Opinion ID: 768614
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: 1 This matter comes on before this court on appeal from various orders of the district court dismissing appellant Geoff Gallas' claims arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Pennsylvania common law. Gallas brought this action against various defendants, including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and several of its justices, principally alleging that they terminated him from his position as Executive Administrator of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania in violation of his constitutional rights and that court personnel unlawfully invaded his privacy when they publicly disclosed documents from domestic proceedings in which he was involved. The district court dismissed or granted the defendants summary judgment on each of Gallas' claims prior to trial. For the reasons we set forth herein, we will affirm.
2 On December 19, 1990, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, reacting to budgetary and administrative problems in the Philadelphia courts which comprise the First Judicial District (FJD), issued an order assuming control over the FJD. J.A. at 304, 412. See In re Blake, 593 A.2d 1267, 1268 (Pa. 1991). Pursuant to the order, the court assigned, respectively, Justice Ralph Cappy the task of overseeing the reformation of the Administrative Structure of the Courts of the First Judicial District, and Justice Nicholas Papadakos the task of overseeing the Budgetary Structure of those courts. J.A. at 304. The Supreme Court, however, intended that its oversight of the FJD would be temporary, with control eventually returned to local judges and officials. J.A. at 413. 3 In the summer of 1991, a committee chaired by Justices James McDermott and Stephen Zappala of the Supreme Court conducted a search to select an Executive Administrator who would have the responsibility of overseeing the administration of all ministerial functions in the FJD's courts. J.A. at 415. This search resulted in Gallas' hiring for this position effective December 1, 1991. J.A. at 80, 415. According to Gallas' amended complaint, during the selection process Justices Zappala and Cappy and Nancy Sobolevitch, the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania, conveyed the importance of instituting a `merit system' whereby employment and other issues in the FJD would be strictly governed by proper personnel processes, qualifications and performance; these individuals further indicated to Gallas that use of political patronage to fill positions in all three Philadelphia courts [Court of Common Pleas, Municipal Court, and Traffic Court] making up the FJD had been a serious problem in Philadelphia. J.A. at 85. 4 Gallas' complaint indicates that he expressed concern and reticence about taking the job . . . [because] Philadelphia and its courts were vulnerable to improper political influence . . . [and] many persons, both inside and outside the FJD, previously derived improper benefit from that influence. J.A. at 85-86. This concern led Gallas to worry about job security, J.A. at 86, and prompted him to negotiate an oral severance arrangement which would entitle him to certain benefits if he should leave or be discharged. Supp. App. at 1206-11, 1214, 1708-17. 5 Gallas served as Executive Administrator for approximately four and one-half years. According to Gallas' complaint, during the course of his service various individuals pressured him to acquiesce in patronage appointments in the FJD. Gallas claims that in 1992 Justices Zappala and Cappy instructed him to accommodate job appointments favored by two public figures, Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo and Robert Brady, 1 the chairman of the Democratic City Committee. Gallas alleges that Zappala and Cappy specifically warned him that his failure to honor Fumo's requests could result in the loss of his job. J.A. at 87-88. Gallas further alleges that Fumo and Brady and their respective associates contacted him on multiple occasions concerning requests that certain individuals be hired or promoted. J.A. at 87-88. According to Gallas, he resisted demands for such appointments, and in March 1993, Fumo and Brady told him that his failure to honor their requests would lead them to turn the dogs on him. J.A. at 88. As the district court summarized, Gallas endured a rocky tenure as Executive Administrator during which he attempted to walk a fine line between accommodating the personnel requests of local politicians and instituting objective, process-oriented standards for making personnel decisions. Gallas v. Supreme Court of Pa. , No. CIV. A. 966450, 1998 WL 22081, at  (E.D. Pa. Jan. 22, 1998). 6 Gallas' service as Executive Administrator came to an end pursuant to a March 26, 1996 order of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (the March 26 order) which provided for an administrative reorganization of the First Judicial District. According to affidavits from justices of the Supreme Court, the court issued this order because the progress that had been achieved during the Supreme Court's oversight justified returning the FJD to local control. 2 J.A. at 412, 425, 427. The March 26 order eliminated the position of Executive Administrator and created an Administrative Governing Board for the FJD to be comprised of the three president judges and the three administrative judges of the district, along with the Administrator of the Pennsylvania Courts. The order directed the Administrative Governing Board to select a Court Administrator and Budget Administrator for the FJD, with the persons in these two positions being responsible for many of the duties the Executive Administrator had performed. The order named Gallas as Budget Administrator effective April 1, 1996, [s]ince it is anticipated that it may take a short time . . . for the Administrative Governing Board to organize itself. 3 J.A. at 308-12. 7 Meanwhile, there were problems in Gallas' marriage, and on September 22, 1995, his wife filed a Petition for Protection from Abuse (PFA) alleging that he had physically abused her. J.A. at 92. Gallas claims that court personnel improperly released this PFA to the public on three separate occasions. According to Gallas' complaint, unknown court personnel released the contents of the PFA to the Democratic City Committee within two hours of its filing. J.A. at 93. Then, on September 26, 1995, the PFA was released to the Philadelphia Daily News by order of Esther Sylvester, the Administrative Judge of the Family Division of the Court of Common Pleas. J.A. at 93. According to the complaint, the newspaper secured this order through a request made by one of its reporters to Joseph DiPrimio, the Deputy Court Administrator of the Family Court Division. 4 J.A. at 92-93. Finally, on or before March 23, 1996, unknown individuals again publicly released the PFA, along with the file from Gallas' divorce proceeding. J.A. at 98.
8 Gallas commenced this action on September 23, 1996, asserting claims for monetary relief against various defendants based on his termination and the releases of the documents from his domestic proceedings. In Counts I-III of his amended complaint, Gallas raised claims under section 1983 for invasion of privacy with respect to the three releases of the PFA and the release of the divorce file. In these counts he named as defendants the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the FJD, Judge Sylvester, DiPrimio, and the Democratic City Committee, along with Teamsters Local Union No. 115 (the Teamsters) and 60 Doe defendants. J.A. at 96-99. 5 The main allegation with respect to the Teamsters is that its secretary-treasurer obtained the PFA and made false statements about it in a publication entitled the Court Reporter on September 28, 1995. J.A. at 94, 103. It appears that the Teamsters became involved with the FJD and thus Gallas because of its attempt to represent certain court employees. In Count IV, also brought pursuant to section 1983, Gallas alleged that his termination as Executive Administrator violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights because it was undertaken in retaliation for his opposition to political patronage and was accomplished without notice and a hearing. This count named various defendants, including the Supreme Court and its justices, the FJD, Sobolevitch, Fumo, and 20 Doe defendants. J.A. at 99-101. In Count V, Gallas alleged a breach of employment contract against the Supreme Court and the FJD. J.A. at 101-02. In Count VI, Gallas alleged that Fumo, Brady, the Democratic City Committee, and 20 Doe defendants interfered with his contract for employment as Executive Administrator by inducing the Supreme Court to terminate him. J.A. at 10203. Finally, in Count VII, Gallas alleged defamation against the Teamsters and its secretary-treasurer. J.A. at 103-04. 9 The district court dismissed or granted the defendants summary judgment on each of Gallas' claims in response to various motions by the defendants. See Gallas v. Supreme Court of Pa., No. CIV.A. 96-6450, 1998 WL 599249 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 24, 1998); Gallas v. Supreme Court of Pa., No. CIV.A. 96-6450, 1998 WL 352584 (E.D. Pa. June 15, 1998); Gallas v. Supreme Court of Pa., No. CIV.A. 96-6450, 1998 WL 22081 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 22, 1998); Gallas v. Supreme Court of Pa., No. CIV.A. 96-6450, 1997 WL 256972 (E.D. Pa. May 15, 1997). We will summarize only those rulings of the district court which are at issue on this appeal. 6 10 On May 16, 1997, the district court entered a memorandum and order which dismissed, on the basis of absolute judicial immunity, Gallas' claims against Judge Sylvester and DiPrimio arising from Judge Sylvester's order releasing the PFA. See Gallas, 1997 WL 256972, at -12. In the same memorandum and order, the district court dismissed Gallas' procedural due process claim to the extent that he based it on the alleged deprivation of a liberty interest; in this regard, the court found that Gallas failed to allege that he was stigmatized in connection with his termination as Executive Administrator. See id. at . On January 22, 1998, the district court entered an order and memorandum granting summary judgment against Gallas on the procedural due process claim to the extent that he based it on the alleged deprivation of a property interest; in this connection, the court concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish that Gallas was anything other than an at-will employee. See Gallas, 1998 WL 22081, at -6. Then, on June 15, 1998, the district court entered an order and memorandum holding that Justices Zappala, Cappy, and Russell Nigro, along with Sobolevitch, were entitled to absolute legislative immunity with respect to Gallas' First Amendment claim arising from his termination as Executive Administrator. See Gallas, 1998 WL 352584, at -10. Gallas claims that these rulings were erroneous. 11 Gallas also has appealed certain discovery rulings by the district court. On September 9, 1998, the district court entered a memorandum and order quashing certain subpoenas which Gallas had issued for the purpose of conducting discovery as to the identities of the Doe defendants designated in the complaint. J.A. at 892. Then, on November 10, 1998, the district court entered an order and memorandum granting summary judgment against Gallas on his interference with his employment claim; in so ruling, the court declined to extend the discovery deadline to permit Gallas to conduct further discovery relating to this claim. J.A. at 1146. Gallas argues that these rulings improperly limited his ability to collect evidence to support his case. 7