Whatley v. City of Bartlesville

932 F. Supp. 1300, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10999, 1996 WL 435615
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 1, 1996
DocketNo. 95-CV-153-H
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 932 F. Supp. 1300 (Whatley v. City of Bartlesville) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whatley v. City of Bartlesville, 932 F. Supp. 1300, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10999, 1996 WL 435615 (N.D. Okla. 1996).

Opinion

ORDER

HOLMES, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment of Defendant City of Bartlesville (“City”) (Docket # 10).1

Mr. Whatley, a former Bartlesville police officer, brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, asserting that the City and the individual defendants deprived him of property and liberty interests in connection with his termination. Claiming that Mr. Whatley has failed to allege a violation of his due process rights, the City filed this motion.

I.

To prevail on a motion to dismiss, a defendant must establish that there is no set of circumstances upon which the plaintiff would be entitled to relief. Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 89 S.Ct. 1843, 23 L.Ed.2d 404 (1969); Ash Creek Mining Co. v. Lujan, 969 F.2d 868, 870 (10th Cir.1992). For the purposes of this analysis, the Court accepts as true all material allegations in the complaint. Ash Creek Mining, 969 F.2d at 870.

If, as in this case, a court looks outside the pleadings, the motion to dismiss should be converted to a motion for summary judgment, in which case a court views the evidence submitted in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Celotex, 471 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; Boren v. Southwestern Bell Tel. Co., 933 F.2d 891, 892 (10th Cir.1991). Nonetheless, the moving party “has no burden to disprove unsupported claims of his opponent.” Pueblo Neighborhood Health Ctrs. v. Losavio, 847 F.2d 642, 649 (10th Cir.1988) (citing Celotex, 477 [1302]*1302U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-50, 106 S.Ct. at 2509-11).

Summary judgment is appropriate where “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact,” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Windon Third Oil & Gas Drilling Partnership v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp., 805 F.2d 342, 345 (10th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 947, 107 S.Ct. 1605, 94 L.Ed.2d 791 (1987), and “the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law,” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In Celotex, the Supreme Court stated:

[t]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, 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.

477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552.

A party opposing a properly supported motion for summary judgment must offer evidence, in admissible form, of specific facts, Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e), sufficient to raise a “genuine issue of material fact.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2509-10, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (“The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment.”). “Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted.” Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510.

Summary judgment is only appropriate if “there is [not] sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party.” Id. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511. The Supreme Court stated:

[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiffs position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.

Id. at 252,106 S.Ct. at 2512. Thus, to defeat a summary judgment motion, the nonmovant “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 585-86, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511 (“There is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the non-moving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party. If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted.” (citations omitted)).

In essence, the inquiry for the Court is “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

II.

Mr. Whatley claims that the City deprived him of a property interest in his continued employment without affording him due process of law. As a threshold matter, Mr. Whatley must be able to establish that he had a property right in his continued employment. See Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 105 S.Ct. 1487, 84 L.Ed.2d 494 (1985). Whether an employee has a protected property interest in his position is purely a question of law to be determined by the court. Driggins v. City of Oklahoma City, 954 F.2d 1511, 1513 (10th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 843, 113 S.Ct. 129, 121 L.Ed.2d 84 (1993).

Property interests, of course, are not created by the Constitution. Rather, they are created and their dimensions are defined by existing rules or understandings that stem from an independent source such as state law—rules or understandings that secure certain benefits and that support claims of entitlement to those benefits.

Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 2709, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). Thus, the sufficiency of Mr. Whatley’s claim of entitlement “must be decided by reference to state law.” Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 344, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 2077, 48 L.Ed.2d 684 (1976); Driggins, 954 F.2d at 1513.

[1303]*1303Oklahoma recognizes the employment at-will doctrine. Carnes v. Parker, 922 F.2d 1506, 1510 (10th Cir.1991).

In the absence of an implied or express agreement between the employer and its employees, the employer may terminate an employee at any time with or without cause. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has refused to recognize an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in employment at-will contracts.

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Bluebook (online)
932 F. Supp. 1300, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10999, 1996 WL 435615, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whatley-v-city-of-bartlesville-oknd-1996.