
As concerns the forms of general verdicts referred to above, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and against those defendants listed in Group C only, namely, the School District, and the members of the Board of Trustees and the school superintendent in their official capacities. Compensatory damages were set at $33,000, punitive damages at $5,000, and attorney's fees at $5,800.
Four special interrogatories were submitted to the jury. The first interrogatory listed nine possible reasons why the School District and its Board of Trustees failed to renew plaintiff's teaching contract, which included all reasons suggested by both the plaintiff's and defendants' evidence, and asked the jury to answer "yes" or "no" as to whether the listed reason was in fact a reason for the nonrenewal of plaintiff's teaching contract. By its answers to this particular interrogatory the jury found that plaintiff's teaching contract was not renewed because of her physical size, lack of church attendance, the location of the house trailer in which she lived, and the conduct of her personal life. By its negative answer to other assigned reasons for nonrenewal, the jury found that plaintiff's status as a divorced person, her nonactivity in community affairs, her alleged lack of classroom discipline, untidiness in the classroom and her teaching methods were not reasons for the nonrenewal of her contract.
By its answer to the second interrogatory the jury found that the School District and its Board of Trustees did Not act in good faith in failing to renew plaintiff's teaching contract for the 1975-76 school years.
By its answer to the third interrogatory the jury found that the individual defendants Deromedis, Johns and Dayton all acted in bad faith and for reasons which were constitutionally impermissible in failing to renew plaintiff's contract.
By its answer to the fourth interrogatory the jury found that the individual defendants Deromedis, Johns and Dayton had not acted maliciously in failing to renew plaintiff's contract.
As indicated, the jury by its general verdict found in favor of the plaintiff and against the School District, the Board of Trustees and the school superintendent in their official capacities (Group C), which group did Not include the defendants Deromedis, Johns and Dayton in their individual capacities. In this latter regard the trial judge noted that notwithstanding the fact that by their general verdict the jury had declined to return a verdict against Deromedis, Johns and Dayton in their individual capacities, the jury at the same time had by its answer to the third interrogatory found that the three individuals had acted in bad faith and for reasons which were constitutionally impermissible in failing to renew the plaintiff's teaching contract. Acting pursuant to the provisions of Fed.R.Civ.P. 49(b), the trial court determined that the answers to the special interrogatories justified the entry of judgment against Deromedis, Johns and Dayton in their individual capacities, notwithstanding the general verdict. The trial court thereupon entered judgment in favor of the plaintiff against the School District, the members of the District's Board of Trustees, the school superintendent, all in their official capacities, and against Deromedis, Johns and Dayton in their individual capacities, in the sum of $33,000 as compensatory damages, $5,000 as punitive damages, and $5,800 as attorney's fees.
The defendants later filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or, in the alternative, a motion for a new trial. The latter motion was denied. The motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict was granted in part, and denied in part. Specifically, the trial court held that the School District was not a "person" within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and accordingly vacated the judgment which had previously been entered against the District. The trial court additionally held that inasmuch as the jury had found that Deromedis, Johns and Dayton had acted without malice, punitive damages and attorney's fees were not proper, and that part of the earlier judgment awarding punitive damages and attorney's fees was set aside. The judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the members of the Board of Trustees and the school superintendent in their official capacities, and against Deromedis, Johns and Dayton, in their individual capacities, in the sum of $33,000 was allowed to stand. From that amended judgment the defendants filed a notice of appeal, and the plaintiff filed a cross-appeal.
The Appeal (No. 77-1418)
The appellants are those defendants against whom final judgment was entered, namely, the members of the Board of Trustees and the school superintendent in their official capacities, and two members of the Board of Trustees, Deromedis and Johns, and Dayton, the school principal, in their individual capacities. The School District itself is not an appellant as the judgment initially entered against it was later set aside on the ground that it was not a "person" within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
A brief statement of the background facts may bring this controversy into focus. Plaintiff is a divorced woman with custody of her four minor children. When her husband left her, after eleven years of marriage, she borrowed money to attend college and to obtain a teaching degree. She graduated from college in 1972, and did graduate work the following year, all in the field of education.
In the spring of 1973 she sought employment from School District No. 1, Lincoln County, Wyoming, to teach in Cokeville, Wyoming, an isolated community of some four to five hundred people. Approximately 60% Of Cokeville's population are members of the Latter Day Saints faith, as is the plaintiff. Plaintiff was hired to teach third grade under a one-year contract covering 1973-74.
Stoddard was unable to find housing in Cokeville, so she and her four children lived in a mobile home placed on a trailer park on the main street of town. Her teaching performance for the year 1973-74 was rated satisfactory and she was rehired by the District for the year 1974-75. Her teaching performance for that year was also rated generally satisfactory, although there was some concern over lack of discipline in her classroom. The latter was excused on the ground that, at the time, plaintiff was about to undergo surgery. No letter or...
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