Opinion ID: 3011456
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Causation and the Extent of Relief

Text: If the trier of fact determines that a violation of the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights occurred at the time the promotion list was prepared, the plaintiffs are entitled to relief with respect to any injury or loss that resulted. This should include relief with respect to the loss of promotions if the requisite causal connection is shown. We believe the District Court's conclusion that it is impossible to establish the requisite causation overlooked relevant record evidence and misallocated the burden of proof. In a First Amendment retaliation case, the plaintiff has the initial burden of showing that his constitutionally protected conduct was a substantial or motivating factor in the relevant decision. Mount Healthy, 429 U.S. at 287 (citing Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 270-71 & n.21 (1977)). Once the plaintiff carries this burden, the burden shifts to the defendant to show by a preponderance of the evidence that it would have reached the same decision even in the absence of the protected conduct. Id. In adopting this framework, the Mount Healthy Court explained the rationale for providing the employer with the opportunity to prove it would have reached the same decision in the absence of retaliation: [a] rule of causation which focuses solely on whether protected conduct played a part, substantial or otherwise, in a decision not to rehire, could place an 12 employee in a better position as a result of the exercise of constitutionally protected conduct than he would have occupied had he done nothing. . . . The constitutional principle at stake is sufficiently vindicated if such employee is placed in no worse a position than if he had not engaged in the conduct. Id. at 285 (emphasis added). Mount Healthy does not define substantial or motivating factor. It does, however, attribute the phrase motivating factor to Village of Arlington Heights, which, in the context of a Fourteenth Amendment challenge, discussed the challengers' burden of proving discriminatory purpose. Id. at 287 (quoting Village of Arlington Heights, 429 U.S. at 270-71 & n.21). The Arlington Heights plaintiffs relied entirely on evidence of disparate impact; they adduced no other evidence of discriminatory purpose. See Village of Arlington Heights, 429 U.S. at 268-70. The Court stressed that the plaintiffs were not required to show that a decision was motivated solely by a single concern, or even that a particular purpose was the `dominant' or `primary' one. Id. at 265. The Court held, however, that the plaintiffs' evidence of discriminatory effect was insufficient to carry their burden of proving that discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor in the Village's decision. Id. at 270. In the course of reaching this conclusion, the Court further noted that: [p]roof that the decision was motivated in part by a racially discriminatory purpose would not necessarily have required invalidation of the challenged decision. Such proof would, however, have shifted to the Village the burden of establishing that the same decision would have resulted even had the impermissible purpose not been considered. Id. at 270 n.21. Under Mount Healthy's burden-shifting substantialfactor/same-decision framework, the plaintiff is not required to prove but for cause in order to warrant a judgment in his favor. In this framework, the defendants, in proving same decision, must prove that the protected conduct was not the but-for cause. If, in proving a 13 substantial or motivating factor, plaintiffs were required to prove but-for causation, it would be impossible for defendants to then prove that the same decision would have been made in the absence of what the plaintiffs had already shown to be the but-for cause of the decision. While but-for causation is the ultimate question, it is the defendants' burden to prove lack of but-for causation. Thus, under Mount Healthy, if a plaintiff establishes that the exercise of his First Amendment rights played some substantial role in the relevant decision, he is entitled to the extent practicable to be put in the same position that he would have been in had he not engaged in that protected conduct. As a result, if the defendant is able to show by a preponderance of evidence that the same decision would have been made had the protected conduct not played a substantial role, no relief will be required. On the other hand, if the protected conduct played any substantial role and the defendant is unable to carry its burden of showing the plaintiff has suffered no adverse consequences as a result, the plaintiff is entitled to be put in the same position he would have been in had the tainted decision been made in his favor. In the instant case, it is undisputed that the plaintiffs engaged in protected conduct, that they were qualified to participate in the promotion process, and that they were not promoted. The plaintiffs have the burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that their protected activity played a substantial role in the two decisions that resulted in their not being promoted: the ranking decision and the decision not to promote anyone. If the plaintiffs carry that burden, the burden will shift to the defendants to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiffs would have gone unpromoted even if they had not engaged in the protected activity. That burden could be carried by showing that: (1) a fair evaluation by their superiors -- i.e., one in which retaliation played no role, would have ranked the plaintiffs sufficiently low on the list that they would not be contenders for any promotions that would be made; or 14 (2) a fair evaluation by those supervisors would h ave resulted in the same decision by the mayor not to promote anyone; or (3) assuming promotions would have been made, a fa ir evaluation by those supervisors would have resulted in the Police Chief 's selecting other contenders.4 Since we are reviewing the District Court's decision on a defense motion for partial summary judgment, the crucial issues for us at this stage are whether the plaintiffs came forward with sufficient evidence so that a trier of fact could find that plaintiffs' protected conduct played a substantial role in the two decisions that resulted in their not being promoted. We hold that they have. For purposes of this motion for summary judgment, defendants accepted as true all the factual averments in plaintiffs' complaint. It is clear that these facts could lead a reasonable factfinder to conclude not only that defendants were biased against the plaintiffs because of their protected activities, but that they acted on that bias in the evaluation process, lowering plaintiffs' scores. There are statements by the decisionmakers reflecting hostility to plaintiffs' union activities, particularly the statement by defendant Stephens made to plaintiff Suppan one month prior to the evaluations to the effect that because of his union activities, he had (past tense) a career with the department. Most importantly, several of the decisionmakers admit that the plaintiffs' protected conduct caused them to lower their scores. This evidence, if credited, is sufficient to prove that plaintiffs' protected _________________________________________________________________ 4. Defendants would demonstrate this third alternative by showing that even if absent retaliation the plaintiffs would have ranked high enough to be twice considered for promotion, the Police Chief would have exercised his option to pass over a top-ranked candidate twice. We emphasize again, however, that this is the defendants' burden to show that the same decision would have been made even absent retaliation; the Police Chief 's hypothetical decision plays no part in the plaintiff 's prima facie case. The plaintiffs' case is based on the actual decisions that led to their not being promoted; they are not required to adduce evidence that their protected conduct would have been a substantial or motivating factor in a hypothetical decision that in fact was never made. 15 conduct was a substantial factor in the ranking decision, thus shifting the burden to the defendants. The affidavit of Mayor William Heydt is direct evidence from the decisionmaker regarding the reasons for the decision not to make any promotions. He swears that one of the factors in his decision was the claim brought on behalf of the plaintiffs alleging retaliation for their protected union activities. Plaintiffs' protected conduct was the basis and but-for cause of the PLRB proceedings. Indeed, the unfair labor practice charge and the PLRB proceedings are themselves protected activities. Given that the plaintiffs' protected conduct and the defendants' retaliatory acts caused both the PLRB proceedings and the taint in the lists, and that these in turn were substantial factors in the decision not to make promotions, the plaintiffs' burden with respect to causation has been met. It is true, as the defendants stress, that there is no evidence of any retaliatory animus underlying the Mayor's decision not to make any promotions. Rather, the logical inference is that the Mayor was motivated by fear of liability.5 Further, there is nothing to suggest that the Mayor's decision was in any way improper. Indeed, had the Mayor made promotions from the lists, he might have subjected the municipality to S 1983 liability by exhibiting deliberate indifference to plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. See San Filippo v. Bongiovanni, 30 F.3d 424, 445-46 (3d Cir. 1994). This does not, however, negate the retaliatory animus behind the initial ranking decision, and so it cannot expunge the taint from the process. Nor does it break the causal connection between plaintiffs' protected conduct and the defendants' failure to promote them. The District Court erred in granting summary judgment on plaintiffs' failure to promote claims. Plaintiffs adduced evidence from which a reasonable factfinder could conclude that plaintiffs' protected conduct was a substantial factor in both the ranking decision and the decision not to promote anyone, and thus the burden shifted to the defendants to _________________________________________________________________ 5. Since Mayor Heydt is the candidate whom plaintiffs supported, a factfinder might also conclude the Mayor was acting to protect plaintiffs' interests. 16 show that the plaintiffs are in the same position they would have been in if they had not engaged in protected activity. If it turns out to be true, as the District Court predicted, that it is impossible to prove by a preponderance of the evidence what would have happened absent the retaliation, it is the defendants who will bear that risk once the plaintiffs have established that retaliation was a substantial factor in the two relevant decisions.6