Opinion ID: 2629508
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The federal employment lawsuit in Nevada district court

Text: In 2004, prior to his termination but after exhausting the EEOC's administrative process, John filed a lawsuit against the DCSD alleging the following: (1) the DCSD engaged in religious discrimination against John, a Protestant, under Title VII; (2) John has a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which the school district violated; (3) the DCSD violated John's right to free speech, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, when it retaliated against him for his protesting the removal of his video surveillance duties; and (4) various DCSD officials made false and defamatory statements about John without privilege or justification. In the lawsuit, John also named private individuals working for the DCSD as defendants because they provided information to the DCSD during its investigations of John. For instance, John named a teacher's aid as a defendant because she reported during a DCSD investigation that John had sexually harassed her. John also named the vice principal of Douglas High School as a defendant, alleging that the vice principal discriminated against John based on his Protestant religion by assisting in the DCSD's investigations. Finally, John named a former DCSD security officer as a defendant after the security officer reported to the DCSD during an exit interview that John engaged in various forms of unprofessional conduct, including egregious racial and sexual remarks about students and other staff members. After John filed the lawsuit, the DCSD filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the collective bargaining agreement between the school district and John's union barred his claims. The district court dismissed John's state-based defamation claim but denied the motion with respect to the federal Title VII, ADA, and § 1983 claims. After John's termination, he amended his complaint to include the DCSD officer who fired him, and to include a fifth count: that the DCSD wrongfully terminated him. In response, the DCSD filed a special motion to dismiss under Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute, NRS 41.660. The school district asserted that the school officials' actions related to the investigations of John constituted protected conduct under the statute, and the communications between school officials and the DCSD in furtherance of these investigations were privileged and truthful. The district court granted the DCSD's special motion to dismiss, finding that the DCSD's actions were protected activity under the anti-SLAPP statute, and that John failed to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate a probability of success regarding his claims. Specifically, the district court found that John's supplemental declaration provided insufficient evidence to set forth a genuine issue of material fact. John now appeals the district court's order granting the DCSD's special motion to dismiss under Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute.