Taylor v. City of Gadsden, an Ala. Mun. Corp.

• Decision Date: 29 July 2013
• Docket Number: Case No. 4:11–CV–3336–VEH.
• Citation: 958 F.Supp.2d 1287
• Parties: Joe TAYLOR, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF GADSDEN, an Alabama Municipal Corporation, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

958 F.Supp.2d 1287

Joe TAYLOR, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.CITY OF GADSDEN, an Alabama Municipal Corporation, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 4:11–CV–3336–VEH.

United States District Court,

N.D. Alabama,

Middle Division.

July 29, 2013.

Raymond P. Fitzpatrick, Jr., Fitzpatrick & Brown LLP, Birmingham, AL, for Plaintiffs.

H. Edgar Howard, Ford Howard & Cornett PC, Gadsden, AL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

VIRGINIA EMERSON HOPKINS, District Judge.

Joe Taylor, Jeff Mayben, Lecil Harrelson, Jeff Morris, John A. Calvert, David Putman, and Derreck Sherrill are firefighters employed by the City of Gadsden (“the City”). They filed this putative class action lawsuit against the City and Gadsden Mayor, Sherman Guyton, in his official capacity. The complaint alleges that mandatory increases to their required pension contributions, imposed by a recent act of the Alabama Legislature, and resolutions of the City, violate Article I, section 10 of the U.S. Constitution and Section 22 of the Alabama Constitution. (Doc. 1, p. 1.) ¹

This case comes before the court on the cross motions for summary judgment filed by the defendants (doc. 46) and the plaintiffs (doc. 48). Also before the court is the plaintiffs' motion to strike certain evidence which was submitted in support of the defendants' motion for summary judgment. (Doc. 56.) Finally, although not set out as separate motions to strike, each party has “denied” many factual statements offered by the other in support of the motions for summary judgment. Because most of these denials actually dispute the admissibility of the evidence offered in support of the fact, the court includes a section of this opinion treating those denials also as motions to strike.

For the reasons stated herein, the plaintiffs' motion to strike will be GRANTED. The individual denials of facts will be ruled on as noted herein. Finally, the defendants' motion for summary judgment will be GRANTED, and the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment will be DENIED.

I. STANDARDSA. Motion to Strike

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) provides that “[t]he court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter....” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(f). A key limitation in Rule 12(f) is the phrase, “from a pleading.” Rule 7(a) lists the pleadings which are allowed in federal court. Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(a). This list does not include a party's brief in support of a motion, nor does it include an affidavit or portions of a deposition. Therefore, the Rules do not allow the court to “strike” these documents.

At the same time, federal courts often treat a party's motion to strike certain evidence as an objection to that evidence's admissibility. See, e.g., Ross v. Corp. of Mercer Univ., 506 F.Supp.2d 1325, 1333–34 (M.D.Ga.2007). Such objections are significant in resolving a motion for summary judgment, because a district court may not consider evidence, at that juncture, which could not be reduced to an admissible form at trial. See Macuba v. Deboer, 193 F.3d 1316, 1323 (11th Cir.1999).

Until 2010, Rule 56 lacked a formal procedure to challenge such inadmissible evidence. Then, the advisory committee added Rule 56(c)(2), which provides:

A party may object that the material cited to support or dispute a fact cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evidence.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2). Although the plaintiffs have filed a Motion to Strike, the motion challenges the admissibility of the affidavit, and portions of a deposition. Therefore, the court will treat the plaintiffs' Motion to Strike as an objection under Rule 56(c)(2).

The advisory committee's note to Rule 56(c)(2) provides that:

[An] objection [under Rule 56(c)(2) ] functions much as an objection at trial.... The burden is on the proponent to show that the material is admissible as presented or to explain the admissible form that is anticipated.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 advisory committee's note to 2010 amendments (emphasis added).

B. Motion for Summary Judgment

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, summary judgment is proper if there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (“[S]ummary judgment is proper if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The party requesting summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of informing the court of the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the pleadings or filings that it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Once the moving party has met its burden, Rule 56(e) requires the non-moving party to go beyond the pleadings in answering the movant. Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. By its own affidavits—or by the depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file—it must designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id.

The underlying substantive law identifies which facts are material and which are irrelevant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). All reasonable doubts about the facts and all justifiable inferences are resolved in favor of the non-movant. Chapman v. AI Transport, 229 F.3d 1012, 1023 (11th Cir.2000). Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A dispute is genuine “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Id. If the evidence presented by the non-movant to rebut the moving party's evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may still be granted. Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

How the movant may satisfy its initial evidentiary burden depends on whether that party bears the burden of proof on the given legal issues at trial. Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115 (11th Cir.1993). If the movant bears the burden of proof on the given issue or issues at trial, then it can only meet its burden on summary judgment by presenting affirmative evidence showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact—that is, facts that would entitle it to a directed verdict if not controverted at trial. Id. (citation omitted). Once the moving party makes such an affirmative showing, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to produce “significant, probative evidence demonstrating the existence of a triable issue of fact.” Id. (citation omitted) (emphasis added).

For issues on which the movant does not bear the burden of proof at trial, it can satisfy its initial burden on summary judgment in either of two ways. Id. at 1115–16. First, the movant may simply show that there is an absence of evidence to support the non-movant's case on the particular issue at hand. Id. at 1116. In such an instance, the non-movant must rebut by either (1) showing that the record in fact contains supporting evidence sufficient to withstand a directed verdict motion, or (2) proffering evidence sufficient to withstand a directed verdict motion at trial based on the alleged evidentiary deficiency. Id. at 1116–17. When responding, the non-movant may no longer rest on mere allegations; instead, it must set forth evidence of specific facts. Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 358, 116 S.Ct. 2174, 135 L.Ed.2d 606 (1996). The second method a movant in this position may use to discharge its burden is to provide affirmative evidence demonstrating that the non-moving party will be unable to prove its case at trial. Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1116. When this occurs, the non-movant must rebut by offering evidence sufficient to withstand a directed verdict at trial on the material fact sought to be negated. Id.

Although there are cross-motions for summary judgment, each side must still establish the lack of genuine issues of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Chambers & Co. v. Equitable Life Assur. Soc. of the U.S., 224 F.2d 338, 345 (5th Cir.1955) (“Both parties filed and argued motions for summary judgment, but this does not warrant the granting of either motion if the record reflects a genuine issue of fact.”). ² “When there are cross-motions for summary judgment, the court must consider each motion separately, drawing all inferences in favor of each non-moving party in turn.” D & H Therapy Associates, LLC v. Boston Mut. Life Ins. Co., 640 F.3d 27, 34 (1st Cir.2011); see also, Byce v. Pruco Life Ins. Co., 1:09–CV–1912–RWS, 2011 WL 233390 (N.D.Ga. Jan. 21, 2011) (“[T]he filing of cross-motions for summary judgment does not give rise to any presumption that no genuine issues of material fact exist. Rather, ‘[c]ross-motions must be considered separately, as each movant bears the burden of establishing that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law’ ”) (quoting Shaw Constructors v. ICF Kaiser Eng'rs, Inc., 395 F.3d 533, 538–39 (5th Cir.2004)).

The court will consider each motion independently, and in accordance with the Rule 56 standard. See U.S. v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962) (“On summary judgment the inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts contained in such materials must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.”). “The fact that both parties simultaneously are arguing that there is no genuine issue of fact, however, does not establish that a trial is unnecessary thereby...