Vinson v. City of Valdez
| Decision Date | 26 May 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 91-35244,91-35244 |
| Citation | 967 F.2d 596 |
| Parties | NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Rayme VINSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF VALDEZ and Douglas Griffin, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Before PREGERSON, TROTT and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges.
Rayme Vinson appeals the grants of summary judgment in favor of defendants, the City of Valdez, Alaska, and its City Manager, Douglas Griffin ("defendants"). After being discharged from his position as Chief of the Department of Emergency Services ("DES"), Vinson brought an action for violations of property and liberty rights under the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause and under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1988) 1, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, retaliatory discharge, and violation of Alaska's Open Meetings Act. In two orders, ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment and on motions for reconsideration, the district court granted defendant's motions for summary judgment on all claims and Vinson brought this timely appeal. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1988). We affirm.
Vinson was employed by the City of Valdez as a police officer from 1978 until 1987. In August 1987, Vinson was selected by an independent panel to serve as Chief of the Department of Emergency Services, a combined police, ambulance, and fire department. In this capacity, Vinson was a permanent, full-time employee. He was directly responsible to the City Manager, Douglas Griffin. His one-year probationary period ended on August 1, 1988. In the following months, Vinson made repeated verbal requests for his one-year evaluation but did not receive it. On October 29, 1988, Griffin requested that Vinson hand over the file on an ongoing arson investigation of a boat owned by the City Clerk and her husband. Vinson informed Griffin that he would not turn over the file because it would constitute an appearance of impropriety. On November 4, Griffin asked Vinson to take a demotion or resign from his current position as Chief of the Department.
On November 25, Griffin handed Vinson his one-year evaluation and notified him of the initiation of termination proceedings pursuant to City of Valdez Personnel Regulations § 9.401. On November 29, 1988, Vinson filed grievances concerning his late evaluation and the initiation of termination proceedings pursuant to Personnel Regulations § 8.2.
Vinson was given a pre-termination hearing on December 2 and 5, 1988. The hearing was presided over by Griffin. Vinson was not permitted to have counsel present and his request for an open meeting was denied. Griffin acted as the final decision-maker. Vinson was notified on December 13 that his employment would be terminated as of December 31, 1988.
Arrangements were made for arbitration before an impartial hearing officer pursuant to Personnel Regulations § 8.2, but were cancelled by Griffin approximately one month later. Griffin did not provide a reason for cancelling arbitration. Vinson then brought this action in state court. Defendants removed the action to federal district court under 28 U.S.C. § 1441 (1988).
We review the district court's grants of summary judgment de novo. Kruso v. International Tel. & Tel. Corp., 872 F.2d 1416, 1421 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 110 S.Ct. 3217 (1990). Viewing the evidence and inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment, we are to determine whether there are any genuine issues of material fact and whether the district court correctly applied the relevant substantive law. Tzung v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., 873 F.2d 1338, 1339-40 (9th Cir.1989). The district court's interpretation of state law is subject to de novo review, giving no deference to the district court seated in the local jurisdiction. See Salve Regina College v. Russell, 111 S.Ct. 1217, 1220-21 (1991); In re McLinn, 739 F.2d 1395, 1397-98 (9th Cir.1984) (en banc).
Vinson contends that he was deprived of due process in his discharge as Chief of DES because he was denied the termination and grievance procedures outlined in the City of Valdez Personnel Regulations. He asserts a property interest in continued employment absent just cause for termination. The district court agreed with defendants that, as an administrative officer, Vinson was an "at-will" employee and served only at the pleasure of the city manager.
To demonstrate a protectible property interest in continued employment, a plaintiff must show that he had a reasonable expectation or "legitimate claim of entitlement" to the employment. Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2709 (1972). We look to state law, including city ordinances, to determine whether Vinson has a protectible property interest. Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 344 & n. 7, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 2077 (1976). "[R]ules or regulations concerning discharge or express or implied promises" may also be considered. Merritt v. Mackey, 827 F.2d 1368, 1371 (9th Cir.1987) (citing Roth, 408 U.S. at 577).
"Under Alaska law, a person who is employed at the pleasure of his employer has no property interest in continued employment that is protected by due process." Canfield v. Sullivan, 774 F.2d 1466, 1467 (9th Cir.1985) (quoting Breeden v. City of Nome, 628 P.2d 924, 926 (Alaska 1981) (internal quotations omitted). Section 5.3(b) of the City of Valdez Charter provides that administrative officers serve at the pleasure of the city manager. Vinson does not dispute that he is an administrative officer. Rather, he argues that there is no difference between "administrative officers" and "employees" for purposes of applying the Personnel Regulations. He points to a number of provisions in the City Code and Personnel Regulations that, on their face, appear to equate administrative officers with employees. See, e.g., City Code § 2-4 (); Personnel Regulations § 1.03 (). Personnel ordinances "must be construed so that each has meaning and the sections do not conflict with each other." Canfield, 774 F.2d at 1467 (quoting Stanfill v. City of Fairbanks, 659 P.2d 579, 581 (Alaska 1983)). Reading the City Charter, Code, and Personnel Regulations as a whole and construing them so as not to conflict, we find a clear distinction between administrative officers and employees with regard to termination of employment. To construe them otherwise would be to presume that the use of the terms "administrative officer" and "employee" in the City Charter is superfluous. Additionally, such a construction comports with typical public employment arrangements. Administrative officers, as higher level government officials, serve at the pleasure of the city manager, while other employees who are not high level officials are protected from arbitrary discharge. Further, the disciplinary action and termination and grievance procedures relied upon by Vinson were drafted to create a distinction between department heads and employees, indicating that the procedures apply to employees below the department head level only. See, e.g., Personnel Regulations § 9.
Moreover, the general rule is that an ordinance is invalid if it conflicts with a City's Charter. Canfield, 774 F.2d at 1469. To the extent that the City Charter conflicts with the City Code and Personnel Regulations, the charter must control.
We also reject Vinson's argument that section 8.2 of the Personnel Regulations, providing for grievance procedures, modified his at-will employment agreement, thereby creating a protectible interest in continued employment. See Jones v. Central Peninsula General Hosp., 779 P.2d 783, 787 (Alaska 1989) (). "Procedural requirements ordinarily do not transform a unilateral expectation into a constitutionally protected property interest." Goodisman v. Lytle, 724 F.2d 818, 820 (9th Cir.1984). A constitutionally protected interest is created only "if the procedural requirements are intended to be a 'significant substantive restriction' " on the decision-making authority of the decision-maker. Id. (citations omitted).
The grievance procedures do not place such limits on the authority of the city manager. The purpose of the grievance procedures is to allow employees "the opportunity to have the grievance reviewed for merit." Personnel Regulations § 8.301. In fact, section 1.03 of the Personnel Regulations provides that "[t]hese regulations shall serve as a guideline to the city manager in the exercise of this authority and nothing contained herein is intended to usurp, contravene or otherwise diminish that authority." Moreover, the text of the provision indicates that it was intended to apply to employees below the department head level. Thus, the grievance procedures do not alter Vinson's status as an administrative officer subject to discharge at the will of the city manager.
Vinson also argues that because Griffin initially instituted termination proceedings pursuant to Personnel Regulations, a mutually explicit understanding existed between Vinson and Griffin that modified Vinson's at-will status. 2 See Roberts v. College of the Desert, 870 F.2d 1411, 1416 (9th Cir.1988) (). The record contains no evidence of a mutual understanding...
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