Ditch v. Bd. of County Com'rs of County of Shawnee

650 F. Supp. 1245, 42 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1225, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18220
District Court, D. Kansas·Decided November 2, 1986·No. Civ. A. 86-4212-S·Published·Cited by 27 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SAFFELS, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff brought this employment discrimination case based on defendant Board of County Commissioners’ abolition of the position of Secretary with the Shawnee County Civil Service Board, a job held by plaintiff until 1985. Defendants base their motion on absolute immunity and on the alleged failure by plaintiff to meet the jurisdictional prerequisites of her claims.

A moving party is entitled to summary judgment only when the evidence indicates that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Maughan v. SW Servicing, Inc., 758 F.2d 1381, 1387 (10th Cir.1985). An issue of fact is “material” only when the dispute is over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., — U.S. -, ---, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2509-10, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The requirement of a “genuine” issue of fact means that the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party. Id. Thus, the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment. Id. The court must consider factual inferences tending to show triable issues in the light most favorable to the existence of those issues. United States v. O’Block, 788 F.2d 1433, 1435 (10th Cir.1986). The court must also consider the record in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Bee v. Greaves, 744 F.2d 1387, 1396 (10th Cir.1984), ce rt. denied, 469 U.S. 1214, 105 S.Ct. 1187, 84 L.Ed.2d 334 (1985). The language of Rule 56(a) mandates the entry of summary judgment against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, — U.S. -, ---, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-54, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The facts as gleaned from the briefs and affidavits of the parties and viewed in a light most favorable to plaintiff are as follows. Plaintiff began her employment with the Shawnee County Civil Service Board in 1983. Her classification was Secretary I, which was later re-classified as Secretary II. In 1984, plaintiff, a Democrat, ran for Clerk of Shawnee County against the incumbent, Patsy McDonald, a Republican. Plaintiff lost the election. Plaintiff asserts that in the 1984 election the political majority of defendant Board of County Commissioners changed from Democratic to Republican. Plaintiff continued *1247 in her job as Secretary II and received good performance ratings.

On April 9, 1985, the defendant Board of County Commissioners voted, by resolution, to abolish the positions of E.E.O. Director and Secretary II with the Shawnee County Civil Service Board. In a separate resolution on the same day, this defendant voted to create the position of E.E.O./Civil Service Specialist to perform the combined duties of the two abolished positions. These resolutions were ostensibly based on budgetary conditions. Defendants King-man and Hanna were sitting on the defendant Board of Shawnee County Commissioners at the time of these resolutions, and they voted in favor of the resolutions. Plaintiff applied for the new combined position, but it was filled by the former E.E.O. Director. Plaintiff later applied for several other positions with Shawnee County, but was denied employment. Plaintiff claims that defendants Kingman, Hanna, Wells, Hill and Ensley prevented her from obtaining further employment with the County.

On September 3, 1985, plaintiff filed a claim for age discrimination with the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights against Shawnee County and other individuals. Plaintiff is presently 57 years old. Although there is some indication from the record that the plaintiff attempted to have a claim filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (E.E.O.C.), the court could find no definitive proof record of such a filing. Her complaint in the present lawsuit was filed on July 3, 1986.

In her complaint, plaintiff stated claims under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) (29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634), and the Kansas Age Discrimination in Employment Act (KADEA) (K.S.A. 44-1111 to -1119). Her claims against the individual defendants are based on decisions arising from their respective offices: Kingman and Hanna (Shawnee County Commissioners), Charles Wells (Director of Human Resources of Shawnee County), Wayne Hill (Superintendent of Maintenance for Shawnee County), and Theodore Ensley (head of Department of Parks and Recreation for Shawnee County). The latter two defendants were brought in based on their departments’ refusal, to hire plaintiff after she was terminated by the Civil Service Board.

I. LEGISLATIVE IMMUNITY

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Ditch v. Bd. of County Com'rs of County of Shawnee, 650 F. Supp. 1245, 42 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1225, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18220 (D. Kan. 1986).

650 F. Supp. 1245 (Ditch v. Bd. of County Com'rs of County of Shawnee) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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