Kristofek v. Village of Orland Hills

63 F. Supp. 3d 853, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118895, 2014 WL 4179891
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 7, 2014
DocketNo. 11 C 7455
StatusPublished

This text of 63 F. Supp. 3d 853 (Kristofek v. Village of Orland Hills) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kristofek v. Village of Orland Hills, 63 F. Supp. 3d 853, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118895, 2014 WL 4179891 (N.D. Ill. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SAMUEL DER-YEGHIAYAN, District Judge

This matter is before the court on Plaintiff David Kristofek’s (Kristofek) motion for partial summary judgment. This matter is also before the court on Defendant Village of Orland Hills’ (Village) motion for summary judgment and Defendant Thomas Scully’s (Scully) motion for summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, the Village’s motion for summary judgment and Scully’s motion for summary judgment are granted, and Kristofek’s motion for partial summary judgment is denied.

BACKGROUND

Kristofek was hired in September 2010 as a part-time police officer by the Village. In November 2010, while Kristofek was still working in his probationary period, Kristofek executed a routine traffic stop on a vehicle (Vehicle). Kristofek decided to issue the driver of the Vehicle (Driver), who is an African-American, tickets (Tickets) for driving with a suspended license plate registration and for failing to provide proof of insurance. In addition, Kristofek [857]*857chose to arrest the Driver (Arrest). The mother of the Driver, upon learning of the Arrest, made a complaint about the Arrest to a township trustee (Trustee) who she knew, accusing Kristofek of engaging in-racial profiling. The complaint was passed on to the Mayor of the Village (Mayor) who then passed the complaint onto Scully, the Police Chief of the Village. Scully then contacted the Trustee directly to inquire as to the complaint and allegations of racial profiling. Scully then called Deputy Chief Blaha (Blaha) at the- police station and told him to void the Arrest and Tickets. Scully also, in accordance with established procedures sent a letter (Letter) to the Clerk of Court identifying the Tickets and advising the Clerk of Court that the Tickets had been voided. The mother of the Driver eventually filed a formal complaint against Kristofek at the Village Police Department relating to the incident and the allegations of racial profiling of her son.

Five months after the above incident, on or about April 1, 2011, Kristofek participated in an online police seminar (Seminar) at which time he learned that he could be personally liable for certain conduct. At no time did Kristofek make complaints relating to any concerns as to corruption to his superiors or to any Village officials or state agencies which were available to him. Instead, Kristofek after the Seminar, concerned for his own liability contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to alert the FBI of what he believed was “possible political corruption.” (A Compl. Par. 30). There is no evidence that any prosecution by federal authorities was ever initiated against any of Defendants relating to this matter. Defendants contend that the Arrest and Tickets were voided to protect the Village and Kristofek from a potential lawsuit relating to the allegations of racial profiling by Kristofek. Defendants contend that Kristofek was ultimately terminated during his probationary period for various performance-related reasons such as making baseless accusations of corruption, failing to properly search a prisoner who was carrying a firearm, and failing to properly handle a traffic stop without complaint. Kristofek contends that his termination was retaliation based on the exercise of his First Amendment rights.

Kristofek includes in his amended complaint claims brought under the Illinois Whistleblower Act, 740 ILCS 174/20 (Counts I—III), a state law retaliatory discharge claim (Count IV), a claim alleging a violation of his First Amendment rights brought pursuant to ' 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Section 1983) (Count V), and a free speech claim based on an alleged violation of the Illinois Constitution (Count VI). Kristofek now moves for summary judgment as to liability and causation on the claims brought in Counts I through V and on the issue of qualified immunity. The Village moves for summary judgment on all claims, and Scully moves for summary judgment on the claim in Count V brought against him, which is the sole claim brought against Scully.

LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate when the record, viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, reveals that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Smith v. Hope School, 560 F.3d 694, 699 (7th Cir. 2009). A “genuine issue” of material fact in the context of a motion for summary judgment is not simply a “metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Rather, a genuine issue of [858]*858material fact exists when “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Insolia v. Philip Morris, Inc., 216 F.3d 596, 599 (7th Cir. 2000). In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must consider the record as a whole, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Bay v. Cassens Transport Co., 212 F.3d 969, 972 (7th Cir. 2000). When there are cross motions for summary judgment, the court should “construe all inferences in favor of the party against whom the motion under consideration is made.” Mote v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 502 F.3d 601, 606 (7th Cir. 2007)(internal quotations omitted); see also Krieg v. Seybold, 481 F.3d 512, 516 (7th Cir. 2007).

DISCUSSION

I. First Amendment Retaliation Claim (Count V)

Defendants move for summary judgment on the first amendment retaliation claim. A public employee bringing a First Amendment retaliation claim must establish: (1) that “his speech was constitutionally protected,” (2) that “he has suffered a deprivation likely to deter speech,” and (3) that “his speech was at least a motivating factor in the employer’s action.” Swetlik v. Crawford, 738 F.3d 818, 825 (7th Cir. 2013); Volkman v. Ryker, 736 F.3d 1084, 1091 (7th Cir. 2013)(stating three steps for establishing a First Amendment retaliation claim brought by a public employee); Thayer v. Chiczewski, 705 F.3d 237, 251 (7th Cir. 2012)(listing elements for first amendment retaliation claim bought by a public employee and explaining that a “plaintiff need only show that a violation of his First Amendment rights was a motivating factor of the harm he’s complaining of; once he shows that the burden shifts to the defendant to show that the harm would have occurred anyway”); Zellner v. Herrick, 639 F.3d 371, 378-79 (7th Cir. 2011)(stating that “[i]n other words, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving ‘but for’ causation”); see also Wackett v. City of Beaver Dam, Wis., 642 F.3d 578, 581 (7th Cir.

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Bluebook (online)
63 F. Supp. 3d 853, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118895, 2014 WL 4179891, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kristofek-v-village-of-orland-hills-ilnd-2014.