Butler v. Harris County Texas

Opinion

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

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No. 96-20434

Summary Calendar

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RICHARD BUTLER,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

versus

HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS; HARRIS COUNTY JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENT,

Defendants-Appellees.

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Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (CA-H-94-2476)

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August 26, 1997

Before WIENER, BARKSDALE, and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:* Richard Butler appeals from the judgment as a matter of law in favor of Harris County and his former employer, the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, on his claim that, for filing a grievance reporting suspected violations of the law, he was discharged in violation of the Texas Whistleblower’s Act.

*

Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the Court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.

Butler did not satisfy his burden of providing a complete transcript of the trial. See Great Plains Equipment, Inc. v. Koch Gathering Systems, Inc., 45 F.3d 962, 965-66 (5th Cir. 1995). Nevertheless, we have reviewed the portions provided, along with the briefs and the remainder of the record, and conclude that no reasonable juror could have found either that Butler was discharged because he reported, in good faith, a suspected violation of law, or that he would not have been terminated had he not filed a grievance. See FED. R. CIV. P. 50(a); Conkling v. Turner, 18 F.3d 1285, 1300 (5th Cir. 1994).

Accordingly, the district court did not err by setting aside the jury verdict in favor of Butler and granting the defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law. Butler v. Harris County, et al., No. CA-H-94-2476 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 2, 1996) (unpublished).

AFFIRMED