Deputy v. City of Seymour

34 F. Supp. 3d 925, 2014 WL 3587468, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98496
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedJuly 21, 2014
DocketNo. 1:13-cv-412-JMS-DKL
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 34 F. Supp. 3d 925 (Deputy v. City of Seymour) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deputy v. City of Seymour, 34 F. Supp. 3d 925, 2014 WL 3587468, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98496 (S.D. Ind. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

JANE MAGNUS-STINSON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Robin Deputy filed this civil action against Defendants City of Seymour (“Seymour”) and Police Chief William Abbott (“Chief Abbott”) after she was terminated after she refused to take a portable breath test after being ordered to come to work. In relevant part, Ms. Deputy brings a claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that that her Fourth Amendment rights, as made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment, were violated. [Filing No. 1 at 5.] Currently pending before the Court is Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, which seeks an entry of judgment in favor of Defendants on all of Ms. Deputy’s claims. [Filing No. 38.] For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS Defen[927]*927dants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. [Filing No. 38.]

I.

Standard op Review

A motion for summary judgment asks the Court to find that a trial is unnecessary because there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and, instead, the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). As the current version of Rule 56 makes clear, whether a party asserts that a fact is undisputed or genuinely disputed, the party must support the asserted fact by citing to particular parts of the record, including depositions, documents, or affidavits. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(A). A party can also support a fact by showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute or that the adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(B). Affidavits or declarations must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant is competent to testify on matters stated. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)(4). Failure to properly support a fact in opposition to a movant’s factual assertion can result in the movant’s fact being considered undisputed, and potentially in the grant of summary judgment. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the Court need only consider disputed facts that are material to the decision. A disputed fact is material if it might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law. Hampton v. Ford Motor Co., 561 F.3d 709, 713 (7th Cir.2009). In other words, while there may be facts that are in dispute, summary judgment is appropriate if those facts are not outcome determinative. Harper v. Vigilant Ins. Co., 433 F.3d 521, 525 (7th Cir.2005). Fact disputes that are irrelevant to the legal question will not be considered. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

On summary judgment, a party must show the Court what evidence it has that would convince a trier of fact to accept its version of the events. Johnson v. Cambridge Indus., 325 F.3d 892, 901 (7th Cir.2003). The moving party is entitled to summary judgment if no reasonable fact-finder could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Nelson v. Miller, 570 F.3d 868, 875 (7th Cir.2009). The Court views the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and draws all reasonable inferences in that party’s favor. Darst v. Interstate Brands Corp., 512 F.3d 903, 907 (7th Cir.2008). It cannot weigh evidence or make credibility determinations on summary judgment because those tasks are left to the fact-finder. O’Leary v. Accretive Health, Inc., 657 F.3d 625, 630 (7th Cir.2011). The Court need only consider the cited materials, Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(3), and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has “repeatedly assured the district courts that they are not required to scour every inch of the record for evidence that is potentially relevant to the summary judgment motion before them,” Johnson, 325 F.3d at 898. Any doubt as to the existence of a genuine issue for trial is resolved against the moving party. Ponsetti v. GE Pension Plan, 614 F.3d 684, 691 (7th Cir.2010).

II.

Background

The following facts are undisputed, unless otherwise noted. Ms. Deputy worked as a dispatcher for the City of Seymour from March 2010 to August 2012. [Filing No. 36-1 at 4; Filing No. 36-3 at 4.] Dispatchers are members of the communi[928]*928cations section and are responsible for all incoming emergency 911 calls within Seymour and for dispatching police and fire services. [Filing No. 36-1 at 1.] They serve as the anchor for all communications involving police officers and firefighters, [Filing No. 36-1 at 1; Filing No. 36-3 at 5], and are considered safety sensitive employees, [Filing No. 43-2 at 28]. Ms. Deputy was an at-will employee. [Filing No. 42 at 10.]

Two dispatchers are typically on duty at one time — one dispatcher handles incoming 911 emergency calls and the other dispatches for the police officers concerning traffic stops. [Filing No. 36-3 at 5.] There are three eight-hour shifts of dispatchers, [Filing No. 36-1 at 1], and Ms. Deputy typically worked the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift, [Filing No. 36-3 at 5]. She typically worked eighty hours per pay period. [Filing No. 36-3 at 5.]

The communication section offers dispatchers two distinct opportunities for overtime hours. [Filing No. 36-3 at 5-6; Filing No. 43-2 at 41.] Through voluntary overtime, dispatchers can sign up to cover shifts for scheduled absences. [Filing No. 36-3 at 5-6.] In the event of unforeseen absences, dispatchers on the overtime call-out list are asked to take overtime to cover a vacant shift. [Filing No. 43-2 at 41; Filing No. 36-1 at 2.] All available dispatchers are on the call-out list, and the dispatcher currently on duty will call the other dispatchers in the order they are listed. [Filing No. 36-1 at 2.] If a dispatcher agrees to fill the vacancy, his or her name is moved to the bottom of the list. [Filing No. 36-1 at 2.] If no one accepts the overtime, then the dispatcher on duty has to call the other dispatchers again in the order they are listed. [Filing No. 36-3 at 6.] Someone usually accepts the overtime, [Filing No. 36-3 at 12], but on those rare occasions that no one does, it is permissible for a dispatcher to work alone, [Filing No. 36-3 at 13], or for a police officer to help cover the shift, [Filing No. 43-2 at 42-43].

On Saturday, August 25, 2012, Ms. Deputy had the day off. [Filing No. 36-3 at 6.] She arrived at a neighbor’s mobile home between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

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Bluebook (online)
34 F. Supp. 3d 925, 2014 WL 3587468, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98496, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deputy-v-city-of-seymour-insd-2014.