Ulrich v. City of Crosby

848 F. Supp. 861

Pamela L. ULRICH, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF CROSBY, its Chief of Police, Albert C. Fort, Individually, Ralph LaPlant, Individually, and Raymond Ferrari, Individually, Defendants.

Civ. No. 5-92-208.

United States District Court, D. Minnesota, Fifth Division.

February 18, 1994.

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Daniel E. Warner, Warner Law Office, Eagan, MN, for plaintiff.

John M. Baker, Greene & Espel, Minneapolis, MN, for defendants.

ORDER

ERICKSON, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. Introduction

This matter came before the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to a general assignment, made in accordance with the provisions of Title 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A), upon the Plaintiff's Motion for leave to amend her Complaint, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Sections 549.191 and 549.20, so as to allege a claim for punitive damages against each of the Defendants,¹ and upon the Plaintiff's Motion for an Order compelling discovery against the Defendant Ralph LaPlant ("LaPlant").

At a Hearing on the Motions, the Plaintiff appeared by Daniel E. Warner, Esq., and the Defendants appeared by John M. Baker, Esq.

For reasons which follow, each of the Plaintiff's Motions will be denied.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

The Plaintiff began her employment as a Police Officer for the Defendant City of Crosby ("City") on May 1, 1991. In that capacity, she holds the distinction of being the first full-time female Police Officer in the City's history. During her term of employment, the Chief of Police was the Defendant Albert C. Fort ("Fort"). The remainder of the Crosby Police Force consisted of a small number of full and part-time Officers, including the Defendant Raymond Ferrari ("Ferrari") and the Defendant LaPlant. With some frequency, Ferrari or LaPlant would accompany the Plaintiff in her squad car, while they were serving their duty watch.

Prior to the Plaintiff's employment with the City, she had some limited experience in law enforcement. From February 7, 1991 to April 16, 1991, she worked for the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force as an undercover agent. Before that, the Plaintiff worked from November of 1989 to August of 1990, at the Northwest Juvenile Training Center in Bemidji, Minnesota. She also held a position with the Security Patrol at Bemidji State University for a period of several years, during which time she was earning her undergraduate degree in criminal justice. She received that degree in May of 1990.

When the Plaintiff was hired by the City, she began as a probationary employee. Under the collective bargaining agreement between the Police Officers' union and the City, newly hired Police Officers were to complete a probationary period of one year, during which time the employee could be discharged at the sole discretion of the City, and without any obligation to submit the propriety of that discharge to arbitration.² At the outset of her employment, the expectations for success were high.

As of her first performance evaluation on August 1, 1991, Fort rated the Plaintiff as average to above-average in every category, and he concluded that she had "no major week sic points." In comparison to other employees who had the same length of service, Fort rated the Plaintiff as "definitely above average." Nevertheless, by the time of the Plaintiff's next evaluation on November 1, 1991, Fort's appraisal of her work had plummeted, causing him to observe that she was "un able to get along with most people she works with; * * * lacks knowledge (common sennse sic); does not appear able to correct this." In the same evaluation, the Plaintiff was described as unimaginative, easily irritated and sometimes tactless, with a personality that was unsatisfactory for her job. Overall, Fort considered her performance to be "definitely unsatisfactory."

On December 1, 1991, a further evaluation of the Plaintiff was completed by Sergeant John Drennan ("Drennan"), who subsequently assumed the office of the Chief of Police following Fort's retirement. Drennan concluded that, while the Plaintiff was motivated and knowledgeable, she appeared to have an erroneous conception of the proper relationship between a Police Officer and the public in a small community. He believed, however, that the Plaintiff would probably make an excellent State Trooper or Police Officer in a larger city.

On January 9, 1992, when the Plaintiff continued to show a lack of improvement, Fort appeared before the City's Police Commission to recommend the Plaintiff's dismissal. The Commission, which consisted of three Commissioners, reviewed the documentation presented by Fort and concurred in his request that she be dismissed. Only Fort and the three Commissioners were present at the meeting. Thereafter, on January 12, 1992, Fort notified the Plaintiff that she was being dismissed.³ When she pressed him for a reason, Fort declined to elaborate.⁴

The Plaintiff frames her action as alleging a claim, under Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983, that the City deprived her of her constitutional right to due process of law, and as asserting a charge that the City has practiced unlawful sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2. The Plaintiff also asserts a claim, under Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against each of the individual Defendants premised upon a purported conspiracy to deny her due process of law as well as her rights under Title VII.

In addition, a number of State causes of action are included in her Complaint, and are within the supplemental jurisdiction of this Court. Title 28 U.S.C. § 1367. For example, the Plaintiff alleges that the City violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act ("MHRA"), Minnesota Statutes Section 363.03, Subdivision 1; that Fort, Ferrari, and LaPlant aided and abetted the City in discriminating against the Plaintiff on the basis of her sex, in violation of Minnesota Statutes Section 363.03, subdivision 6; and that the individual Defendants defamed the Plaintiff and tortiously interfered with her employment contract with the City.

Subsequent to the filing of her Motion for leave to amend her Complaint, the Plaintiff moved the Court to compel LaPlant to disclose certain of his medical and psychological records. We address each of the Plaintiff's Motions in turn.

III. Discussion

A. The Plaintiffs' Motion to Amend her Complaint to Assert a Claim for Punitive Damages.

1. Standard of Review. In the Federal Courts of this District, the pleading of a punitive damage claim, under causes of action premised upon the Laws of the State of Minnesota, must generally conform to the requisites of Minnesota Statutes Sections 549.191 and 549.20. Security Savings Bank v. Green Tree Acceptance, Inc., 739 F.Supp. 1342, 1352 (D.Minn.1990); Kuehn v. Shelcore, Inc., 686 F.Supp. 233 (D.Minn.1988); Fournier v. Marigold Foods, Inc., 678 F.Supp. 1420, 1422 (D.Minn.1988).⁵ As recognized by our Court, the Minnesota Legislature adopted, in 1986, the pleading requirements of Section 549.191 in order to deter certain practices in the presentment of punitive damage claims which were thought to be abusive, and in order to address a perceived insurance crisis. See, Gobuty v. Kavanagh, 795 F.Supp. 281, 287 (D.Minn.1992); Kuehn v. Shelcore, Inc., supra at 234; Filz v. Mayo Foundation, 136 F.R.D. 165, 174 (D.Minn. 1991).

As a consequence of the enactment of Section 549.191, a plaintiff who seeks to assert a punitive damage claim must first obtain leave of the Court based upon a prima facie showing of entitlement. The plaintiff is not required to demonstrate an entitlement to punitive damages per se, but only an entitlement to allege such damages. Fournier v. Marigold Foods, Inc., supra; McKenzie v. Northern States Power Co., 440 N.W.2d 183, 184 (Minn.App.1989).

As Section 549.191 makes clear, "if the court finds prima facie evidence in support of the motion, the court shall grant the moving party permission to amend the pleadings to claim punitive damages." Minn.Stat. § 549.191. The Minnesota Courts have determined that "prima facie evidence is that evidence which, if unrebutted, would support a judgment in that party's favor." Swanlund v. Shimano Indus. Corp., Ltd., 459 N.W.2d 151, 154 (Minn.App.1990), rev. denied (October 5, 1990); McKenzie v. Northern States Power Co., supra. The same Courts have also noted that "prima facie" does not refer to a quantum of evidence but, rather, to a procedure for the winnowing of nonmeritorious punitive damage claims. Id.

Simply put, under the strictures of Section 549.191, the Court reviews the evidence in support of a Motion to Amend as the Court would review a Motion for a Directed Verdict — now denominated in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as a Motion for the Entry of Judgment as a matter of law. See, Rule 50(a), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; Swanlund v. Shimano Indus. Corp., Ltd., supra ("Minn.Stat. § 549.191 essentially requires the trial court to direct a portion of the verdict against the plaintiff if the evidence of willful indifference is insufficient"). Thus, in reaching such a determination, the Court makes no credibility rulings, nor does the Court consider any challenge, by cross-examination or otherwise, to the Plaintiff's proof. Id. supra.

Moreover, in evaluating the existence of a prima facie showing for the assertion of a claim for punitive damages, the Court must recognize that "punitive damages do not `belong' to the plaintiff in the same sense as compensatory damages." Hodder v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 426 N.W.2d 826, 837 (Minn.1988), cert. denied, 492 U.S. 926, 109 S.Ct. 3265, 106 L.Ed.2d 610 (1989). Punitive damages are intended to punish a defendant, or to make an example of a defendant's wrongdoing, and not to compensate the plaintiff who has already been compensated. Id. As a consequence, punitive damages may only be awarded when a defendant's conduct reaches a threshold level...