Opinion ID: 774307
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Section 1983 Retaliatory Discharge Claim

Text: 37 Mr. Pugh asserts that he exercised his First Amendment right to redress grievances with the City when he contact ed his attorney to discuss alleged police harassment, the breathalyzer tests, and the substance abuse counseling. Mr. Pugh further contends that the City retaliated against him for this protected activity in violation of Section 1983 when it terminated him one week after his attorney contacted the city attorney to discuss his grievances. 38 As our cases acknowledge, 8 the Supreme Court's decision in Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274, 287 (1977), sets forth the appropriate analysis for evaluating a claim of retaliatory discharge based on the First Amendment. In Mt. Healthy, the Supreme Court held that a plaintiff claiming such an injury must show that his conduct was constitutionally protected and that the conduct was a substantial factor or a motivating factor for the discharge. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing Village of Arlington Heights v. Metro. Hous. Dev. Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 270-71 n.21 (1977)). If the plaintiff succeeds in shouldering that burden, the defendant must then establish that it would have reached the same decision even in the absence of the protected conduct. Id. 39 We assume for the purposes of appeal, as the district court did, that Mr. Pugh's contact with his attorney was protected conduct. Therefore, Mr. Pugh must demonstrate that his conversation with his attorney was a substantial or motivating factor in the City's decision to dismiss him. Mr. Pugh has offered no evidence to suggest that the City terminated him in retaliation for his having consulted with his attorney. The timing of the action, without more, is insufficient to establish the protected activity as a motivating factor. Cf. Contreras v. Suncast Corp., 237 F.3d 756, 765 (7th Cir. 2001) (holding that evidence of timing, absent other evidence of discrimination, is insufficient to survive a motion for summary judgment under an ADA or a Title VII retaliation analysis). The evidence of record--theminutes of the Board of Works meeting and the internal investigation report compiled by Scherer--establishes that the City discharged Mr. Pugh for misappropriation of funds. Therefore, we hold that the district court properly granted the City's motion for summary judgment on Mr. Pugh's Section 1983 retaliatory discharge claim. 9 Conclusion 40 For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the district court. AFFIRMED