Widder v. Durango School District No. 9-R

60 P.3d 741, 2002 WL 1339075
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 13, 2003
Docket01CA1180
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 60 P.3d 741 (Widder v. Durango School District No. 9-R) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Widder v. Durango School District No. 9-R, 60 P.3d 741, 2002 WL 1339075 (Colo. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

Opinion by

Judge MARQUEZ.

In this action in mandamus, defendants, Durango School District No. 9-R and the Board of Education of Durango School District No. 9-R, appeal the trial court’s judgment granting plaintiff, Keith Widder, reinstatement and back pay. We vacate the judgment and remand with directions.

While employed as a custodian at a middle school in Durango, plaintiff witnessed a student being pushed by another student and decided to stop the incident. According to plaintiff, when he approached the students, he squatted down to get “eye to eye with them” and accidentally bumped foreheads with one of the students. Later that day, the interim assistant principal informed plaintiff that the student reported that plaintiff had “head butted” him, and plaintiff was served with a notice of suspension. The interim superintendent advised plaintiff by letter that he was recommending to the board that plaintiff be terminated and that plaintiff could request a hearing.

Plaintiff requested a hearing before the interim superintendent. Following the hearing, at which plaintiff appeared with counsel, a different interim superintendent found that she would uphold the recommendation of termination based on evidence that there was a head butt. She also found, based on her assessment of the credibility and weight of the evidence, that plaintiffs actions were deliberate or the result of inappropriate conduct. The board approved the recommendation and dismissed plaintiff,

Plaintiff originally filed a complaint alleging breach of contract and violation of the former § 22-32-110(4)(c) (the immunity statute), Colo. Sess. Laws 1991, ch. 91 at 530 (now codified with amendments as § 22-32-109.1(9)(e), C.R.S.2001). That section provided that “[a] teacher or any other person who acts in good faith and in compliance with the discipline code adopted by the board of education ... shall not ... be subject to any disciplinary proceedings, including dismissal, as a result of such lawful actions.” Defendants moved for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to C.R.C.P. 12(c), which the trial court granted.

However, the court also allowed plaintiff to file an amended complaint based on McIntosh v. Board of Education, 999 P.2d 224 (Colo.App.2000). The amended complaint alleged that he was damaged by the board’s failure to comply with the immunity statute and that he was entitled to relief in the nature of mandamus pursuant to C.R.C.P. 106(a)(2).

Defendants then moved for summary judgment, which the court denied. The court rejected as contrary to McIntosh defendants’ assertion that the board’s actions are reversible only for abuse of discretion and conclud[743]*743ed that the court should determine de novo whether plaintiff was discharged in violation of the statute and entitled to a writ of mandamus.

After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court ruled in favor of plaintiff and ordered that he be reinstated and awarded back pay plus statutory interest. Defendants appeal from this judgment.

I.

Defendants first contend that the trial court erred in determining de novo the facts underlying the dismissal decision. In support of this contention, defendants argue that the immunity statute does not divest a school district of its authority to discipline or dismiss an employee if the district determines that the employee’s conduct was inappropriate and that the trial court erred in refusing to defer to the school district’s findings of inappropriate conduct by plaintiff.- We agree that the trial court erred in conducting a de novo hearing.

Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that may be used to compel performance by public officials of a plain legal duty which devolves upon them by virtue of their office or which the law enjoins as a duty resulting from the office. Mandamus is appropriate upon the satisfaction of three conditions: (1) a clear legal right to the relief sought; (2) a clear legal duty on the part of the district to perform the act requested; and (3) lack of any other available remedy. Board of County Comm’rs v. County Road Users Ass’n, 11 P.3d 432 (Colo.2000); Sherman v. City of Colorado Springs Planning Comm’n, 763 P.2d 292 (Colo.1988).

Mandamus lies to compel the performance of a purely ministerial duty involving no discretionary right and not requiring the exercise of judgment. Board of County Comm’rs v. County Road Users Ass’n, supra.

The board of education has the power, to be exercised in its judgment, to discharge or otherwise terminate the employment of any personnel. See § 22-32-110(l)(h), C.R.S. 2001; Adams County School Dist. No. 50 v. Dickey, 791 P.2d 688 (Colo.1990).

In McIntosh, supra, a division of this court determined that a probationary teacher who had disciplined a student was entitled to pursue mandamus relief to enforce the immunity statute when the school board unilaterally voted not to renew the teacher’s contract. The school board had asserted in a C.R.C.P. 12(b)(5) motion to dismiss that the teacher’s contract was not renewed based on budget considerations. The division determined that the statute creates an exception to the general rule granting school boards discretion to terminate employment and prohibits school boards from basing termination decisions on actions taken in good faith and in compliance with the school board’s discipline codes.

The division in McIntosh concluded that pursuant to the immunity statute, the school board had a specific duty not to refuse to renew the probationary teacher’s contract because of good faith and code compliant disciplinary actions. The division also held that the statute prescribes no avenue of relief for an alleged violation of this duty and that the probationary teacher had not been afforded, and did not otherwise have, the opportunity to have his claim heard by an impartial arbiter.

Because the appeal in McIntosh concerned the trial court’s grant of the school board’s motion to dismiss, the division did not consider the school board’s proffered reason for not renewing the teacher’s contract. Rather, it remanded the case to the district court with directions to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine that reason. The division stated that mandamus relief requiring the reinstatement of the teacher should be granted only if the trial court determined that the school board’s reason was prohibited by the immunity statute.

Here, defendants argued before the trial court that the immunity statute does not immunize plaintiff from termination if the board determines in its discretion that the methods used to discipline a student are inappropriate and therefore, not in good faith and in compliance with the disciplinary code. The trial court rejected this argument based on its interpretation of Mein-[744]*744tosh and determined that whether plaintiff was discharged in violation of the statute was an issue to be heard de novo.

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Related

Widder v. Durango School District No. 9-R
85 P.3d 518 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
60 P.3d 741, 2002 WL 1339075, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/widder-v-durango-school-district-no-9-r-coloctapp-2003.