Turner v. City of Evansville, 82A05-9908-CV-358.
| Decision Date | 04 May 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 82A05-9908-CV-358.,82A05-9908-CV-358. |
| Citation | 729 N.E.2d 149 |
| Parties | Bradley A. TURNER, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. CITY OF EVANSVILLE, Evansville City Police Department, City of Evansville Police Merit Commission, Marvin D. Guest, Sr., Ira T. Neal, Bonnie Benson, Steven D. McDaniel, Ray Hamner, Arthur A. Gann, and Evansville Lodge No. 73 Fraternal Order of Police, Inc., Appellees-Defendants. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Jeffrey W. Waggoner, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorney for Appellant.
Michael D. Marine, Bradley L. Williams, Ice, Miller, Donadio & Ryan, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorneys for Appellees.
Bradley Turner appeals from the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Defendants, City of Evansville, Evansville City Police Department, City of Evansville Police Merit Commission, Marvin D. Guest, Sr., Ira T. Neal, Bonnie Benson, Steven D. McDaniel, Ray Hamner, Arthur A. Gann, and Evansville Lodge No. 73 Fraternal Order of Police, Inc. (collectively referred to as the "City Defendants"), on his complaint. We affirm.
Turner raises five issues for our review, which we consolidate and restate as follows:
1. Whether the ordinance establishing the Evansville Police Merit Commission ("Merit Commission") complies with Indiana law;
2. Whether the discipline imposed by the Chiefs of Police are legal nullities because of violations of Article 6, section 6 of the Indiana Constitution;
3. Whether the City has violated the principle of nondelegation by entering into an agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police ("FOP") which requires the approval of at least one FOP representative to amend the merit ordinance; and
4. Whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment for the City Defendants.
In 1995, Turner was hired by the Merit Commission to be an officer with the Evansville Police Department ("EPD"). At that time, Arthur Gann was the EPD Chief. On April 3, 1997, Turner received a written reprimand from Chief Gann for failing to use reasonable care with his squad car. On November 20, 1997, Turner received a second written reprimand from Chief Gann for failing to follow EPD's Standard Operating Procedures. On August 3, 1998, Chief Gann imposed a twenty-one day suspension (with pay) against Turner for giving false information in a disciplinary action against another EPD officer. Turner filed a notice of appeal with the Merit Commission regarding this disciplinary action. On August 20, 1998, Maurice Guest replaced Gann as the EPD Chief. Chief Guest subsequently amended the previous discipline and suspended Turner for twenty-one days without pay. Turner filed a notice of appeal with the Merit Commission regarding this amended disciplinary action.
On October 23, 1998, Chief Guest imposed a ten day suspension without pay against Turner for failing to follow Standard Operating Procedures and for repeated violations. Turner filed a notice of appeal regarding this action with the Merit Commission. On December 10, 1998, Chief Guest imposed a three day suspension without pay against Turner for being absent from roll call, failing to be at his post on time, and repeated violations. Turner filed a notice of appeal with the Merit Commission.
Turner's appeals of the August, October, and December disciplinary actions remain pending before the Merit Commission because, before they could be heard, Turner filed a complaint against the City Defendants alleging various constitutional and statutory violations in the merit process. He also sought and was granted a temporary injunction enjoining the City Defendants from conducting a hearing on the disciplinary actions pending against him. The City Defendants filed a motion to dismiss with accompanying affidavits. After a hearing, the trial court, treating the motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment due to the extrinsic evidence submitted in support thereof, granted summary judgment for the City Defendants and against Turner on his complaint. The injunction against any disciplinary proceedings before the Merit Commission remains in effect while this appeal is pending. Additional facts will be supplied as necessary.
Our standard of review of a summary judgment order is well-settled: summary judgment is appropriate if the "designated evidentiary matter shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). Relying on specifically designated evidence, the moving party bears the burden of showing prima facie that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Estate of Pflanz v. Davis, 678 N.E.2d 1148, 1150 (Ind.Ct.App.1997). If the moving party meets these two requirements, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to set forth specifically designated facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. A genuine issue of material fact exists where facts concerning an issue which would dispose of the litigation are in dispute or where the undisputed material facts are capable of supporting conflicting inferences on such an issue. Downs v. Panhandle E. Pipeline Co., 694 N.E.2d 1198, 1200 (Ind.Ct.App.1998),trans. denied. Even if the facts are undisputed, summary judgment is inappropriate where the record reveals an incorrect application of the law to the facts. General Accident Ins. Co. of Am. v. Hughes, 706 N.E.2d 208, 210 (Ind.Ct.App.1999),trans. denied.
On appeal, we are bound by the same standard as the trial court, and we consider only those matters which were designated at the summary judgment stage. Pflanz, 678 N.E.2d at 1151. We liberally construe all designated evidentiary material in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Dunifon v. Iovino, 665 N.E.2d 51, 55 (Ind.Ct.App.1996), trans. denied. The party that lost in the trial court has the burden to persuade the appellate court that the trial court erred. Id. Specific findings and conclusions by the trial court are not required, and although they offer valuable insight into the rationale for the judgment and facilitate our review, we are not limited to reviewing the trial court's reasons for granting or denying summary judgment. Jones v. Western Reserve Group, 699 N.E.2d 711, 714 (Ind.Ct.App. 1998), trans. denied. A grant of summary judgment may be affirmed upon any theory supported by the designated materials. Sims v. Barnes, 689 N.E.2d 734, 735 (Ind. Ct.App.1997), trans. denied.
Turner contends that the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that the ordinance establishing and governing the Merit Commission is in compliance with Indiana law. If the Merit Commission is not properly constituted, Turner denies its authority to hear and determine his disciplinary appeal.
Prior to 1980, the Indiana legislature enacted several statutes for the establishment of police and fire department merit systems. The statute applicable to Evansville, as a second-class city with a population between 160,000 and 180,000 in a county with only one second-class city, was found at Indiana Code chapter 19-1-31.5. In 1980, the legislature enacted Indiana Code section 36-1-4-14, which provides that "[a] unit may hire and discharge employees and establish a system of employment for any class of employees based on merit and qualification." At some time prior to October 1982, Evansville adopted a city ordinance establishing a police merit system, which provided that the Merit Commission would "consist of three (3) members who shall be resident voters of the City." R. 40.
In 1981, the legislature revised the existing general police and fire merit statute, found at Indiana Code chapter 18-1-11, and re-codified it at Indiana Code chapter 36-8-3. Also in 1981, the legislature enacted Indiana Code chapter 36-8-3.5. Section 1 of this statute provided as follows:
Ind.Code § 36-8-3.5-1 (1981). This chapter further provides that a merit commission shall consist of five members, each of whom must have been a legal resident of the unit for three consecutive years preceding his or her term. Ind.Code § 36-8-3.5-6(a), (b). In October 1982, the Evansville Common Council adopted an ordinance retaining the City's existing police merit system:
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