Veney v. Massillon Psychiatric Center
| Decision Date | 21 October 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. CA-8516,CA-8516 |
| Parties | VENEY, Appellee and Cross-Appellant, v. MASSILLON PSYCHIATRIC CENTER et al., Appellants and Cross-Appellees. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Appeals |
Roetzel & Andress Co., L.P.A., and Robert J. Tscholl, Canton, for appellee and cross-appellant.
Lee I. Fisher, Atty. Gen., and David J. Kovach, Asst. Atty. Gen., Cleveland, for appellants and cross-appellees.
Defendants-appellants and cross-appellees, Massillon Psychiatric Center and Frank Fleisher ("appellants"), and plaintiff-appellee and cross-appellant, Terry Veney ("appellee"), appeal from the judgment entered in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas ordering appellee to be reinstated to the unclassified position of Mental Health Administrator 5, effective January 1, 1991, and be paid the benefits and salary of that position from that date, after finding appellee had established a prima facie case of removal for cause, and appellants had failed to follow the mandatory procedures under R.C. 124.34. Appellants assign the following as error:
"The trial court erred when it determined that the return of the appellee from his Mental Health Administrator 5 position in the unclassified service to the Administrative Assistant 3 position in the classified service was a removal for which the appellants were required to demonstrate just cause."
Appellee assigns the following as error:
"The trial court abused its discretion by not reinstating Terry Veney to the Mental Health Administrator 5 position retroactive to January 23, 1990."
Appellee began his employment with the state as an Administrative Assistant 3, a classified civil service position, on July 31, 1978. On June 30, 1980, appellee accepted a promotion in an unclassified civil service position within the classification of Mental Health Administrator 3. In 1986, appellee accepted another promotion in an unclassified civil service position within the classification of Mental Health Administrator 4. 1 At the time of this last promotion, appellee signed a document entitled "Employees Agreement to be Appointed to the Unclassified Service," which provided:
Also at this time, appellee signed a document entitled "Statement of Options--Unclassified Employees," that contained the following language:
In July 1988, the Department of Mental Health began a reorganization.
On November 13, 1989, appellee was advised by the appointing authority of appellant Massillon Psychiatric Center, Frank Fleisher, Chief Executive Officer of that institution, that his unclassified position as a Mental Health Administrator 5 may possibly be "revoked." At that time, appellant Fleisher gave appellee a copy of a document entitled "Statement of Options--Unclassified Employees," which included options for appellee to request a written statement of reasons for the revocation, and an opportunity to request an informal meeting to discuss the matter. Appellee exercised these options.
On December 11, 1989, appellant Fleisher gave appellee a memorandum entitled "Statement of Reasons" for the revocation of appellee's position as Mental Health Administrator 5 at the Massillon Psychiatric Center. The memorandum set forth the reason for appellee's revocation as economy, efficiency, and span of control.
On December 20, 1989, an informal meeting between appellee, appellee's attorney, appellant Fleisher, and Personnel Director of appellant Massillon Psychiatric Center, was held in accordance with the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Rule 5122-7-11(F). On December 26, 1989, appellant Fleisher revoked appellee's appointment, and effective January 22, 1990, appellee's unclassified status was changed to the classified status within the classification of Administrative Assistant 3, the original classified position appellant held.
Appellee timely appealed appellant Fleisher's decision to the State Personnel Board of Review, which appeal was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction because appellee was in the unclassified service.
Appellee filed a timely appeal to the Stark County Court of Common Pleas, where the court determined that appellee had established a prima facie case of removal for cause, and that appellants failed to follow the mandatory procedures under R.C. 124.34. The court ordered that appellee be reinstated to the unclassified civil service position within the classification of Mental Health Administrator 5, effective January 1, 1991, and that appellee be paid benefits and salary for that position effective that date.
Through their sole assignment, appellants claim the revocation of appellee's appointment to the unclassified state civil service was not a removal of appellee and the appointing officer may revoke appellee's appointment for no reason or for any non-discriminatory reason.
Accordingly, the issue before us is whether appellee's unclassified civil service position was revoked by appellant Fleisher or whether appellee was removed for cause from that position by appellant Fleisher. Appellants assert that they properly followed the administrative scheme prescribed by Rule 5122-7-11(F) in revoking appellee's unclassified civil service position, whereas appellee contends that appellants should have instead followed the administrative scheme prescribed by Rule 5122-7-11(G). As noted above, the trial court found in favor of appellee's contention, and for the...
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Veney v. Hogan, 94-3757
...the state's Personnel Board of Review proved unavailing, as did a subsequent action filed in state court. Veney v. Massillon Psychiatric Ctr., 66 Ohio App.3d 665, 585 N.E.2d 941 (1991). In his state court suit, Veney limited his claims to violations of state law procedures. After these adve......