McAndrew v. Bucks County Board of Commissioners

982 F. Supp. 2d 491, 2013 WL 5964396, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159938
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 8, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 2:12-CV-4676
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 982 F. Supp. 2d 491 (McAndrew v. Bucks County Board of Commissioners) 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
McAndrew v. Bucks County Board of Commissioners, 982 F. Supp. 2d 491, 2013 WL 5964396, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159938 (E.D. Pa. 2013).

Opinion

[494]*494 MEMORANDUM

JONES II, District Judge.

Pending before the court is a motion to dismiss filed by defendants Bucks County Board of Commissioners Charles Martin, Diane Ellis-Marseglia, and Robert Loughery and defendant police officers Edward Donnelly, Dennis Shook, and Thomas Waltman, seeking dismissal of Count I (First Amendment), Count II (Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law) and Count III (wrongful discharge) of the complaint. (Doc. No. 4.) After a thorough review of the record, the court will GRANT the motion IN PART and DENY IN PART.

BACKGROUND

This case arises out of plaintiffs multiple complaints to his superiors about corruption and wrongdoing in the Bucks County Sheriffs Office, action which plaintiff alleges caused the county to terminate his employment in violation of the First Amendment, the Pennsylvania Whistle-blower Law, and state wrongful discharge law. The complaint begins in June 2010, when plaintiff discovered that defendant George Spice, a sergeant at the sheriffs office, had “rigged bids with an auto-body repair shop.” (Doc. No. 1, at 4.) Plaintiff reported this information to his superior, Thomas Waltman, a lieutenant at the sheriffs office, but plaintiff claims that defendant Waltman failed to investigate the allegations and took no action to confront defendant Spice about the bid system. (Doc. No. 1, at 4.) In late 2010, plaintiff learned that Ollie Groman, the Bucks County Sheriffs weapons trainer, had falsely certified that certain deputy sheriffs had received gun training when they had not in fact received training. (Doc. No. 1, at 4.) Plaintiff also notified defendant Waltman about this incident, but the lieutenant again took no action to investigate or correct the certification process or discipline Mr. Groman. (Doc. No. 1, at 4.)

In November 2010, plaintiff brought these incidents to the attention of Diane M. Ellis-Marseglia, a Bucks County Commissioner, and she referred the complaint to David Rouland, an investigator with the Bucks County Controller’s office with instructions to commence an investigation into the complaint. (Doc. No. 1, at 4-5.) In early 2011, Mr. Rouland interviewed plaintiff and Deputy Klein,1 another officer in the department, and they reiterated the information they had reported to Lieutenant Waltman and Commissioner EllisMarseglia. (Doc. No. 1, at 5.) Shortly after beginning his investigation, however, the County Controller, Raymond McHugh, directed Mr. Rouland to cease his investigation. (Doc. No. 1, at 5.)

Plaintiff alleges that in late 2010 he was present during an interview between Lieutenant Waltman and Sergeant Browndorf, another officer of the Bucks County Sheriffs Office. (Doc. No. 1, at 5.) Plaintiff overheard Sergeant Browndorf ask defendant Waltman how he could be disciplined when none of the complaints against him had been investigated, and defendant Waltman responded, “It doesn’t matter what I find out in an investigation, the Sheriff told me to find you guilty.” (Doc. No. 1, at 5.) Plaintiff testified to these facts on February 14, 2011, at Sergeant Browndorfs grievance hearing and claims that Sergeant Browndorf and other officers retaliated against and harassed him in the following ways:

a. After Sgt. Browndorf s February 14, 2011 grievance hearing, Defendant Waltman approached Plaintiff and stated: “don’t bother putting in for [495]*495overtime, I’m not going to pay you for this.”
b. On March 3, 2011, Sergeant White informed Plaintiff that Defendant Waltman accused Plaintiff of incorrectly preparing his daily logs. When Plaintiff asked Sergeant White what was wrong with his daily log, Sgt. White responded that he “did not know.” Plaintiff had been preparing his daily log the same way for six years and not once did Defendant Waltman ever complaint about manner [sic] in which Plaintiff prepared his log.
c. At the March 3, 2011 meeting, Sgt. White informed Plaintiff that the Department had ordered five new vehicles. Sgt. White also informed Plaintiff that Defendant Waltman stated that Plaintiff would not get a new vehicle because he failed to take care of his present vehicle. Defendant Waltman’s allegations that Plaintiff failed to properly care for his vehicle were and are false.
d. Following the February 14, 2011 grievance hearing, Defendant Walt-man began to unfairly scrutinize Plaintiff by investigating Plaintiffs unit history on multiple occasions. Defendant Waltman singled out Plaintiff in this investigation because he did not request the unit history of other Deputies employed by the Bucks County Sheriff. Prior to testifying on February 14th, Plaintiffs unit history had not been investigated by Defendant Waltman.
e. Defendant Waltman has unfairly, and without adequate justification, spied on Plaintiffs whereabouts using the County GPS system in the hope of catching Plaintiff doing something wrong. Defendant Walt-man has not subjected other Deputies to the same scrutiny.
f. On June 16, 2011, for no legitimate reason, Defendant Waltman again requested the unit history of Plaintiff and Deputy Klein and then made unsubstantiated and false accusations that Plaintiffs transmissions were invalid.
g. On July 13, 2011, Plaintiff, along with Deputy Klein, were instructed by Sergeant Browndorf to report to Havis Shield to retrieve a new vehicle. When Plaintiff went to retrieve the vehicle, Sgt. White greeted them and informed them that he had been directed by Defendant Waltman not to provide Plaintiff and Deputy Klein with a new vehicle. Instead, Sgt. White provided Plaintiff and Deputy Klein with a vehicle that had approximately 80,000 miles of use and a history of mechanical problems. In the ensuing five weeks, said vehicle broke-down [sic] multiple times and had to be towed to the repair shop.
h On July 28, 2011, Plaintiff and Deputy Klein were unable to put gas in their vehicle because their gas key to Core Creek Park had been deactivated. Plaintiff then proceeded to the county gas pumps, but their gas card would not work. Plaintiff was informed by County employee, David Sutterly, that he had been instructed to deactivate Plaintiffs gas card and gas keys.
i. On July 29, 2011, Plaintiff could not log on to the Mobile Data Terminal (MDT). When Plaintiff called the Information Technology department to ascertain if the MDT was malfunctioning, he was informed that his MDT air card had been deactivated.
[496]*496j. On August 2, 2011, Defendant Walt-man rescinded Plaintiffs vacation request, even though it had previously been approved. Plaintiff had to file a union grievance to have his previously approved vacation honored by his employer.
k. On August 19, 2011, Defendant Waltman informed Plaintiff, via email, that the vehicle he and Deputy Kline [sic] were assigned to was to be turned in for maintenance. Defendant Waltman then assigned Plaintiff and Deputy Klein to holding cell duty claiming there were no other cars available. This statement was false as there were numerous cars available as a substitute while Plaintiffs assigned vehicle was being serviced. Assigning Plaintiff to holding cell duty, the least desirable duty ...
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Bluebook (online)
982 F. Supp. 2d 491, 2013 WL 5964396, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159938, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcandrew-v-bucks-county-board-of-commissioners-paed-2013.