Where a jury found in favor of a Somerville police officer in an employment dispute, the judgment should be reversed insofar as it awarded the officer damages based on the mayor’s decision to place him on paid leave, as the plaintiff did not seek leave to amend his complaint to allege liability based on his placement on paid leave.
“This appeal primarily involves the question of when a party may conform its pleadings to the trial evidence. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure afford parties the right to know in advance the claims and defenses asserted against them and the grounds on which those claims and defenses rest. Thus, absent consent, a party may not try unpleaded issues without amending the complaint. That principle provides the basis for partially reversing the judgment in this employment dispute.
“Plaintiff …, a City of Somerville, Massachusetts, police officer, was terminated from his public employment for alleged on-duty misconduct. [the plaintiff] fought the termination on two fronts. He sued Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, Somerville Police Chief David Fallon, and Somerville Police Captain Bernard Cotter (together, the ‘defendants’) claiming, inter alia, that they terminated his employment in retaliation for his exercise of constitutional rights, 42 U.S.C. §1983, and interfered with his advantageous relations with the City of Somerville in violation of Massachusetts law. He also challenged the termination via an arbitration proceeding commenced under the...
Millions of Aussies will be cheering Ben Roberts-Smith after seeing his publicity campaign. But we must leave all these matters to a criminal court to decide – this time beyond reasonable doubt. A...