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Timestamp: 2016-10-27 09:02:15
Document Index: 579965282

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 12', '§ 788', '§ 301', '§ 185', '§ 185', '§ 12', '§ 788', '§ 1983', '§ 10', '§ 12', '§ 301', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 10', '§ 12', 'art, 738', '§ 908']

| Papapetropoulous v. Milwaukee Transport Services Inc.
Papapetropoulous v. Milwaukee Transport Services Inc.
THEODORE PAPAPETROPOULOUS, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,v.MILWAUKEE TRANSPORT SERVICES, INC., DEFENDANT-APPELLEE
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. No. 84 C 1246 -- Robert W. Warren, Judge.
The decision of the arbitrator, who upheld the termination of Papapetropoulous, was attached to Papapetropoulous' complaint and reveals that Papapetropoulous was employed as a bus driver for the Milwaukee Transport Services, Inc. and was a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 998. He was discharged on April 13, 1983, for violating Work Rule 15 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibiting indecent, immoral or improper conduct while on duty or on MTS's property and Work Rule 16 prohibiting unlawful conduct while on duty or on MTS's property. The charge of violating the Work Rules was that Papapetropoulous sexually assaulted an adolescent resident of the Child and Adolescent Treatment Center ("CATC") on March 9, 1983 while on duty as a bus driver. Decision of Arbitrator at 4.*fn1 The record, including the arbitrator's decision reveals that the alleged assault took place when Papapetropoulous stopped his bus at a designated MTS bus stop, approached the young woman, who was the only passenger on the bus, and "forcibly fondled the young woman, asking her to take part in several sexual acts." Id. After leaving the bus, the young woman informed a social worker, Kathleen Golden, at the CATC of the attack. Golden relayed this information to Hal Bursten, the Administrator at CATC, who in turn informed the MTS. The Milwaukee Transport Services conducted an investigation, together with an independent investigation by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, into the alleged incident and based upon that information and "a letter from John N. Lemerond, clinical psychologist at CATC, as well as a memorandum report from Ms. Kathleen Golden, a psychiatric social worker at CATC,"*fn2 terminated Papapetropoulous from his position as an MTS bus driver on April 13, 1983.
On the second day of the hearing, counsel for Papapetropoulous moved to dismiss the arbitration proceeding alleging a lack of opportunity to complete his cross-examination of the complaining witness. The arbitrator noted that "if the testimony of the complaining witness were the sole evidence adduced at hearing by the Company to prove its assertions against grievant, in the absence of full and complete cross-examination, the undersigned would strike the testimony of complaining witness and dismiss the grievance." Id. at 6. However, the arbitrator found that the young woman's story was corroborated by Kathleen Golden, the psychiatric social worker with the CATC, who treated the young woman two to three times per week from May, 1982 through March, 1983 at the CATC facility. Golden testified that within one hour of the alleged sexual assault, the young woman related the story of the sexual assault to her. Id. at 7. The arbitrator admitted Golden's testimony under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule, Wis. Stat. 908.03, and concluded that since the woman described the events to Golden within one hour of the event, "there was no time for the complaining witness to fabricate the event . . . ." Id. The arbitrator also noted that Ms. Golden had testified that she was unaware of the victim ever having fabricated a story and further that the victim had a reputation for truthfulness. The arbitrator further stated Golden testified that after the incident the woman became depressed and withdrawn, that she had difficulty sleeping because of nightmares, and that she had missed approximately five weeks of school since "one of the things that she was concerned about in returning to school was how to get there, was she going to take a bus or was she going to walk, was she going to get back on the bus. How was she going to handle that." Id. at 8 (quoting testimony Golden). Because of the closeness in the proximity of time between the alleged attack and the woman's detailed description of the attack to Golden, the woman's reputation for truthfulness and the distinct alteration of her behavior pattern after the incident, the arbitrator concluded that the young woman's story concerning the attack was credible. Thus the arbitrator concluded that "the evidence discussed above clearly establishes the truth of the charges filed against the grievant and the grievance [against MTS] will be dismissed." Id. at 8-9.
Milwaukee Transport Services moved to dismiss the complaint before the district court, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)*fn3 for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, arguing that there was no state action involved as it is a private entity, that the complaint was identical to an action filed by Papapetropoulous in state court, later removed to federal court and subsequently dismissed by Senior District Judge Gordon of the Eastern District of Wisconsin,*fn4 and that in reality the action was an attempt to vacate the arbitrator's award and was thus barred by the three month statute of limitations contained in 9 U.S.C. § 12 and Wis. Stat. § 788.13.
The district court initially granted MTS's motion to dismiss on the grounds that Papapetropoulous had not met the requirements of Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527, 68 L. Ed. 2d 420, 101 S. Ct. 1908 (1981), as he failed to allege that he was without an adequate state remedy to compensate him for his loss. Papapetropoulous filed a motion with the court requesting that he be allowed to amend his complaint, or in the alternative, that the court clarify its order. In response, the court ordered the parties to file additional briefs addressing the issue of whether Papapetropoulous had an adequate state remedy. After the briefs were filed, the district court expanded the findings of its original order dismissing Papapetropoulous' section 1983 complaint, finding that Papapetropoulous could have brought an action in state court for wrongful discharge alleging that the union violated its duty of fair representation in failing to appeal the arbitration award under § 301 of the NLRA, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a). The court concluded that since Papapetropoulous had an adequate remedy under 29 U.S.C. § 185(a) to challenge the arbitration decision, he was not denied due process.*fn5 The district court also found that the complaint was in effect an action to vacate an arbitration award and therefore was barred by the three month statute of limitations contained in 9 U.S.C. § 12 and Wis. Stat. § 788.13. Finally, the court also noted that, in any event, the arbitration hearing satisfied the requirements of due process.
The issue on appeal is whether the district court erred in dismissing Papapetropoulous' section 1983 action under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.
A dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim is improper "unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Strauss v. City of Chicago, 760 F.2d 765, 767 (7th Cir. 1985) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 2 L. Ed. 2d 80, 78 S. Ct. 99 (1957)). Nonetheless, a complaint "must state either direct or inferential allegations concerning all of the material elements necessary for recovery under the relevant legal theory." Carl Sandburg Village Condominium Association No. 1 v. First Condominium Development Company, 758 F.2d 203, 207 (7th Cir. 1985); Car Carriers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Company, 745 F.2d 1101, 1106 (7th Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1054, 105 S. Ct. 1758, 84 L. Ed. 2d 821 (1985). Further, in considering whether the complaint states a cause of action we must also consider the arbitrator's decision attached to the complaint since "[a] copy of any written instruments which is an exhibit to a pleading is part thereof for all purposes." Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(c).
In a section 1983 action "the initial inquiry must focus on whether the two essential elements to a § 1983 action are present: (1) whether the conduct complained was committed by a person acting under color of state law; and (2) whether this conduct deprived a person of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States." Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527, 535, 68 L. Ed. 2d 420, 101 S. Ct. 1908 (1981).*fn6 Milwaukee Transport Services asserts that the first element of a section 1983 claim is not present in this case since there was no state action involved as Milwaukee Transport Services is a private company operating the bus system in Milwaukee County and thus the County was not involved in the decision to terminate Papapetropoulous. Milwaukee Transport Services further asserts that the plaintiff's complaint is in reality an action to overturn the arbitration award under 9 U.S.C. § 10 and is barred by the three month statute of limitations contained in 9 U.S.C. § 12. MTS also argues that the second element of a section 1983 action is not present since Papapetropoulous could have brought an action under § 301 of the NLRA in state court alleging that the union breached its duty of fair representation in failing to appeal the arbitration award, and thus under Parratt v. Taylor, supra, he was not denied due process since he had a remedy available at the time of the arbitrator's decision to overturn the arbitrator's award. Milwaukee Transport Services also argues that, in any event, the arbitration hearing satisfied the requirements of due process. We will consider these arguments pursuant to the analysis set forth in Parratt v. Taylor, supra.
In order to properly plead a section 1983 violation, the plaintiff must allege in his argument that "the conduct complained of was committed by a person acting under color of state law." Parratt, 451 U.S. at 535. This standard recited in Parratt reflects the express language of section 1983 which imposes liability upon "every person who, under color of any statute subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen . . . to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws . . . ." 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (emphasis added). Section 1983 embodies the basic principles of tort law. See Garza v. Henderson, 779 F.2d 390 (7th Cir. 1985); Benson v. Cady, 761 F.2d 335, 339 (7th Cir. 1985). One of the elements of this constitutional tort cause of action is that a causal connection must exist between the defendant's actions and the injury resulting from the constitutional violation. Benson, 761 F.2d at 339. "Section 1983 creates a cause of action based upon personal liability and predicated upon fault. An individual cannot be held liable in a § 1983 action unless he caused or participated in an alleged constitutional deprivation." Wolf-Lillie v. Sonquist, 699 F.2d 864, 869 (7th Cir. 1983). See also Crowder v. Lash, 687 F.2d 996, 1005 (7th Cir. 1982).
As previously noted, in paragraph 16 of his complaint, Papapetropoulous alleges that he was denied due process when the arbitrator denied him the right to thoroughly cross-examine the complaining witness, based his decision to allow Milwaukee Transport Services to terminate him on the uncorroborated hearsay testimony of the complaining witness' social worker, and applied the wrong burden of proof in upholding his discharge. Papapetropoulous does not allege that his firing by the MTS in and of itself violated any constitutional right, rather he alleges a procedural denial of due process in that he was not allowed to complete his cross-examination of the young woman victim and further the arbitrator based his decision to uphold the termination solely on the hearsay testimony of the woman's counselor at the CATC. An allegation that a person is deprived of his property right in his job alone is insufficient to establish that the plaintiff's rights have been violated, rather it is the deprivation of his property interest without due process of law that establishes a sufficient allegation that his constitutional rights have been violated. As we recently noted in Parrett v. City of Connersville, Inc., 737 F.2d 690 (7th Cir. 1984), "a deprivation is permitted by the due process clause provided there is no denial of due process." Id. at 697.
The arbitrator's decision attached to Papapetropoulous' complaint clearly delineates that the arbitrator was appointed by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Thus a completely independent third party arbitrator made the decision at the hearing that Papapetropoulous now complains of -- specifically, he alleges he was denied the right to cross-examine the witness, the arbitrator's decision was based on hearsay and the arbitrator applied the wrong burden of proof in rendering his decision. We note that MTS complied with its obligation to the union under the collective bargaining agreement when it submitted this dispute to an independent arbitrator for resolution pursuant to Article VI of the collective bargaining agreement. The independent federal arbitrator, and not the Milwaukee Transport Services Company, made those decisions that allegedly deprived Papapetropoulous of his due process rights at the hearing, and thus we are at a loss to understand how the plaintiff can argue that MTS is the party responsible in a section 1983 action for the decisions of the independent arbitrator.
We agree with the district court that the plaintiff has drafted his claim as a § 1983 action against his former employer, but that his complaint actually alleges that the procedures used by the independent arbitrator denied him due process and that any challenge to the arbitrator's decision is governed by 9 U.S.C. § 10(c) that provides the authority for vacating the arbitrator's award.*fn7 The court properly concluded that an action to overturn an arbitrator's award under this statute must be filed within three months of the date of arbitrator's decision pursuant to 9 U.S.C. § 12 and that Papapetropoulous failed to comply with this statute of limitation as he filed this action on October 1, 1984, more than three months after the arbitrator rendered his decision on January 10, 1984.*fn8
Papapetropoulous argues that the Supreme Court has expressly allowed a plaintiff "to obtain relief requested by [him] [in a section 1983 action] . . . after having lost his claim for the same relief in an arbitration proceeding." Papapetropoulous' brief at 12 (citing McDonald v. City of West Branch, 466 U.S. 284, 104 S. Ct. 1799, 80 L. Ed. 2d 302 (1984); Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc., 450 U.S. 728, 67 L. Ed. 2d 641, 101 S. Ct. 1437 (1981); Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 39 L. Ed. 2d 147, 94 S. Ct. 1011 (1974)). Each of the cases cited by the appellant are distinguishable from the facts before this court as the plaintiffs in those cases had a viable cause of action against their employer for conduct independent of the arbitrator's arbitration proceeding. Further, these decisions did not involve a section 1983 claim based upon alleged infirmities in the arbitration proceeding itself. For example, in McDonald, the arbitrator concluded that there was just cause for the plaintiff's dismissal. The plaintiff subsequently brought a section 1983 action alleging that his employer had discharged him for exercising his "First Amendment right of freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances." McDonald, at 1801. The Supreme Court held in part, that the arbitrator's decision did not bar the plaintiff's claim since the plaintiff's complaint alleged that his employer's actions, independent of the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, violated the federal Constitution. Id. at 1803. The theory of McDonald and the other cases cited by Papapetropoulous is that "'in instituting an action under [the statutes], the employee is not seeking review of the arbitrator's decision. Rather, he is asserting a statutory right independent of the arbitration process.'" McNair v. United States Postal Service, 768 F.2d 730 (5th Cir. 1985) (quoting Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 54, 39 L. Ed. 2d 147, 94 S. Ct. 1011 (1974)). In the action before us Papapetropoulous has failed to assert any independent statutory right independent of the arbitration process; rather, he seeks nothing but a review of the arbitrator's decision under the guise of a section 1983 action.*fn9
Even if the plaintiffs' complaint asserted a claim against a proper party, the complaint and the arbitrator's decision attached to the complaint reveal that the plaintiff has failed to allege a constitutional violation. In order to properly plead a section 1983 violation the plaintiff must also allege that he was deprived of a right "secured by the Constitution . . . ." As previously noted, Papapetropoulous alleged in his complaint that he was deprived of his property interest in his job without due process of law when the arbitrator denied him the right to a thorough cross-examination of the complaining witness, when he based his decision upon the uncorroborated hearsay testimony of the complaining witness' social worker and when he applied an incorrect burden of proof in rendering his decision upholding the dismissal of Papapetropoulous.
Due process is a flexible concept that requires "some form of hearing . . . . 'at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner.'" Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 333, 47 L. Ed. 2d 18, 96 S. Ct. 893 (1976) (quoting Armstrong v. Manzo, 380 U.S. 545, 552, 14 L. Ed. 2d 62, 85 S. Ct. 1187 (1965)). In Mathews the Supreme Court identified three factors that generally should be considered in determining whether the requirements of due process are satisfied:
Applying the factors elicited in Mathews to the facts in this case, the first factor cited in Mathews clearly favors the plaintiff as he has a substantial interest in retaining his job. The second factor weighs in Milwaukee Transport's favor as the risk of an erroneous deprivation through the procedures used in terminating Papapetropoulous was minimal at best. Although the precise scope of the protections in the context of public employment is "far from clear," at a minimum they include "prior notice of the discharge, and the reasons for it, and a meaningful opportunity to respond prior to termination." Schultz v. Baumgart, 738 F.2d 231, 237 (7th Cir. 1984). See Rodgers v. Norfolk School Bd., 755 F.2d 59, 63 (7th Cir. 1985).*fn10 In this case, Papapetropoulous was fully informed of the charges against him, he knew the identity of the victim and he had an opportunity to gather evidence in his behalf prior to the arbitration proceeding. Further, at that hearing he had an opportunity to testify before an independent arbitrator, conduct a limited cross-examination of the young woman and a complete cross-examination of the social worker. Finally, he was represented by his own counsel as well as the union's counsel during the hearing.
Papapetropoulous complains that he was denied procedural due process when the young woman was excused from testifying further after she broke down, continued to cry and was unable to compose herself to a degree that would allow him to complete his cross-examination. As established in this court's recent decision in Green v. Bd. of Sch. Com'rs. of City of Indianapolis, 716 F.2d 1191 (7th Cir. 1983), the mere fact that Papapetropoulous was denied an opportunity to fully cross-examine the complaining witness does not in and of itself establish that this hearing did not comport with the requirements of due process. In Green, a school bus driver, was discharged for "'suggestive, lewd, and/or sexual advances, both verbal and physical, to female pupil passengers on [his] bus . . . .'" Id. at 1192. The school board held a hearing to give the plaintiff an opportunity to contest these charges and thereafter dismissed him. The charges were based upon "the handwritten statements of ten different children who regularly rode" the plaintiff's bus. Id. at 1193. Green was permitted to see the children's statements, but the identities of the children were not disclosed and they did not testify at the hearing. The plaintiff filed a claim against the school board alleging that he was denied due process since he was not afforded the opportunity to confront the witnesses against him and to attack their credibility. In Green, we noted that the hearing comported with the requirements of due process as the board fully informed the plaintiff of the charges, and gave him the opportunity to establish that the charges were false. We stated that the Board's failure to allow Green to cross-examine the children did not deprive him of due process since the children's statements were sufficiently corroborated and thus their statements were deemed trustworthy. Id. at 1193 (noting, "there is no chance all the children fabricated their stories because they disliked Green because each child gave her statement to a police investigator employed by the School Board and was interviewed individually to avoid the risk of collusion. Also each recorded her story in her own words. . . . and each child's statement was signed by one of her parents who reviewed it in the presence of the child and the investigator.").
"we hold that due process required only that Rodgers be given notice of the charges against her, including a general summary of the evidence available to support the charges, reasonable time to marshal facts and evidence to meet the charges, and an opportunity to be heard in a meaningful manner in rebuttal, avoidance, or justification of the conduct charged."
755 F.2d at 64. The bus driver argued that additional procedural safeguards were required in the form of confrontation and cross-examination of the children. The Fourth Circuit disagreed stating that the driver "not only had the accusations explained to her, she also was informed of her accusers' identities. She therefore had a fair opportunity to account for any particular animosities her now-known accusers may have had toward her that would have led them to make unfounded accusations against her, but she failed to do in any convincing manner." Id. at 63. The court concluded that the right to cross-examine was not absolute and the fear of the young children in testifying could "negate the right to confrontation that in other contexts not similarly fraught with countervailing risks to child-accusers and not protected by adequate alternative procedures may well be considered so fundamental as to be an essential element of procedural due process." Id. at 64. Both Green and Rodgers stand for the proposition that when the circumstances demonstrate the procedures used during the hearing adequately protect the plaintiff's rights, due process in the context of an arbitration hearing does not automatically require that the plaintiff be afforded the right to examine his accuser.*fn11
In our case, the arbitrator specifically stated that he did not rely solely on the witness' story elicited on direct examination since "[if] the testimony of the complaining witness were the sole evidence adduced at hearing by the Company to prove its assertions against grievant, in the absence of full and complete cross-examination, the undersigned would strike the testimony of complaining witness and dismiss the grievance." The arbitrator noted that the young woman's story was corroborated by Golden, a Psychiatric Social Worker at the CATC facility, who testified that approximately one hour after the attack the young woman came to her and told her of the attack. Papapetropoulous complains that Golden's testimony was merely uncorroborated hearsay and thus suggests that her testimony was untrustworthy as it was based solely on the report of the young woman. The arbitrator ruled that her testimony was admissible under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule, Wis. Stat. § 908.03(2).*fn12 Further, Golden testified that the woman had a reputation for truthfulness, she observed that the young woman had an abrupt change in her emotional condition after the attack. Finally, the arbitrator indicated that he relied on the sheriff's department report of the sexual assault allegation*fn13 Given the very limited period of time (one hour) between the attack and the victim's report to Golden concerning the attack, the young woman's reputation for truthfulness, the woman's psychological reaction as evidenced by her nightmares and withdrawal from school for five weeks after the incident, and the information contained in the independent Sheriff's report, the arbitrator decided that the young woman's allegation that she was attacked by Papapetropoulous was credible. Thus the arbitrator reviewed evidence independent of the young woman's allegations to determine that her allegations were credible.
The third factor in Mathews "looks to the government's interest, including the burden on the government of any additional procedures." Rodgers, 755 F.2d at 64. As we previously held, Papapetropoulous was afforded a complete hearing before an independent arbitrator to assess the charges made against him and the arbitrator's decision to dismiss the young woman from further cross-examination did not violate due process as the arbitrator relied on independent evidence to establish the young woman's credibility. Since Papapetropoulous was provided with notice of the hearing, allowed to marshal evidence in his behalf and present it to an independent arbitrator, and the arbitrator considered this evidence along with independent evidence as to the credibility of the woman's story of the attack, we hold that the procedures followed by the arbitrator in conducting the hearing were constitutionally adequate under the facts of this case and that no additional procedural protections are required.*fn14
Papapetropoulous also contends that since he was charged with engaging in criminal activity in sexually assaulting the young woman, the Milwaukee Transport Services must establish this charge by clear and convincing evidence. He argues that the arbitrator applied an incorrect burden of proof when it upheld the dismissal based upon a preponderance of the evidence. From our review of the arbitrator's decision, we do not agree that the arbitrator applied the preponderance of the evidence burden of proof standard. Rather, on page 9 of his opinion the arbitrator states "it is the opinion of the undersigned that the evidence 'clearly establishes the truth of the charges filed against grievant . . . .'" Since the arbitrator's decision demonstrates he applied a higher burden of proof than the preponderance of the evidence standard, we do not have to determine if due process requires a higher burden of proof when an employee is alleged to have engaged in criminal conduct.*fn15