Opinion ID: 1034200
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: First Amendment Retaliation Standard

Text: To prove a claim of First Amendment retaliation, a plaintiff must establish that “(1) [it] suffered an ‘adverse employment decision’; (2) [its] speech involved ‘a matter of public concern’; (3) [its] ‘interest in commenting on matters of public concern . . . outweighs the [d]efendant’s interest in promoting efficiency’; and (4) [its] speech motivated the adverse employment decision.” Beattie v. Madison Cnty. Sch. Dist., 254 F.3d 595, 601 (5th Cir. 2001) (quoting Harris v. Victoria Indep. Sch. Dist., 168 F.3d 216, 220 (5th Cir. 1999)). Once a plaintiff has met his burden of showing that his protected speech was a substantial or motivating factor in the defendant’s adverse employment decision, a defendant may still avoid liability by showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it would have taken the same adverse employment action even in the absence of the protected speech. Mt. Healthy City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287 (1977). An employee can, however, refute that showing by presenting evidence that “his employer’s ostensible explanation for the discharge is merely pretextual.” Coughlin v. Lee, 946 F.2d 1152, 1157 (5th Cir. 1991). Finally, “[s]ummary judgment should be used most sparingly in . . . First Amendment cases . . . involving delicate constitutional rights, complex fact situations, disputed testimony, and questionable credibilities.” Beattie, 254 F.3d at 600 (quoting Benningfield v. City of Houston, 157 F.3d 369, 377 (5th Cir. 1998)); see also 10B Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller et al., Federal Practice and Procedure § 2732.2 (3d ed. 2013) (“[C]laims requiring a determination regarding intentions or motives are particularly unsuitable for summary adjudication. . . . If plaintiffs claim that some conduct on the part of defendant abridged their First Amendment rights, summary judgment may be precluded because questions concerning defendant’s motives or knowledge must be determined.”) (footnotes omitted). 7 Case: 12-51008 Document: 00512311881 Page: 8 Date Filed: 07/17/2013 No. 12-51008