United States Third Circuit

In a fire captain's suit against the Borough of Dunmore and five council members, claiming defamation, due process violations, right of privacy violations, and retaliation, arising from his suspension and the publicizing of that suspension in a local paper, district court's judgment is vacated in part, affirmed in part and remanded where: 1) the district court's order is vacated to the extent that it granted summary judgment on plaintiff's due process claims and is remanded for consideration of whether the pre-hearing suspension was supported by an interest in public safety and for consideration of whether plaintiff has satisfied the "stigma-plus" test, establishing deprivation of a liberty interest; 2) the district court's grant of summary judgment on plaintiff's defamation claim is affirmed as the district court correctly concluded that Pennsylvania's high public official immunity shields the council members from any claim for defamation; 3) district court's grant of summary judgment on plaintiff's privacy claims is affirmed because plaintiff's claims require that the information not be of public concern and because there is no genuine dispute as to the public's interest in firefighter qualifications; 4) district court's judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff's claim for punitive damages is affirmed as there is no proper defendant from which plaintiff can claim punitive damages as the borough remains the only defendant for the retaliation claim and because a municipality is immune from punitive damages; and 5) district court's partial denial of plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees and costs is affirmed.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/05/2011
• Published 01/05/2011

Judges

• JORDAN

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Cynthia L. Pollick, Karoline Mehalchick