Swanson v. Oldenburger
| Decision Date | 21 September 2022 |
| Docket Number | 21-1176 |
| Parties | STEPHEN J. SWANSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GARY OLDENBURGER, WAPELLO COUNTY ATTORNEY, and WAPELLO COUNTY, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | Iowa Court of Appeals |
STEPHEN J. SWANSON, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
GARY OLDENBURGER, WAPELLO COUNTY ATTORNEY, and WAPELLO COUNTY, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 21-1176
Court of Appeals of Iowa
September 21, 2022
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, John G. Linn, Judge.
Stephen Swanson appeals the grant of summary judgment for the defendants on claims related to disclosing information in his personnel record. AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.
Matthew B. Moore of The Law Offices of Matthew B. Moore, PLLC, Oskaloosa, for appellant.
David E. Schrock and Rachael D. Neff of Smith Mills Schrock Blades P.C., Cedar Rapids, for appellees.
Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Chicchelly, JJ.
CHICCHELLY, Judge.
Stephen Swanson sued Wapello County Attorney Gary Oldenburger and Wapello County following the disclosure of information about his employment, alleging the disclosure violated Iowa's open record laws, prevented him from obtaining other employment, and defamed him. He appeals the order granting summary judgment for the defendants on each claim. Swanson contends the district court erred in applying Iowa Code section 22.7(11)(a)(5) (2016)[1] to his open-records claims. As for his blacklisting claims, Swanson contends the court erred by determining that section 730.1 cannot be the basis for a civil lawsuit against Oldenburger as an individual and that Oldenburger's acts did not create liability for the county. Finally, Swanson contends the court erred by finding he failed to raise a question of fact on whether any of Oldenburger's statements were false and made with actual malice to support his defamation claims.
We affirm the district court on the grant of summary judgment on Swanson's blacklisting and defamation claims. But because the disclosure of Swanson's personnel records was impermissible under Iowa Code chapter 22, we reverse the grant of summary judgment on Swanson's open-records claim and remand for further proceedings.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings.
Swanson was employed by Wapello County as an assistant county attorney for about six years. During that time, he received several warnings for failure to satisfactorily resolve cases. Lisa Holl, Oldenburger's predecessor, gave Swanson
a written reprimand in 2012 and suspended him for one week without pay in 2014. In 2015, Oldenburger emailed Swanson about his failure to resolve cases within one year before issuing a four-page letter of reprimand. A second email followed the reprimand.
When Swanson continued to have problems with case resolution one year later, Oldenburger gave Swanson a choice: resign from employment or be terminated. Oldenburger drafted a notice of termination that summarized the past disciplinary actions and Swanson's continued difficulties with case resolution that led to dismissals for failure to prosecute. Oldenburger signed and dated the notice on November 28, 2016. Swanson's signature of acknowledgment is absent from the document as Swanson opted to resign instead. His effective date of resignation was December 23, 2016.
In 2018, Swanson ran for Boone County Attorney against the incumbent, Dan Kolacia. Believing that Swanson was unfairly campaigning against him, Kolacia asked Oldenburger if he had any documents to help in his bid for reelection. Oldenburger told Kolacia "there may be stuff," but he would only give Kolacia "what was allowed under chapter 22." Oldenburger said, "So if you made the request under chapter 22, I would have to comply, but that's all I can do for you." Shortly after their conversation, Kolacia submitted to Oldenburger a request for information under Iowa Code chapter 22. He asked for "the opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of public records that pertain to all reprimands, reprisals, performance reviews, and letters concerning Stephen Swanson's employment." In response, Oldenburger emailed Kolacia the termination notice he had prepared, noting that Swanson "resigned in lieu of termination." Oldenburger's email states,
"I believe this is the only document I can release pursuant to Chapter 22, as this is the only document which shows the reasons and rationale for his resignation."
In August 2018, a reporter for the Des Moines Register contacted Oldenburger for information about Swanson's employment with the county attorney's office. The reporter asked Oldenburger if he could "confirm whether this Nov. 28, 2016 letter that you signed did in fact result in the termination of Mr. Stephen Swanson." He also asked for a list of cases dismissed because of Swanson's failure to meet deadlines. Oldenburger replied, "I can confirm that this letter was provided to Mr. Swanson, along with a resignation letter. Mr. Swanson as a result did resign in lieu of termination ...." But he explained that listing the dismissed cases would be "pretty challenging" because of the time and cost it would entail. The reporter followed up by asking about the discrepancy in date of termination listed in the termination notice (December 1) and the date on which Swanson's resignation became effective (December 23). Oldenburger answered, "I offered Mr. Swanson the opportunity to resign in lieu of being terminated, and he asked for more time and chose a date just before Christmas, which I agreed to."
On August 13, the Des Moines Register published the reporter's article about Swanson under the headline, "Tardy Lawyer Runs for Office."[2]
Nine days after Register published the article, Swanson sued, alleging that Oldenburger and Wapello County[3] violated Iowa Code chapter 22 by releasing
confidential personnel records. He claimed they also prevented...
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