Palmer v. Bartosh - Cmwlth. Court - October 23, 2008
http://origin-www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Cwealth/out/137CD08_10-23-08.pdf
Plaintiff, a school teacher, stated claim for relief under 42 USC 1983 against defendant school administrators, in their individual capacities, for dismissing him from his public employment
"Plaintiff allged alleged that the Defendants, acting under the color of state law: engaged in a secret investigation; refused to allow a witness to observe their interviews with students; coerced and/or coached students into making accusations against Mr. Palmer, which the students thereafter refused to repeat under oath; failed to advise Mr. Palmer of the specific accusations against him or give him the opportunity to rebut them; and thereby obtained Mr. Palmer’s discharge from his employment."
"We conclude that these allegations of specific conduct taken by the Defendants, which must be taken as true at this stage of this proceeding, constitute sufficient facts to state a claim for deprivation of a property right to employment and reputation in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and article 1, section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and, therefore, the trial court erred in sustaining the POs to Count VII against the Defendants in their individual capacities."
The Fourteenth Amendment requires due process where the deprivation of an individual’s property right, such as the right to continued public employment, is implicated. Andresky v. West Allegheny School District, 437 A.2d 1075 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1981).
Similarly, article I, section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides that an individual’s right to property and reputation may not be deprived without due process. R. v. Commonwealth, 535 Pa. 440, 636 A.2d 142 (1994); Pennsylvania Bar Association v. DPW, 607 A.2d 850 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1992).
Due process of law requires that an individual is entitled to adequate notice of the charges against him and an opportunity to be heard. Dunn v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 819 A.2d 189 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2003). Adequate notice, for procedural due process purposes, requires at a minimum that notice contain a sufficient listing and explanation of the charges against the individual. Id.
