Williams v. Bd. of Supervisors

272 So. 3d 84
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 15, 2019
Docket18-554
StatusPublished

This text of 272 So. 3d 84 (Williams v. Bd. of Supervisors) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Bd. of Supervisors, 272 So. 3d 84 (La. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

KYZAR, Judge.

Defendants, the Board of Supervisors of the Louisiana Community and Technical College Systems (the Board) and Phyllis Dupuis, appeal the trial court judgment granting partial summary judgment to Plaintiff, Pemella Williams,1 finding that Defendants violated Ms. Williams' constitutional right to procedural due process. Defendants further appeal the trial court's denial of their motion for summary judgment, seeking to dismiss all of Plaintiff's claims against them with prejudice, as well as the trial court's denial of qualified immunity as to Phyllis Dupuis. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court in part, reverse in part, and remand for proceedings consistent herewith.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This matter arose as a teacher/tenure claim after Plaintiff, Ms. Williams, was *87presented with a termination letter on July 11, 2011. Plaintiff began her employment with Acadiana Technical College (ATC) in 1979. ATC came under the jurisdiction of the Board on July 1, 1999, with a policy that all employees who were transferred to the employment of the Board on July 1, 1999 would retain all property interests and due process interests acquired prior to the transfer of jurisdiction. Phyllis Dupuis was the Regional Director of ATC at all times relevant herein.

Prior to receiving the July 11, 2011 letter, Plaintiff was the Department Head of Health Occupations at the Lafayette campus of ATC, as well as acting as a classroom/clinical nursing instructor. In this role, Plaintiff's job duties included providing career counseling to students, maintaining program credentials and licensing requirements, and providing academic advice to program students. In the fall of 2010, Plaintiff was made aware that the Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners, which is responsible for establishing the minimum requirements prospective nurses must meet before sitting for the national nursing exam, instituted a new requirement that graduating students must obtain FBI background clearance before sitting for the exam. Plaintiff was also made aware that students would be required to request the FBI clearance at least six months before attempting to sit for their nursing exam to ensure all background check results would be timely. Despite this, Plaintiff failed to inform nursing students set to graduate in May 2011 of the new FBI background check requirements, as required by her duties as Department Head.

ATC and the Board became aware of Plaintiff's oversight in May 2011, when Ms. Dupuis began receiving complaints from students who had not been authorized to sit for the nursing board exams based upon their lack of FBI background clearance. This caused repercussions for both the graduating nursing students and the reputation of ATC's nursing program, as passing nursing boards is a pre-requisite to employment in the field. Ms. Dupuis and Plaintiff met several times regarding the incident, the significance of the incident, and any potential legal ramifications, as many students had threatened legal action. Ms. Dupuis also consulted with the Board's legal counsel, Leo Hamilton, the Board's assistant manager of Human Resources, Francis Killen, and ATC's manager of Human Resources, Trevor Menard.

Following discussions about the incident over the course of May and June of 2011, Plaintiff received a letter on July 11, 2011, referencing her termination, though advising her that she would be paid wages and benefits through July 29, 2011. Plaintiff requested instead that she be allowed to retire, which request was granted less than a week later. At that point, Plaintiff retained an attorney who asserted that she had suffered a due process violation. ATC determined that the formal procedures required for termination of employment did apply and had not been completed. Thereafter, ATC effectively revoked the July 11, 2011 letter and prepared to conduct the formal process for termination.

Instead, Plaintiff executed Teacher Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) paperwork on July 20, 2011 certifying that she planned to retire from ATC. She was continued on administrative leave with pay and full benefits and retained her title as Department Head until she retired effective August 31, 2011. Before this chosen retirement date, Plaintiff's attorney sent a letter to ATC demanding reinstatement, claiming that Plaintiff was not still employed. On August 25, 2011, Plaintiff notified ATC by letter from her attorney that *88she would retire on September 1, though she reserved her right to pursue any civil remedies. Plaintiff then filed the instant suit after her retirement date, claiming unlawful discharge without due process.

Plaintiff filed a motion for partial summary judgment, requesting a finding that the actions of Defendants violated her federal and state constitutional rights to Due Process. Defendants filed a cross motion for summary judgment, seeking the dismissal of Plaintiff's claims with prejudice. Following arguments on the motions, the trial court granted Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment and denied Defendants' cross motion. It is from this judgment that Defendants appeal, asserting five alleged errors.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

(1) The trial court committed legal error in finding that plaintiff suffered a deprivation of Procedural Due Process Rights when she was never terminated.
(2) The trial [court] committed legal error in failing to recognize plaintiff's retirement as a knowing and voluntary waiver of her Procedural Due Process Rights.
(3) In failing to consider whether plaintiff was afforded constitutionally sufficient pre-termination process based on the undisputed fact that the willful neglect forming cause for her termination was discussed with her informally and was set forth in her termination letter, the trial court committed legal error.
(4) Denying Defendants' Summary Judgment seeking dismissal of the official capacity claim against Phyllis Dupuis was legal error.
(5) The trial court was manifestly erroneous in failing to find Phyllis Dupuis is entitled to Qualified Immunity.

Standard of Review

An appellate court reviews a judgment granting or denying a motion for summary judgment de novo , using the same criteria which govern a trial court's consideration regarding the appropriateness of summary judgment. Menard v. City of Lafayette , 01-4 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/23/01), 786 So.2d 354. Summary judgment may be granted only if the mover has proved, through the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and affidavits, that there remain no genuine issues of material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.Code Civ.P. art. 966. A genuine issue of material fact, for summary judgment purposes, is one as to which reasonable persons could disagree; if reasonable persons could reach only one conclusion, there is no need for trial on that issue and summary judgment is appropriate. Hines v. Garrett , 04-806 (La. 6/25/04), 876 So.2d 764.

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272 So. 3d 84, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-bd-of-supervisors-lactapp-2019.