Weissbaum v. Hannon

439 F. Supp. 869, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11764
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 20, 1976
DocketNo. 76 C 2295
StatusPublished

This text of 439 F. Supp. 869 (Weissbaum v. Hannon) 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
Weissbaum v. Hannon, 439 F. Supp. 869, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11764 (N.D. Ill. 1976).

Opinion

[871]*871MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ROBSON, Senior District Judge.

This cause is before the court on defendants’ motion for summary judgment. For the reasons hereinafter stated, the motion shall be granted in part and denied in part with leave to renew at a later date.

The plaintiff, Mark Weissbaum, has filed a three-count complaint invoking this court’s jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and § 1343. He alleges an amount in controversy in excess of $10,000 and that the first and fourteenth amendments and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 were violated by the following defendant:1 Joseph P. Hannon, General Superintendent of Schools; Guy Brunetti, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Employee Relations; Raymond C. Principe, Director, Bureau of Teacher Personnel; Nina F. Jones, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Personnel; Leo L. Dillon, Principal, Fenger High School; Michael P. Wrenn, Director, Employee Relations; Morton L. Elenbogen, Board Examiner; Frank W. Gardner, Board Examiner; and the Board of Education of the City of Chicago (Board), the employer. Injunctive and monetary relief are sought in each count.

In Count I, Weissbaum alleges the following facts. He was employed by the Board as a full-time temporary teacher at Fenger High School. On or about January 26, 1976, defendants Dillon and Principe requested him to appear at Principe’s office. Weissbaum did so and was then given a letter signed by defendant Jones which stated, inter alia, that a matter relating to Weissbaum’s employment had been brought to the attention of the Board. See Exhibit A to Complaint. This letter further directed Weissbaum to appear at the office of the Assistant Superintendent of Personnel that same day.

Immediately after receiving the letter, Weissbaum was called into a meeting at which defendants Brunetti, Principe, Jones, and Dillon were present. He was then shown copies of three pages of a certain magazine. Weissbaum admitted that he was involved in the publication of this magazine and further that his picture appeared therein nude from the waist up. Thereupon, defendants dismissed Weissbaum from his employment. Said dismissal is alleged by the plaintiff to be in violation of rights protected by the first and fourteenth amendments.

In Count II, the plaintiff alleges the same facts. In addition, he alleges that he appealed his dismissal through the Board’s grievance procedure and that defendants Wrenn, and subsequently Hannon, denied his grievance and affirmed the dismissal. Said action allegedly violated plaintiff’s right to due process of law in that (1) plaintiff was not informed of the charges prior to the meeting which resulted in his dismissal, (2) defendants failed to present any evidence to prove any reason or cause for plaintiff’s dismissal, (3) those persons who reviewed the grievance — Jones, Principe, Dillon and Wrenn — were, for the most part, the same persons who had made the original decision to terminate plaintiff, and (4) Hannon, in denying the grievance, relied solely upon the reports of others.

In Count III, Weissbaum also premises jurisdiction upon 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and § 1343. Named as defendants are the Board of Education and Hannon, Elenbogen and Gardner, members of the Board of Examiners. Injunctive and monetary relief are sought.

Weissbaum alleges that prior to May 19, 1976, he took and passed the examination given and authorized by defendants for certification as a permanent teacher. He further alleges that on or about May 19, 1976, Gardner notified him by letter that his application was denied based on documents submitted by the Personnel Department concerning events which ended in the termination on January 26, 1976. See Exhibit B to Complaint.

[872]*872Weissbaum alleges that this denial of certification, for the reasons stated, violated his right to free speech. Weissbaum further alleges that defendants violated fourteenth amendment due process as (1) he was given no notice of the documents submitted to the Board of Examiners and was given no opportunity to respond thereto, (2) Hannon improperly used information gained in passing upon the prior grievance in reaching the decision to reject the application for certification as a permanent teacher and (3) the statements contained in the letter are harmful to plaintiff; and yet, he has been given no opportunity to respond thereto.

The defendants have moved for summary judgment. However, they have stated at a recent status report on this cause that they are willing to accept the plaintiff’s pleadings as true. In essence they evidently are of the opinion that the plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted but wish to place the publication at issue, together with plaintiff’s deposition and a letter- from one of the defendants, before the court. Accordingly, the instant motion must be treated as one for summary judgment. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

Initially, defendants argue that the Board is not a proper defendant in this litigation as it is not a person within the language of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and further, that the United States Supreme Court will hold that the Board is not a proper defendant under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. This argument is frivolous. The court cannot dismiss the Board when this circuit has held that it may be a proper defendant in an action such as this under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Hostrop v. Board of Junior College District No. 515, 523 F.2d 569 (7th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 963, 96 S.Ct. 1748, 48 L.Ed.2d 208 (1976).

Defendants assert that plaintiff’s termination did not violate the first amendment. They contend that their action was clearly justified considering their right and duty to pass upon plaintiff’s moral qualifications to teach in the public schools. Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 122, § 34-83.2 They further argue that they are immune as they acted in good faith as a review of the publication must reveal.

The court is of the opinion that it is constitutionally permissible for defendants to inquire into the character and integrity of the plaintiff as a teacher. See Beilan v. Board of Education, 357 U.S. 399, 405, 78 S.Ct. 1317, 2 L.Ed.2d 1414 (1958); Adler v. Board of Education, 342 U.S. 485, 493, 72 S.Ct. 380, 96 L.Ed. 517 (1952); Sullivan v. Meade Independent School Dist. No. 101, 530 F.2d 799 (8th Cir. 1976).

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Bluebook (online)
439 F. Supp. 869, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11764, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weissbaum-v-hannon-ilnd-1976.