Opinion ID: 799829
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Retaliation Claim of DePalma

Text: Plaintiff Brian DePalma alleges that Defendants violated his First Amendment right to freely associate by terminating his employment because of his relationship with his brother, Ronald DePalma, who admitted to tampering with his water meter. [7] It is undisputed that DePalma has a constitutional right to associate with members of his family, see Johnson v. City of Cincinnati, 310 F.3d 484, 498-99 (6th Cir. 2002), and that his termination was an adverse action. However, DePalma has failed to put forth any evidence upon which a reasonable factfinder could find a causal connection between his familial relationship and his termination. To show such a connection, DePalma points to the fact that he was not a subject of investigation until after his brother Ronald admitted to tampering with his own meter. While true that Brian DePalma was not visited on June 30 like the other Plaintiffs and was not investigated until a search warrant was executed at his home on July 14, this does not support an inference that Brian DePalma was investigated (and subsequently fired) because of his relationship to Ronald. Duchane had cause to suspect Brian DePalma of tampering with his meter prior to July 14, as the water usage compilation showed that he was the ninth lowest consumer out of all the surveyed active city employees. Duchane responded appropriately by obtaining a warrant and seizing his meter. Duchane testified that he, Bartok, and White decided to skip over Brian DePalma's house on June 30 because Ronald DePalma was on the list as well, and they thought Ronald would immediately warn Brian about the visit. [8] Bartok reported that Ladd found that the security pin in Brian DePalma's meter was hastily put in and that it appeared to have been pushed in and out a number of times. DePalma's termination letter relied on these findings, as well as the circumstantial evidence of his historically low water usage. As the district court correctly found, both brothers independently met the criteria to be suspected of meter tampering and terminated. DePalma attempts to show that he was treated differently from similarly situated employees to support an inference of retaliatory animus: he claims that his water usage was greater than two other active city employees whose homes were not searched, Michael Schaffer and Brian Keene. First, DePalma's claims are factually false. Mike Shaffer's home was, in fact, visited and his meter seized on July 14. [9] And DePalma's usage was not greater than Keene's but the same (both 71 units). Secondly, upon closer examination, Schaffer and Keene are not actually similarly situated to DePalma. Schaffer, for one, was found not to have tampered with his meter. Keene, Duchane explained, was not investigated despite having the same usage as DePalma because Keene was not part of DPS and Duchane wanted to start with the nine DPS employees who were at the bottom of the water usage study. Regardless of whether Duchane's explanations are satisfactory, DePalma has simply failed to present any evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that his investigation and termination was motivated by his familial relationship, rather than his low water usage or status as a DPS employee. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ([T]here is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party. If the evidence is merely colorable or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted. (citations omitted)).