Court Opinion

ID: 9492574
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:44:14.137097+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:22.312311
License: Public Domain

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I agree with the majority in this case except for the grant of qualified immunity to the defendants. On that issue I dissent.
*1326The magistrate judge denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment based on the following statement of facts:
In opposition to the Youseff and Matthew DeBoer’s Motion for Summary Judgment, the plaintiff, Joseph Macuba, filed his own affidavit and deposition which basically substantiated the statements in the Complaint filed in this cause. In his depositions, Macuba also stated that the Director of Personal Relations, Ray DeArriba informed him that due to Youseff and Matthew DeBoer’s influence, Macuba likely would not obtain a position in code compliance because of his association with Hugo Spatz and his reporting the wrongdoing on the part of Jeffrey DeBoer and Robert Kirby (employees in the Building Department), causing both those individuals to be terminated.
To further bolster his position, Macu-ba attached the following to his affidavits: a copy of his report which caused Robert Kirby to resign and Jeff DeBoer to be terminated; a copy of Matthew DeBoer’s deposition in which DeBoer admitted to sending an anonymous letter to the Charlotte County Commissioners which was derogatory to Macuba and to Macuba’s supervisor Tom Frame; a copy of a news release and Charlotte Sun Herald newspaper article in which Youseff admitted he forced the resignation of five highly placed county employees; and, a copy of a draft organizational chart prepared by Max Forgey, the Planning Director for the new Community Development Department that reflects that Forgey was at one time considering Macuba for the position of Building Director (head of the building department) prior to Macuba being terminated as being the least qualified employee. All of these attachments, corroborate the allegations set forth in the amended complaint.
Also, in opposition to the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, Plaintiff filed the affidavit and deposition of one Richard Leonard, a former Charlotte County Commissioner, whose testimony corroborated the Plaintiffs testimony regarding the allegations set forth in the Complaint. Mr. Leonard testified in both his deposition and his affidavit that he was advised by Max Forgey, Elliott Kampert, Ben Cotroneo and Paulette Horne that the reorganization of the planning, zoning, building and land development departments was orchestrated by Matthew DeBoer and Youseff. Mr. Leonard advised that because of his past association with the county as a county commissioner that the various employees of the county felt comfortable in talking with him. Leonard testified that Mr. Forgey complained that Commissioner Youseff was in his office so often that he felt he should put in a desk and chair for him. Mr. Leonard testified that he learned through various employees including the ones mentioned that both Youseff and Matthew DeBoer had a hit list of employees that they wanted eliminated from their county positions and systematically used their positions to eliminate those personnel. Mr. Leonard testified that Commissioner Youseff went to the extreme of having a meeting with Leonard’s father while Richard Leonard was still a commissioner and gave his father a hit list and advised him of various things that he, Richard Leonard should do, otherwise his career could be in jeopardy. The document given to his father spelled out the removal of certain people and the transfer of certain personnel. Mr. Leonard testified that he was so concerned that he turned this document over to the county attorney who turned over a copy of that to the Sheriffs Department for investigation. Mr. Leonard testified that Commissioner Youseff stated that Mr. Frame, his administration, his followers and his cronies were nothing but a bunch of idiots and that they all needed to go. Finally, Mr. Leonard testified during his deposition that Mr. Forgey told him that Joe Ma-cuba was the most qualified applicant that he had for the job prior to the time *1327that he was not accepted nor given an available position. Based upon all of the testimony of Macuba and Leonard and the documents and affidavits on file, this Court has determined that there are material facts in this case which are in dispute and would prevent the granting of summary judgment.
If the Court accepts the following facts in a light most favorable to the Plaintiff then there are material facts in dispute regarding the retaliation. The facts are that the Defendants were angry with the Plaintiff because the Plaintiff by his investigative report caused Jeffrey DeBoer, (Matthew DeBoer’s brother and an ally of Youseff) to have his employment terminated with the County, that it became known that the adverse publicity concerning mismanagement and corruption by county officers was being leaked to the press by the Plaintiff through Hugo Spatz, that both of these Defendants had a hit list of employees that they wanted separated from the county, and that these Defendants would use the power of their office to cause those employees to be terminated. A government official’s state of mind is a critical element in first amendment retaliatory claims and must be considered in this case. Because Plaintiff has established a genuine issue of material fact as to retaliation, it must be assumed at this stage that the Defendants did retaliate against him for his speech.
Record Excerpts for Appellants’ Initial Br., Tab 116 at 9-12 (citations omitted). The district court confirmed and approved the foregoing determination by the magistrate judge.
In their reply brief, appellants DeBoer and Youseff refer to an “inaccurate statement of facts by appellee,” and assert that some of the information furnished by witness Leonard did not represent first hand knowledge. Despite these contentions, the reply brief does not otherwise attack the admissibility of the evidence. Indeed, some of the statements given to Leonard by employees of the County may well have represented admissible employee statements, or may otherwise be provable or admissible at trial by the individual making the statement. However, the record remains incomplete on foundation and the manner in which this evidence would be presented at trial.
The sum total of evidence recited above demonstrates that a jury issue exists relating to defendants’ liability and that summary judgment for defendants on the basis of qualified immunity is an inappropriate resolution.1 Accordingly, I dissent. The district court should be permitted to determine what evidence is admissible in further proceedings and make pretrial and trial rulings in conformity to admissible evidence.
I would affirm the district court’s ruling rejecting the defense of qualified immunity on defendants’ motion for summary judgment, ánd I would remand this case to the district court for further proceedings.

. The defendants' argument on appeal rested on the "objective reasonableness” of their action, asserting that their subjective intention, if any, to rid the county of Macuba as an employee was irrelevant.