Opinion ID: 545194
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Genuine Issues of Fact as to Whether Defendants Violated Stewart's Clearly Established Rights

Text: 25 It is not sufficient that Stewart has demonstrated a clearly established constitutional right; to avoid summary judgment, Stewart must also adduce sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the defendants acted so as to deprive him of his clearly established rights. Rich v. Dollar, 841 F.2d at 1564. 26 The issue of whether qualified immunity is proper in this case turns on a question of fact: was Stewart discharged from his employment because he walked out of the Superintendent's meeting? Defendants maintain that Stewart was not discharged for walking out of the meeting; they argue that the termination came in response to Stewart's insubordination during his private meeting with Newton and McDaniel. 27 Stewart denies being insubordinate and contends that this reason for his discharge is pretextual. 3 Stewart has produced evidence, in the form of his own affidavit and the depositions of Superintendent Newton and Supervisor McDaniel, that supports his contentions. Superintendent Newton testified before the School Board that the tax referendum was important to the school system and that all school personnel should have been interested in getting the referendum passed. It is undisputed that Superintendent Newton called Stewart into his office to speak with him about his lack of interest in the system, and during the course of this meeting Newton asked Stewart for his resignation. Moreover, Supervisor McDaniel formally recommended that Stewart be discharged for three reasons; the first reason listed was Stewart's lack of concern for the school system, as demonstrated by his early departure from the meeting. All of these factors support Stewart's contention that he was discharged for exercising his right to speak out on a matter of public concern. 28 Stewart has presented sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that the defendants discharged Stewart in retaliation for Stewart's exercise of his clearly established constitutional rights. We conclude that the district court correctly denied summary judgment on the qualified immunity issue, and thus we affirm 4 on this issue.