Trant v. State

754 F.3d 1158

Collie M. TRANT, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.State of OKLAHOMA; Board of Medicolegal Investigations; Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; Dewayne Andrews, in his individual and official capacities; Douglas Stewart, in his individual and official capacities; Rocky McElvany, in his individual and official capacities; C. Michael Ogle, in his individual and official capacities; Charles Curtis, in his individual and official capacities; Karlis Sloka, in his individual and official capacities; Chris Ferguson, in his individual and official capacities; Shanda McKenny, in her individual and official capacities; Cherokee Ballard, in her individual and official capacities; Sandra Balzer, in her individual and official capacities; Tom Jordan, in his individual and official capacities, Defendants–Appellees.

No. 13–6009.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

May 28, 2014.

R. Scott Adams, Adams & Associates, Oklahoma City, OK, and Carl Hughes, Hughes & Hughes, Edmond, OK, for Appellant.

Kevin L. McClure, Assistant Attorney General, Litigation Division, Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, Oklahoma City, OK, for Appellee State of Oklahoma.

Dixie L. Coffey and Ronald E. Baze, Assistant Attorneys General, Litigation Division, Oklahoma Attorney General's Office, Oklahoma City, OK, for Appellees Ferguson, Stewart, McElvany, Ogle, McKenny, Sloka, Curtis, Jordan, Ballard, and Balzer.

Before HARTZ, TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges, and JACKSON ^*, District Judge.

TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge.

Dr. Collie Trant is the former Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Oklahoma. Trant joined the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at a time the office was recovering from a series of public scandals. But Trant soon lost the confidence of the Oklahoma Board of Medicolegal Investigations, to whom he reported, and was terminated. Trant filed suit in Oklahoma state court alleging a number of claims under federal and state law in connection with his tenure and termination. Oklahoma subsequently consented to removal of the case to federal court.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants on Trant's First Amendment retaliation claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court dismissed for lack of standing Trant's claim seeking a declaratory judgment the Board violated the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act. The court also dismissed Trant's breach of implied contract claim for failure to state a claim under Oklahoma law.

Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we AFFIRM the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants on Trant's First Amendment claims and its dismissal of Trant's breach of implied contract claim. We REVERSE the district court's dismissal of Trant's declaratory judgment claim and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

Oklahoma's Chief Medical Examiner conducts crime scene investigations and autopsies and directs the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). The Board of Medicolegal Investigations oversees the operation of the OCME. The Chief Medical Examiner serves “at the pleasure of the Board,” 63 Okla. Stat. § 934, and is directly responsible to the Board for the performance of his statutory duties. Id. § 935.

The Board hired Trant in May 2009. Trant took responsibility for the OCME at a difficult time for the agency. Shortly before Trant's hiring, the OCME endured a serious sexual misconduct scandal, which resulted in a grand jury investigation and charges of sexual battery brought against the OCME's former chief investigator. The grand jury found “gross incompetence” on the part of the OCME's prior leadership. Around the same time, the OCME lost its accreditation with the National Association of Medical Examiners, which it had held for eighteen years. OCME employees brought sexual harassment claims against the OCME, some of which remained unresolved at the time Trant joined the office.

Trant alleges that early in his tenure he discovered improprieties with the grand jury investigation into the OCME employees' sexual harassment claims. Specifically, he believed that an investigator was encouraging employees to make false sexual harassment allegations and to inflate overtime claims. Based on his suspicions, he asked the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office to review the grand jury investigation.

During this time, the Board adopted a plan to repair the agency's damaged reputation and improve its internal operations. As part of these efforts, the Board created a new position of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and delegated most of the OCME's administrative duties to the CAO.

Upon the Board's recommendation, Trant hired Tom Jordan as the first CAO in December 2009. A conflict soon developed between them. Trant objected to Jordan's meetings with OCME employees held without Trant's knowledge. In late January 2010, Trant informed Jordan that he was taking over supervision of two division directors that answered to Jordan under the Board's reorganization. Jordan informed Trant that he felt he did not have Trant's support to carry out his duties under the reorganization and that Trant was not effectively managing the OCME.

Soon after, Jordan expressed that he was considering resigning, which came to the attention of some Board members. Three Board members conducted an informal meeting with Trant and Jordan to address the conflict between them. No resolution was reached. On January 28, 2010, Trant sent an email to Dewayne Andrews, the Chairman of the Board. In the email, Trant expressed his belief that the Board was considering terminating either him or Jordan, detailed his conflict with Jordan, and revealed for the first time that he had documentation showing that there were serious improprieties in the grand jury investigation of the sexual misconduct allegations at the OCME. Later that morning, the Board released a notice and agenda for a meeting to be held on February 1. The agenda listed “Proposed Executive Session for Discussion and possible action on the employment of Dr. Collie Trant.” App. 1533. On January 29, Trant forwarded the emails he had pertaining to the grand jury investigation to several OCME employees, including one of the agency's investigators.

At the February 1 meeting, the Board went into a closed executive session. Trant spoke for approximately twenty minutes about matters related to the alleged improprieties with the grand jury investigation. Trant also stated that he would retain counsel to report alleged wrongdoing on the part of the Board during the grand jury investigation. He did not stay for the remainder of the meeting. Jordan then expressed his negative opinions about Trant, and the Board heard allegations that Trant had sexually harassed Cherokee Ballard, an OCME employee.¹ The Board discussed whether Trant's comments amounted to sexual harassment and how to respond to the allegations.

The Board then returned to open session and voted unanimously to place Trant on administrative leave with pay “pending investigation into concerns raised during the Executive Session.” App. 3802. According to the terms of his administrative leave, Trant's sole point of contact for medical matters was Dr. Eric Duval. Any non-medical matters were to be directed to the Board members. Board member Chris Ferguson communicated these terms to Trant. Trant nevertheless tried to contact three OCME employees, including Ballard.

The next day, the media reported Trant's suspension and his allegations regarding the grand jury investigation. On February 3, the Board provided notice of another meeting for February 5. On February 4, newspapers reported that Trant's attorney stated that Trant would report the emails pertaining to the grand jury investigation to outside authorities. At the February 5 meeting, the Board went into executive session and upon returning to open session, terminated Trant. According to the notes of Sandra Balzer, an assistant Attorney General who represented the Board, the Board discussed approximately a dozen reasons for Trant's termination, including his threat to sue the Board. Other reasons were Trant's contact with Ballard and OCME employees in violation of the terms of his administrative leave, the inappropriate remarks pertaining to Ballard, and the management issues at the OCME.

B. Procedural Background

Trant filed suit in Oklahoma state court, alleging sixteen state and federal law claims against the state, the Board members, and certain OCME employees. Ballard removed the suit to federal court, and the state consented to removal. The district court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss Trant's First Amendment and Due Process Clause claims, holding that the defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. Trant appealed the dismissals.

We reversed the district court's dismissal of Trant's First Amendment claim and affirmed its dismissal of his Due Process Clause claims. See Trant v. Oklahoma, 426 Fed.Appx. 653 (10th Cir.2011) ( Trant I ). We held that two of Trant's statements were outside the scope of his employment and thus may be the bases for a First Amendment retaliation claim. These statements were (1) Trant's threat to retain counsel to report any wrongdoing by Board members related to the grand jury investigation; and (2) counsel's statement about the possibility that Trant would reveal the grand jury emails to outside authorities.

On remand, the defendants renewed their motions to dismiss Trant's remaining state law claims and moved for summary judgment on his First Amendment claims. The district court disposed of the claims in two separate orders. See Trant v. Oklahoma, 874 F.Supp.2d 1294 (W.D.Okla.2012); Trant v. Oklahoma ex rel. Bd. of Medicolegal Investigations, No. CIV–10–555–C, 2012 WL 6690358 (W.D.Okla. Dec. 21, 2012). The district court dismissed Trant's claims for breach of implied contract and mandamus relief. Trant, 874 F.Supp.2d at...