Malec v. Sanford

191 F.R.D. 581, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3077, 2000 WL 267776
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 7, 2000
DocketNo. 97 C 7877
StatusPublished
Cited by258 cases

This text of 191 F.R.D. 581 (Malec v. Sanford) 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
Malec v. Sanford, 191 F.R.D. 581, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3077, 2000 WL 267776 (N.D. Ill. 2000).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

CASTILLO, District Judge.

Donald Malee, a former Village of Oak Brook police officer, alleges three causes of action against the various defendants in his second amended complaint. In our prior opinion, (R. 23, Op. of Mar. 25, 1999 (“Malee /”)), we denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss after concluding that they were not entitled to absolute or qualified immunity and that Malee had successfully stated a claim for relief. Currently before the Court is a motion for summary judgment brought by three of the individual defendants, K. Sue Sanford, John Barr, and Daniel Letizia, all members of the Village’s Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. At issue is whether Malee has produced sufficient evidence to sustain his First Amendment and due process claims against these three defendants.1 After thoroughly canvassing the record, we conclude that Malee has not sustained his burden with respect to Sanford, Barr and Letizia and direct judgment in their favor. However, before beginning our analysis of the defendants’ summary judgment motion, we pause to offer some guidance on the proper method of presenting such motions.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT PLEADINGS

Lately, we have discerned a trend of poorly presented and argued summary judgment motions. We use this case as a vehicle to inform lawyers appearing before this Court what precisely we expect from summary judgment practitioners.

The purpose of summary judgment proceedings is to identify cases that can be resolved without a trial. Thus, we have

[583]*583one task and one task only: to decide, based on the evidence of record, whether there is any material dispute of fact that requires a trial. The parties, in turn, bear a concomitant burden to identify the evidence that will facilitate this assessment.

Waldridge v. American Hoechst Corp., 24 F.3d 918, 920 (7th Cir.1994) (citations omitted). The Northern District promulgated Local Rules 56.1(a) and 56.1(b), formerly Local Rules 12M and 12N, delineating the obligations of parties in summary judgment proceedings. It bears noting that we “have broad discretion to enforce rule [56.1],” Feliberty v. Kemper Corp., 98 F.3d 274, 278 (7th Cir.1996), and that the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit regularly upholds strict enforcement of Local Rule 56.1. See, e.g., Midwest Imports, Ltd. v. Coval, 71 F.3d 1311, 1316 (7th Cir.1995) (citing cases).

A. Statement of Material Facts

Statements of material facts are the vehicle through which counsel identifies the relevant facts and the evidence establishing those fats. There are three separate types-of statements governed by Rule 56.1: the movant’s statement, the nonmovant’s response and statement of additional facts, and the movant’s response to the additional facts.

1. The Movant’s 56.1 Statement

Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) requires a movant to submit a statement of undisputed material facts that, according to the movant, entitles that party to judgment as a matter of law.

The statement ... shall consist of short numbered paragraphs, including within each paragraph specific references to the affidavits, parts of the record, and other supporting material relied upon to support the facts set forth in that paragraph.

Rule 56.1(a)(3). Three operative concepts animate this rule: facts, short, and specific.

First, a movant’s 56.1(a) statement should contain only factual allegations. It is inappropriate to allege legal conclusions in a 56.1(a) statement on the off-chance that one’s opponent might not file a correct response. (See, e.g., Malec’s Statement at ¶ 35 (“The actions of Defendants and each of them violated the [D]ue [P]rocess [C]lause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”).) This approach invariably results in a motion to strike and, thus, wastes the judicial time that summary judgment was intended to save.

Additionally, the 56.1(a) statement should be limited to material facts, that is, facts pertinent to the outcome of the issues identified in the summary judgment motion. For example, in this case, both parties’ statements contain factual allegations regarding Malec’s disability. Although Malec’s disability is pertinent to his case against the Village, it is not in any way relevant to this motion because he has not asserted an ADA claim against these defendants.

Second, the numbered paragraphs should be short; they should contain only one or two individual allegations, thereby allowing easy response. Again, it is inappropriate to confuse the issues by alleging multiple facts in a single paragraph in hopes of one’s opponent missing one.

Finally, “specific reference” means including proper Bluebook citations to exact pieces of the record that support the factual contention contained in the paragraph. In other words, citations must include page (or paragraph) numbers, as opposed to simply citing an entire deposition, affidavit, or other exhibit document: “[D]istrict courts are not obliged in our adversary system to scour the record looking for factual disputes.” Wal-dridge, 24 F.3d at 922. Factual allegations not properly supported by citation to the record are nullities.

In the same vein, supporting documents submitted with a motion that are not referred to in the statement of facts will be ignored. Experience has amply demonstrated the danger of making arguments a party has not advanced by relying on exhibits not explained by either side.

2. The Nonmovant’s 56.1(b) Response to the Movant’s 56.1(a) Statement and 56.1(b) Statement of Additional Facts

Local Rule 56.1(b)(3) governs the nonmov-ant’s response to the movant’s statement of facts and the nonmovant’s statement of addi[584]*584tional facts. This rule may be the most important litigation rule outside statutes of limitation because the consequences of failing to satisfy its requirements are so dire. Essentially, the penalty for failing to properly respond to a movant’s 56.1(a) statement is usually summary judgment for the movant (at least if the movant has done his or her job correctly) because the movant’s factual allegations are deemed admitted. In contrast, a movant’s failure to submit a proper 56.1(a) statement results in dismissal of the motion; in other words, maintenance of the status quo.

Local Rule 56.1(b)(3)(A) requires the nonmovant’s response to contain

a response to each numbered paragraph in the moving party’s statement, including, in the case of any disagreement, specific references to the affidavits, parts of the record, and other supporting materials relied upon.

Thus, a general denial is insufficient to rebut a movant’s factual allegations; the nonmov-ant must cite specific evidentiary materials justifying the denial. If the cited material does not clearly create a genuine dispute over the movant’s allegedly undisputed fact, the nonmovant should provide an explanation. Also, the nonmovant’s response should mirror the movant’s statement in form (ie.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
191 F.R.D. 581, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3077, 2000 WL 267776, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/malec-v-sanford-ilnd-2000.