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Keywords

contractlawsuitbreach of contractwilldue process

contractlawsuitplaintiffdefendantwilldue process

Related Cases

Nicholas v. Pennsylvania State University, 227 F.3d 133, 147 Ed. Law Rep. 485, 55 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1028

Facts

Dr. W. Channing Nicholas was terminated from his tenured position at Pennsylvania State University after conflicts with his new supervisor, Dr. William Evans. Nicholas had been warned multiple times about his failure to provide requested information regarding his work schedule and research plans. Following a series of events, including Nicholas's complaints about Evans's research methods, he was formally terminated. Nicholas claimed that his termination was retaliatory and unjust, leading to this lawsuit.

In June 1997, Nicholas filed this lawsuit against the University and Evans. In his five-count Complaint, he alleged that the defendants' actions: (1) violated his rights under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the free speech clause of the First Amendment; (2) violated these same rights and discriminated against Nicholas based on his age in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (3) violated the Pennsylvania whistleblower law, 43 P.S. § 1423; (4) constituted a breach of his tenure contract; and (5) violated ERISA.

Issue

Whether Nicholas's termination violated his rights under the substantive due process clause and whether it constituted retaliatory discharge in violation of the First Amendment.

Most importantly, he claims that his tenured professorship was a property interest entitled to protection under the substantive component of the Due Process Clause.

Rule

Substantive due process protects against arbitrary government action, but not all property interests are entitled to this protection; only those that are 'fundamental' under the Constitution qualify. Additionally, for First Amendment retaliation claims, the burden shifts to the employer to show that the same decision would have been made regardless of the protected conduct.

To prevail on a non-legislative substantive due process claim, 'a plaintiff must establish as a threshold matter that he has a protected property interest to which the Fourteenth Amendment's due process protection applies.'

Analysis

The court determined that Nicholas's tenured position did not constitute a fundamental property interest entitled to substantive due process protection. It also found that the jury's findings indicated that while Nicholas's report to the State Board of Medicine was a motivating factor in his termination, the university would have made the same decision regardless of that report, thus defeating his First Amendment claim.

Nicholas's tenured public employment is a wholly state-created contract right; it bears little resemblance to other rights and property interests that have been deemed fundamental under the Constitution.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the lower court's judgment, ruling in favor of the university on the substantive due process and First Amendment claims, while acknowledging the breach of contract.

We will affirm the District Court's entry of judgment in favor of the defendants on Nicholas's substantive due process claim.

Who won?

Pennsylvania State University prevailed in the case because the court found that Nicholas's claims regarding due process and retaliatory discharge were without merit, despite the breach of contract ruling.

The court also entered final judgment in favor of the University as to the First Amendment claim and in favor of Evans as to all claims.

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