Deritis v. Roger

165 F. Supp. 3d 231, 2016 WL 739015, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22897
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 24, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION 13-6212
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 165 F. Supp. 3d 231 (Deritis v. Roger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deritis v. Roger, 165 F. Supp. 3d 231, 2016 WL 739015, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22897 (E.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Rufe, District Judge.

Plaintiff has filed a lawsuit against Douglas C. Roger, Jr., the executive director of the Delaware County Office of the Public Defender, and Chad F. Kenney, President Judge of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, alleging various claims under federal and state law stemming from his termination as an assistant public defender. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants conspired to demote and terminate him because Plaintiff encouraged his clients to go to trial rather than plead guilty, and that Defendant Roger terminated him for reporting Defendants’ alleged misconduct to the city council chairman and the city solicitor. Now before the Court are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.

[238]*238I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Except as noted, the relevant facts are undisputed. In 2005, Plaintiff was hired as an assistant public defender in the Delaware County Office of Public Defender. In June 2012, Defendant Roger, the director of the Public Defender’s Office, transferred Plaintiff from a trial team to the juvenile unit.The parties dispute whether or not this reassignment was a demotion.

After his reassignment, Plaintiff heard a rumor from his former co-worker James Dolan about the reason for his transfer. Mr. Dolan heard that Defendant Roger reassigned Plaintiff at Defendant Kenney’s request because Plaintiff “wasn’t moving cases.”1 Plaintiff testified at his deposition that he heard this same information from his supervisor, Frank Zarilli.2

Plaintiff repeated the rumor to co-workers, private attorneys, and district judges. Plaintiff also met with county solicitor Michael Maddren and with Thomas McGarri-gle, then chairman of the city council, and asked them to investigate his reassignment. In an affidavit, Mr. Maddren stated that Plaintiff told him “he was upset because he was not currently assigned to a trial team at the public defender’s office and felt this was hurting his career,” that “he believed he was not assigned to a trial team because he wanted to take too many cases to trial,” and that “this was violating the rights of his clients.”3 At Plaintiffs deposition, he stated that he told both Mr. Maddren and Mr. McGarrigle that he heard a rumor from colleagues that Defendant Roger removed him from trial team at Defendant Kenney’s request because Plaintiff was not moving cases, and that he felt he was being mistreated.4 Both Defendant Kenney and Defendant Roger deny that they ever spoke to one another about Plaintiff or that Defendant Kenney told Defendant Roger that he wanted more of Plaintiffs clients to plead guilty.5

On May 2, 2013, Defendant Roger held a meeting with Plaintiff and his supervisor and asked Plaintiff whether he had told a district judge that he had been punished for taking too many cases to trial. After Plaintiff admitted that he made this statement to many district judges and attorneys,. as well as to Mr. Maddren and Mr. McGarrigle, Defendant Roger fired Plaintiff.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate if “the materials in the record” show “that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”6 A fact is “material” if it could affect the outcome of the suit, given the applicable substantive law.7 A dispute about a material fact is “genuine” if the evidence presented “is such that a reasonable jury could return a [239]*239verdict for the nonmoving party.”8 In evaluating a summary judgment motion, a court “must view the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party,” and make every reasonable inference in that party’s favor.9 Further, a court may not weigh the evidence or make credibility determinations.10 Nevertheless, the party opposing summary judgment must support each essential element of the opposition with concrete evidence in the record.11 “If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted.”12 This requirement upholds the “underlying purpose of summary judgment [which] is to avoid a pointless trial in cases where it is unnecessary and would only cause delay and expense.”13 Therefore, if, after making all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party, the court determines that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, summary judgment is appropriate.14

III. DISCUSSION

Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment asserts that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on all of his claims against Defendant Roger, including his First Amendment retaliation claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and his Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law, civil conspiracy, and wrongful discharge claims. Defendant Roger’s Motion for Summary Judgment asserts that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on each of these claims and that he is entitled to qualified immunity. Finally, Defendant Kenney’s Motion for Summary Judgment contends that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on Plaintiffs claim of civil conspiracy, the only remaining claim against him.

A. First Amendment Retaliation

The Supreme Court has held that public employees do not entirely relinquish their First Amendment rights because they are government employees.15 “[P]ublie employees are often the members of the community who are likely to have informed opinions as to the operations of their public employers, operations which are of substantial concern to the public.”16 As a result, public employers may not discharge employees because they engage in constitutionally protected speech.17 At the same time however, public employers have an interest in the efficiency of the public services they perform, and not every word uttered by a public employee will be protected.18

Courts analyze claims of unlawful First Amendment retaliation under a [240]*240three-step process.19 First, a public employee must establish that his speech was protected.20. Second, the employee must show that the protected speech was a substantial or motivating factor in the alleged retaliation.21 Third, if the plaintiff successfully establishes that he was retaliated against for his protected speech, a defendant can still defeat the plaintiffs claim by showing that he would have taken the same action regardless of the speech.22 Here, Defendant Roger does not dispute that Plaintiffs speech was a substantial or motivating factor in his termination,23 but argues only that his speech was not constitutionally protected.24

1. Constitutionally Protected Speech

Defendant Roger argues that Plaintiffs termination was lawful because his speech was not about a matter of public concern and was false and thus was not constitutionally protected.

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Related

Joseph De Ritis v. Thomas McGarrigle
861 F.3d 444 (Third Circuit, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
165 F. Supp. 3d 231, 2016 WL 739015, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deritis-v-roger-paed-2016.