Laskar v. Hank M. Huckaby et al, No. 1:2013cv01609 - Document 21 (N.D. Ga. 2013)

Court Description: OPINION AND ORDER granting 7 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. Signed by Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr on 12/20/13. (dr)

Download PDF

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION JOY LASKAR PH.D., Plaintiff, v. CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 1:13-CV-1609-TWT G.P. "BUD" PETERSON individually and in his official capacity as President of the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Unit of the University System of Georgia, et al., Defendants. OPINION AND ORDER This is a lawsuit in which the Plaintiff claims that the Defendants violated his due process rights when they fired him from his tenured professorship at the Georgia Institute of Technology. It is before the Court on the Defendants Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 7]. For the reasons set forth below, the Defendants Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 7] is GRANTED. I. Background The Plaintiff Dr. Joy Laskar--an electrical engineer specializing in communication technology--was a tenured professor at the Georgia Institute of T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd Technology. (Compl. ¶¶ 32, 40.) He also founded and was the Director of the Georgia Electronic Design Center at Georgia Tech. (Compl. ¶ 41.) Each year, the Plaintiff would enter into a contract with Georgia Tech detailing the terms of his employment. (Compl. ¶ 47.) This contract was expressly made subject to the "statutes and regulations of this institution and to the Bylaws and Policies of the Board of Regents." (Compl. ¶ 48.) On May 17, 2010, Georgia Tech President G.P. Peterson sent the Plaintiff a letter informing him that, effective immediately, he was to be suspended without pay.1 (Compl. ¶ 59.) Peterson explained: "In reviewing the recent cost overruns within the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC), the Institute's Department of Internal Auditing discovered what they believe to be substantial evidence of malfeasance on your part including the misappropriation of Institute resources for the benefit of a company, Sayana Wireless, LLC, of which you are part owner." (Compl. ¶ 58.) On June 15, 2010, Dr. Gary May--Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech--sent the Plaintiff a letter notifying him that Georgia Tech intended to initiate dismissal proceedings against him. (Compl. ¶ 63.) The bylaws and policies of the Board of Regents, as well as the statutes and 1 The Plaintiff filed suit arguing that Georgia Tech could not suspend him without pay. (Compl. ¶¶ 60-61.) The case was settled and the Plaintiff continued to receive his salary during the temporary suspension. (Compl. ¶ 62.) T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -2- regulations of Georgia Tech, provide for a pre-termination procedure for tenured faculty members, which includes: (a) [D]iscussion between the faculty member and appropriate administrative officers looking toward a mutual settlement; (b) [I]nformal inquiry by a Faculty Status and Grievance Committee, which is authorized to recommend dismissal to the President; and (c) [A] letter of warning to the affected faculty member indicating that (i) he is about to be terminated; (ii) that he can obtain a formal statement of the charges against him; and (iii) that he can request a formal hearing on the charges before a Faculty Hearing Committee. (Compl. ¶ 56.) In satisfaction of the first requirement, Dr. May informed the Plaintiff that he could meet with an administrative officer and seek a mutual settlement. (Compl. ¶ 64.) On June 24, 2010, the Plaintiff met with Dr. Gary Schuster. (Compl. ¶ 65.) During the meeting, Dr. Schuster made clear he would only accept a settlement that included the Plaintiff's resignation. (Compl. ¶ 67.) On July 1, 2010, Dr. May sent the Plaintiff a letter informing him that his case had been referred to the Faculty Status and Grievance Committee ("FSG Committee"). (Compl. ¶ 71.) Plaintiff's counsel asked Georgia Tech representatives what information was given to the FSG Committee, and what type of informal inquiry the FSG Committee conducted. (Compl. ¶ 72.) No information was provided in response to this request. (Compl. ¶ 73.) T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -3- On July 9, 2010, Peterson sent the Plaintiff a letter indicating that the FSG Committee voted in favor of initiating dismissal proceedings, and that he was entitled to a statement of charges and a formal hearing. (Compl. ¶ 74.) The Plaintiff requested both. (Compl. ¶ 75.) On October 6, 2010, Dr. May sent the Plaintiff a detailed written statement of the charges against him: Charge 1: You are charged with willful violations of the policies of the Board of Regents and Georg[i]a Tech relating to professional incompetency or neglect of duty by using, or causing to be used, Institute monies and other Institute resources to benefit your private, for-profit company, Sayana Wireless LLC ("Sayana"). Charge 2: You are charged with the violation of the policies of the Board of Regents and Georgia Tech relating to professional incompetency or neglect of duty by altering GEDC membership agreements. Charge 3: You are charged with the violation of the policies of the Board of Regents and Georgia Tech relating to false swearing with respect to official documents filed with the Institute by failing to disclose the true nature of your ownership interest in Sayana. Charge 4: You are charged with the violation of the policies of the Board of Regents and Georgia Tech relating to the disruption of teaching and Institute research by diverting Georgia Tech students and other resources from certain research contracts. Charge 5: You are charged with the violation of the policies of the Board of Regents and Georgia Tech relating to the disruption of teaching and Institute research by diverting Georgia Tech resources to benefit Sayana. T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -4- (Compl. ¶ 78.)2 Prior to the hearing, Plaintiff's counsel made two requests to Georgia Tech. First, they asked Georgia Tech to help the Plaintiff coordinate interviews with potential witnesses and to help arrange for them to testify at the hearing. (Compl. ¶¶ 80, 83.) Georgia Tech refused. (Compl. ¶¶ 81, 84.) Second, Plaintiff's counsel asked Georgia Tech to produce all relevant documents. (Compl. ¶ 80.) Georgia Tech said that it had already produced the relevant documents in response to the Plaintiff's requests under the Georgia Open Records Act. (Compl. ¶ 82.) Georgia Tech, however, withheld a number of documents, and the Plaintiff filed a separate suit to compel the production of those documents. (Compl. ¶ 82.) Five months after the Plaintiff received a written statement of the charges, the hearing commenced before the Hearing Committee. (Compl. ¶ 79.) There is no allegation that the Plaintiff requested a postponement of the hearing until all of his Open Records Act requests had been ruled upon. The parties were limited to five hours each for their presentations. (Compl. ¶ 85.) No Georgia Tech employees agreed to testify for the Plaintiff. (Compl. ¶ 86.) On May 7, 2011, the Hearing Committee sent Peterson its findings and recommendation. (Compl. ¶ 87.) It found that the evidence established three out of the five charges, and it unanimously recommended 2 For convenience, a copy of the entire letter (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. B-4) is reproduced as Appendix A to this Opinion and Order. T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -5- that Peterson dismiss the Plaintiff from his position at Georgia Tech. (Compl. ¶¶ 87-88.)3 On May 14, 2011, Peterson wrote a letter to the Plaintiff informing the Plaintiff that he had reviewed the recommendation from the Hearing Committee and decided to revoke the Plaintiff's tenure and terminate the Plaintiff s employment. (Compl. ¶ 90.) On June 3, 2011, the Plaintiff appealed Peterson's decision to the Board of Regents. (Compl. ¶ 91.) On August 8, 2011, the Vice Chancellor of Legal Affairs for the Board of Regents, J. Burns Newsome, informed the Plaintiff that his appeal had been presented to the Board of Regents and that it had decided to uphold Peterson's decision. (Compl. ¶ 92.) The Plaintiff was not permitted to attend the meeting where it considered his appeal. (Compl. ¶ 94.) On September 9, 2011, the Plaintiff filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, or in the alternative for a writ of mandamus, with the Superior Court of Fulton County. (Compl. ¶ 98.) He sought review of the Board of Regents' decision. (Compl. ¶ 98.) On December 21, 2011, the Superior Court dismissed the petition. (Compl. ¶ 100.) It concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to review the termination process. (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. E.) The Plaintiff filed an application for discretionary appeal with the 3 For convenience, a copy of the letter and report of the committee (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. B-5) is reproduced as Appendix B to this Opinion and Order. T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -6- Georgia Court of Appeals which was granted. (Compl. ¶¶ 101-102.) The Court of Appeals concluded that the Plaintiff was not entitled to certiorari review of the termination decision because the termination proceedings were administrative, not quasi-judicial. (Compl. ¶ 105.) The Plaintiff then brought this action. The Plaintiff asserts a procedural due process claim under section 1983. He argues that he had a protected property interest in his tenured position, and that the procedure that preceded his termination did not satisfy the requirements of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Defendants include the President of Georgia Tech, G.P. "Bud" Peterson (in his individual and official capacity), the Chancellor of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, Hank Huckaby (in his official capacity), and the individual members of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (in their individual and official capacities). II. Legal Standard A complaint should be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) only where it appears that the facts alleged fail to state a "plausible" claim for relief. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009); Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). A complaint may survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, however, even if it is "improbable" that a plaintiff would be able to prove those facts; even if the possibility of recovery is extremely T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -7- "remote and unlikely." Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556 (2007). In ruling on a motion to dismiss, the court must accept the facts pleaded in the complaint as true and construe them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Quality Foods de Centro America, S.A. v. Latin American Agribusiness Dev. Corp., S.A., 711 F.2d 989, 994-95 (11th Cir. 1983); see also Sanjuan v. American Bd. of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc., 40 F.3d 247, 251 (7th Cir. 1994) (noting that at the pleading stage, the plaintiff "receives the benefit of imagination"). Generally, notice pleading is all that is required for a valid complaint. See Lombard's, Inc. v. Prince Mfg., Inc., 753 F.2d 974, 975 (11th Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1082 (1986). Under notice pleading, the plaintiff need only give the defendant fair notice of the plaintiff's claim and the grounds upon which it rests. See Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007). "[T]he analysis of a 12(b)(6) motion is limited primarily to the face of the complaint and attachments thereto." Brooks v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield, 116 F.3d 1364, 1368 (11th Cir. 1997). However, "where the plaintiff refers to certain documents in the complaint and those documents are central to the plaintiff's claim, then the Court may consider the documents part of the pleadings for purposes of Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal, and the defendant's attaching such documents to the motion to dismiss will not require conversion of the motion into a motion for summary judgment." Id. at 1369. The exhibits attached to the Defendants Motion to Dismiss T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -8- qualify for this consideration. They are central to the Plaintiff s claims and are not in dispute. III. Discussion A. Section 1983 "A § 1983 action may be brought for a violation of procedural due process." Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 125 (1990). "The protections of the Due Process Clause apply to government deprivation of those [benefits] of government employment in which the employee has a constitutionally protected 'property' interest." Gilbert v. Homar, 520 U.S. 924, 928 (1997). "[A] public college professor dismissed from an office held under tenure provisions . . . [has an interest] in continued employment that [is] safeguarded by due process." Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 576-77 (1972). "In this circuit, a federal court reviewing a decision of a public educational institution to discharge an employee employs a two-tier level of inquiry." Martin v. Guillot, 875 F.2d 839, 844 (11th Cir. 1989). "We examine [1] whether the procedures followed by school authorities comported with due process requirements, and if so, [2] whether the action taken is supported by substantial evidence." Id.; see also McKinney v. Pate, 20 F.3d 1550, 1558 n.13 (11th Cir. 1994) (referencing the two-tier inquiry with approval and concluding that the "substantial evidence" component was T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -9- an "appropriate, essentially procedural, review of the sufficiency of the evidence."). The Plaintiff does not allege that the Hearing Committee's findings were not supported by substantial evidence. Consequently, the Court need only look to the first prong of the test. Initially, the Defendants make two arguments. First, the Defendants claim that there was no procedural due process violation because there are state remedies for challenging any deficiencies in Georgia Tech s termination procedure. Second, the Defendants claim that the termination procedure nonetheless satisfied procedural due process requirements. Each will be discussed. The Defendants argue the Plaintiff could have challenged Georgia Tech's termination procedure before a Georgia court and remedied the alleged deficiencies. With procedural due process, "[t]he constitutional violation actionable under § 1983 is not complete when the deprivation occurs; it is not complete unless and until the State fails to provide due process." Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 126 (1990). Thus, when assessing a procedural due process claim the Court looks not only to the procedure employed in depriving the plaintiff of a property interest, but also to the available state remedies for challenging that procedure. See Horton v. Board of Cnty. Comm'rs of Flagler Cnty., 202 F.3d 1297, 1300 (11th Cir. 2000) ("[T]he process a state provides is not only that employed by the board, agency, or other governmental entity whose action is in question, but also includes the remedial process state courts T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -10- would provide if asked."); Zinermon, 494 U.S. at 125-26 ("[In a] § 1983 action . . . brought for a violation of procedural due process . . . [the] inquiry would examine the procedural safeguards built into the . . . administrative procedure of effecting the deprivation, and any remedies for erroneous deprivations provided by statute or tort law."). There is a due process violation only if available state remedies fail to bring the underlying procedure into compliance with procedural due process requirements.4 See Foxy Lady, Inc. v. City of Atlanta, Ga., 347 F.3d 1232, 1238 (11th Cir. 2003) ("[E]ven if a procedural deprivation exists during an administrative hearing, such a claim will not be cognizable under § 1983 if the state provides a means by which to remedy the alleged deprivation."); Cotton v. Jackson, 216 F.3d 1328, 1331 (11th Cir. 2000) ("It is the state's failure to provide adequate procedures to remedy the otherwise procedurally flawed deprivation of a protected interest that gives rise to a federal procedural due process claim."). 4 This has also been referred to as the McKinney rule. In that case, the Eleventh Circuit stated: [E]ven if [the plaintiff] suffered a procedural deprivation at . . . his termination hearing, he has not suffered a violation of his procedural due process rights unless and until the State . . . refuses to make available a means to remedy the deprivation. . . .[O]nly the state's refusal to provide a means to correct any error . . . would engender a procedural due process violation. McKinney, 20 F.3d at 1563. T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -11- The Defendants argue that there were two state remedies available to the Plaintiff: the writ of certiorari and the writ of mandamus. First, "[u]nder Georgia law, certiorari only lies to correct the errors committed 'by any inferior judicatory or any person exercising judicial powers.'" Cotton, 216 F.3d at 1332 (citing O.C.G.A. § 5-4-1(a)). "To determine if certiorari lies we must decide whether [the Defendants'] acts were judicial or quasi-judicial or whether they were administrative or legislative." Id. Here, the Plaintiff filed a petition for certiorari with the Superior Court of Fulton County. This petition was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal after finding that the termination procedure was not judicial or quasi-judicial. See Laskar v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia, 320 Ga. App. 414, 419 (2013) ("We conclude . . . that despite the procedures for notice and a hearing before the Hearing Committee, the decision to dismiss Laskar was essentially an administrative one."). Consequently, this remedy was not available to the Plaintiff. However, "[j]ust because under Georgia law certiorari will not lie does not mean that there were no adequate state procedures available to [the Plaintiff]." Cotton, 216 F.3d at 1332. Although certiorari requires a quasi-judicial proceeding, mandamus does not: "All official duties should be faithfully performed, and whenever, from any cause, a defect of legal justice would ensue from a failure to perform or from improper T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -12- performance, the writ of mandamus may issue to compel a due performance if there is no other specific legal remedy for the legal rights."5 O.C.G.A. § 9-6-20 (emphasis added); see also Cotton, 216 F.3d at 1332 ("Under Georgia law, when no other specific legal remedy is available and a party has a clear legal right to have a certain act performed, a party may seek mandamus."). Generally, mandamus is considered an adequate state remedy, thus defeating a procedural due process claim. See Cotton, 216 F.3d at 1333 ("Because we believe that the writ of mandamus would be available under state law to Plaintiff, and because we believe that mandamus would be an adequate remedy to ensure that Plaintiff was not deprived of his due process rights . . . we conclude that . . . Plaintiff has failed to state a claim for a procedural due process violation."); Cochran v. Collins, 253 F. Supp. 2d 1295, 1305 (N.D. Ga. 2003) ("[A writ of mandamus] can be used to compel a . . . governmental board to hold a hearing as provided by law." ). Here, the Plaintiff alleges that his petition included a mandamus request. However, the Superior Court did not expressly address the mandamus request and it is unclear whether the jurisdictional holding was intended to apply to it. (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. E.) It is equally unclear whether the Plaintiff pursued it on appeal. The 5 In Cotton, the Court of Appeals found that although the termination proceedings were not judicial or quasi-judicial, the plaintiff could have sought a writ of mandamus. See Cotton, 216 F.3d at 1332. T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -13- Georgia Court of Appeals opinion suggests that the Plaintiff only sought review for his certiorari petition: "Laskar . . . appeals the trial court's order dismissing his petition for writ of certiorari for lack of jurisdiction." Laskar, 320 Ga. App. at 414. Nonetheless, the Court must construe the allegations in the Plaintiff s favor. It is plausible that both the Superior Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals summarily dismissed his mandamus request without addressing the merits. The Defendants also argue that the Georgia Tech termination procedure satisfied due process requirements. The minimum procedural due process requirements when "a teacher who is to be terminated for cause opposes his termination" are: "(1) notice of the reasons for dismissal; (2) notice of the names of adverse witnesses and the nature of their testimony; (3) a meaningful opportunity to be heard; and (4) the right to be heard by a tribunal which possesses some academic expertise and an apparent impartiality toward the charges leveled against the teacher."6 6 The Defendants argue that this four-part requirement does not apply because it is a statutory standard [O.C.G.A. § 20-2-940] that applies to hearings for primary and secondary school teachers. (Defs. Reply in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss, at 9.) This reflects a misunderstanding of Holley. In that case, the Court of Appeals was not citing to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-940 as authority supporting the standard. The Court of Appeals was determining whether O.C.G.A. § 20-2-940 met this standard. See Holley, 755 F.2d at 1497 ( The Fair Dismissal Act of Georgia . . . meets . . . the due process standard. ). Additionally, the Court of Appeals has previously applied this four-part requirement in the context of higher education. See Martin v. Guillot, 875 F.2d 839 (1989). T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -14- Holley v. Seminole Cnty. Sch. Dist., 755 F.2d 1492, 1497 (11th Cir. 1985). However, "the pretermination hearing . . . need not be elaborate." Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 545 (1985) (internal quotation marks omitted). "[S]omething less than a full evidentiary hearing is sufficient prior to adverse administrative action." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). The essential requirements of due process . . . are notice and an opportunity to respond . . . To require more than this prior to termination would intrude to an unwarranted extent on the government's interest in quickly removing an unsatisfactory employee. Id. at 546. It is clear that all of the procedural due process protections afforded to a defendant in a criminal case are not required in this context. Here, the Plaintiff received prior notice of the charges against him. (Compl. ¶¶ 58, 78.) He was then granted a hearing before a panel of five faculty members. (Compl. ¶¶ 75, 79; Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. B-2.) The Plaintiff does not allege that the panel lacked academic expertise, or that it was biased against him.7 During the hearing, the Plaintiff was represented by counsel. He was allowed to (1) present evidence, (2) call any witnesses that agreed to testify for him, and (3) cross-examine 7 The Board of Regents termination procedure guidelines state that "[a] member [of the Hearing Committee] should remove himself/herself from the case, either at the request of a party or on his/her own initiative if he/she deems himself/herself disqualified for bias or interest." (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. B-2.) T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -15- opposing witnesses. (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. B-2.) The Plaintiff does not allege that Georgia Tech refused to give notice of the witnesses who would be testifying at the hearing.8 The Hearing Committee heard approximately twelve hours of testimony and a large number of documents presented by both the Plaintiff and Georgia Tech. (App. B at 1.) The members have deliberated in committee for approximately eight hours, and have spent uncounted hours reviewing exhibits, court reporter transcripts and their own notes. (Id.) The Hearing Committee found that three of the five charges were proven in whole or in part. It found that two of the charges were not proven. (Id. at 1-2.) The Hearing Committee unanimously recommended dismissal of the Plaintiff. Its findings were reviewed by Peterson. After Peterson concurred with the findings and terminated the Plaintiff's employment, the Plaintiff was allowed to appeal to the Board of Regents. It affirmed Peterson s decision to terminate the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff argues that this process fell short of the procedural due process requirements. The Plaintiff first argues that the Georgia Court of Appeals' conclusion that the termination procedure was not "quasi-judicial" shows that, as a matter of law, his due 8 The Board of Regents termination procedure guidelines require that, upon request, "the faculty member . . . be advised of the names of witnesses to be used against him or her together with the nature of their expected testimony." (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. B-2.) T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -16- process rights were violated. This argument assumes that due process requires a "quasi-judicial" procedure. This assumption is incorrect. See Jaeger v. Freeman, 410 F.2d 528, 531 (5th Cir. 1969) ("[D]ue process does not in every instance require the Government to afford a trial-type hearing to an employee before discharging him."); Harrison v. Wille, 132 F.3d 679, 684 (11th Cir. 1998) ("Before termination, a full evidentiary hearing is not required. . . . Plaintiff need only be given an opportunity to present his side of the story."); McKinney v. Pate, 20 F.3d 1550, 1561(11th Cir. 1994) ( The employee is entitled to some kind of pre-termination hearing . . . [t]hat hearing is not a mini-trial . . .. ). Second, the Plaintiff argues that because the Georgia Tech President had the final say, the hearing before the committee was not meaningful. But there have been many cases where a termination procedure was found to comply with due process requirements even though due process hearing committee did not make the final decision. See Martin v. Guillot, 875 F.2d 839, 844 (11th Cir. 1989) ("[The plaintiff] received a hearing before a due process committee which recommended that his employment be terminated. After a review, the president accepted the committee's recommendation. . . .Such procedures . . . meet the minimum constitutional standards for procedural due process."); Bowling v. Scott, 587 F.2d 229, 230-31 (5th Cir. 1979) ("After considering the committee's report . . . the University official assigned the T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -17- responsibility of making the final institutional decision with respect to [the plaintiff's] future employment, accepted the recommendation . . . and informed [the plaintiff] by letter . . . that his employment would be terminated."). Quoting from the dissenting opinion in Arnett v. Kennedy, the Plaintiff argues that for the hearing to be meaningful, the hearing officer must be independent and unbiased and his decision be entitled to some weight. Arnett v. Kennedy, 416 U.S. 134, 216 (1974) (Marshall, J., dissenting) (emphasis added). This is just an incorrect statement of the law in this context. In any event, the Hearing Committee s report was given weight. It was submitted to the President for review prior to a final decision. In the event that the President disagrees with the Hearing Committee, he must state his/her reasons in writing to the Committee for response before rendering his/her final decision. 9 (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. B-2.) Peterson made no statement disagreeing with the Hearing Committee s report. The Plaintiff has no authority for support of his argument that either Peterson or the Board of Regents was required to hold an evidentiary hearing before acting upon the recommendation of the Hearing Committee that he be dismissed. Imposing such a requirement would have a paralyzing effect upon 9 In this case the Hearing Committee recommended the Plaintiff's dismissal, thus it would have made no difference if the President was bound by its determination. T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -18- institutions of higher learning such as Georgia Tech and the University System of Georgia. Third, the Plaintiff argues that Georgia Tech should have compelled witnesses to appear on his behalf. But procedural due process does not include the right to subpoena witnesses in an administrative hearing. See Foxy Lady, 347 F.3d at 1237 ("[W]e . . . now hold expressly that procedural due process . . . does not require an absolute or independent right to subpoena witnesses in administrative hearings."). However, given that due process requirements may vary based on context, it is possible that in a particular case some opportunity to compel witnesses may be necessary. See Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 481 (1972) ("[D]ue process is flexible and calls for such procedural protections as the particular situation demands."). None of the Plaintiff's allegations support a conclusion that this is such a case. [O]ther than stating that he would have liked to call [the witnesses] to testify on his behalf, Plaintiff never explains how their testimony would have been relevant to the . . . proceeding, or how he was prejudiced without having them testify." Hames v. City of Miami, 479 F. Supp. 2d 1276, 1289-90 (S.D. Fla. 2007). Here, the Plaintiff was able to submit his own evidence, cross-examine Georgia Tech's witnesses, and speak on his own behalf. See Foxy Lady, 347 F.3d at 1238 (the ability to T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -19- cross-examine witnesses and present other forms of evidence mitigated any disadvantage caused by the lack of subpoena power.). Fourth, the Plaintiff argues that Georgia Tech impermissibly withheld material documents from him. "The tenured public employee is entitled to . . . an explanation of the employer's evidence." Loudermill, 470 U.S. at 546; see also Brock v. Roadway Exp., Inc., 481 U.S. 252, 264-65 (1987) ("[T]he constitutional requirement of a meaningful opportunity to respond before a . . . deprivation may take effect entails . . . the right to be informed not only of the nature of the charges but also of the substance of the relevant supporting evidence."). A party that is "not informed of the relevant evidence supporting" the charges may be "deprived of an opportunity to prepare a meaningful response." See Brock, 481 U.S. at 268. Prior to the hearing, Georgia Tech provided records in response to 72 separate Open Records Act requests. (Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. B-6.) It provided to the Plaintiff the documents that it relied upon in seeking the Plaintiff s termination. On August 8, 2011, the Superior Court of Fulton County ordered Georgia Tech to produce an additional 515,000 e-mails in response to a disputed Open Records Act request. This was after the faculty hearing. But the Plaintiff had all of these records for more than a year before filing this lawsuit. His only description of the documents in his Complaint is that they were potentially exculpatory and explanatory documents. T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -20- (Compl. ¶ 138.) The Plaintiff has failed to allege any facts that even suggest that the outcome of the hearing would have been any different if the documents had been disclosed earlier. He makes no such argument in his response to the Defendants Motion to Dismiss. Indeed, he does not deny that there was substantial evidence in support of the Hearing Committee s report and recommendation. Accordingly, he has failed to state a plausible claim for relief with respect to this procedural due process claim. B. Qualified Immunity The Defendants may not be liable for civil damages if they are entitled to qualified immunity. See Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231 (2009). "To receive qualified immunity, the public official must first prove that he was acting within the scope of his discretionary authority when the allegedly wrongful acts occurred." Kingsland v. City of Miami, 382 F.3d 1220, 1232 (11th Cir. 2004) (internal quotation marks omitted). "Once the defendant establishes that he was acting within his discretionary authority, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that qualified immunity is not appropriate." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). The Plaintiff must show that the alleged constitutional violation was "clearly established." See Pearson, 555 U.S. at 232. "The contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right." T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -21- Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640 (1987). It is not enough to show that the general right to due process was clearly established. The Plaintiff must show that it was clearly established that the Defendants' conduct violated his procedural due process rights. See id. at 639 ("[T]he right to due process of law is quite clearly established by the Due Process Clause . . . [b]ut if the test of 'clearly established law' were to be applied at this level of generality, it would bear no relationship to the 'objective legal reasonableness' that is the touchstone of Harlow."). "In this circuit, the law can be 'clearly established' for qualified immunity purposes only by decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, or the highest court of the state where the case arose." Jenkins by Hall v. Talladega City Bd. of Educ., 115 F.3d 821, 827 n.4 (11th Cir. 1997). "Qualified immunity does not shield against equitable claims." Burrell v. Board of Trustees of Ga. Military Coll., 970 F.2d 785, 788 (11th Cir. 1992). Thus, qualified immunity may only preclude the Plaintiff from recovering damages. Here, the law was clearly established that a tenured professor has a property interest in his continued employment. See Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 576-77 (1972). However, the Plaintiff has not shown that Georgia Tech and the Board of Regents clearly violated the Plaintiff s due process rights by T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -22- following the hearing and dismissal process set forth in the Board of Regents Policy Manual and the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook. C. Rooker-Feldman Doctrine and Res Judicata The Defendants argue that the Court lacks jurisdiction over the Plaintiff s claim under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The Rooker-Feldman doctrine is a narrow doctrine that only applies to an attempt to appeal a state court judgment. Vasquez v. YII Shipping Co., Ltd., 692 F.3d 1192, 1195 (11th Cir. 2012). It is confined to cases . . . brought by state-court losers complaining of injuries caused by state-court judgments rendered before the district court proceedings commenced and inviting district court review and rejection of those judgments. Exxon-Mobile Corp. v. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., 544 U.S. 280, 284 (2005). The doctrine applies both to federal claims raised in the state court and to those inextricably intertwined with the state court's judgment. Casale v. Tillman, 558 F.3d 1258, 1260 (11th Cir. 2009). "A claim is inextricably intertwined if it would effectively nullify the state court judgment . . . or it succeeds only to the extent that the state court wrongly decided the issues." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Here, the Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed the petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. It did not resolve the Plaintiff s due process argument. Thus, "[the Plaintiff] is not asking a federal court to review and T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -23- reject a judgment of the state court because the [Georgia] court never addressed the issue [the Plaintiff] asks us to resolve." Vasquez, 692 F.3d at 1196. The Defendants also argue that the Plaintiff s claims are barred by res judicata. "When deciding whether claims are barred by res judicata, federal courts apply the law of the state in which they sit." Starship Enterprises of Atlanta, Inc. v. Coweta Cnty., Ga., 708 F.3d 1243, 1252-53 (11th Cir. 2013). Under Georgia law, "[t]hree prerequisites must be met before res judicata will apply: (1) identity of the cause of action; (2) identity of the parties or their privies; and (3) previous adjudication on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction." Id. at 1253-54 (internal quotation marks omitted). Here, res judicata does not preclude the Plaintiff s claim. First, the Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed the Plaintiff s petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. "[T]he dismissal of a complaint for lack of jurisdiction does not adjudicate the merit so as to make the case res judicata on the substance of the asserted claim." Boone v. Kurtz, 617 F.2d 435, 436 (5th Cir. 1980); see also Davila v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 326 F.3d 1183, 1188 (11th Cir. 2003) (Dismissal "for lack of subject matter jurisdiction . . . plainly is not an adjudication on the merits that would give rise to a viable res judicata defense."). The Defendants respond by pointing out that res judicata applies to claims that might have been put in issue in a previous suit. (Mot. to Dismiss, at 13.) This is not responsive. In order for res judicata to preclude a claim T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -24- that could have been brought in a previous suit, the res judicata elements must be satisfied. One of the elements is that there be an adjudication on the merits. Second, there is no identity between the causes of action. "For th[e] doctrine to act as a bar, the cause of action in each suit must be identical." Morrison v. Morrison, 284 Ga. 112, 115 (2008) (internal quotation marks omitted). "A cause of action has been defined as being the entire set of facts which give rise to an enforceable claim." Id. at 116. "Where . . . some of the operative facts necessary to the causes of action are different in the two cases, the later suit is not upon the same cause as the former . . . although the subject matter may be the same." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Here, the section 1983 due process claim depends on additional facts not relevant in the state proceeding: the facts regarding the state proceeding itself. A procedural due process claim requires a showing that available state remedies were inadequate. Thus, the Plaintiff cannot be required to bring a section 1983 claim while simultaneously pursuing those state remedies. D. Section 1985(3) The Complaint states that this action also arises under section 1985(3). (Compl. ¶ 26.) In order to establish a § 1985(3) conspiracy claim, [the Plaintiff] must show an agreement between two or more persons to deprive him of his civil rights. Dickerson v. Alachua Cnty. Comm'n, 200 F.3d 761, 767 (11th Cir. 2000). Here, T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -25- although the Complaint references section 1985(3) twice, there is no allegation of a conspiracy or any facts supporting such a finding. The Plaintiff also does not reference this claim in his response. Accordingly, this claim should be dismissed. IV. Conclusion For the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS the Defendants Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 7]. SO ORDERED, this 20 day of December, 2013. /s/Thomas W. Thrash THOMAS W. THRASH, JR. United States District Judge T:\ORDERS\13\Laskar\mtdtwt.wpd -26- Appendix A Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 16 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 17 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 18 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 19 of 63 Appendix B Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 21 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 22 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 23 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 24 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 25 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 26 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 27 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 28 of 63 Case 1:13-cv-01609-TWT Document 7-3 Filed 07/29/13 Page 29 of 63

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.