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Hlubek v. Pelecky7/22/2005
Plaintiff, who sued for damages arising out of his discharge as drivers' education instructor, appealed from summary judgment for the defendants.
AFFIRMED.
Mark J. Hlubek was employed as a drivers' education instructor for the Mississippi Bend Area Education Association (AEA) until his employer allegedly pressured him into resigning. Hlubek sued these defendants, administrators of AEA, on theories of intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with a contract, and interference with potential business relationships. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants on all claims, and the plaintiff appealed. We affirm.
I. Facts and Prior Proceedings
In January 1999 Nicole Preston, a sophomore at North Scott Community High School (North Scott) complained to school officials that Hlubek, her drivers' education teacher, had sexually harassed her. Even though Hlubek was employed by AEA and was not under the direct supervision of North Scott, North Scott administrators investigated the complaint to determine if there was any sexual abuse involved. See Iowa Admin. Code r. 281--102.9(2) (requiring school officials to investigate possible sexual abuse). They concluded there was none. North Scott forwarded a copy of its report to AEA and suggested that AEA officials conduct their own investigation.
The defendants, Glen Pelecky (AEA's chief administrator) and Thomas Wirtz (AEA's director of administrative services), investigated the complaint. Wirtz interviewed twelve students, including Nicole Preston. According to Wirtz, other incidents of potentially inappropriate conduct by Hlubek were brought to light in these interviews. Wirtz then met with Hlubek to inform him of the students' allegations and to get his response. Hlubek denied the allegations and said that many of the statements were taken out of context. Wirtz drafted a written report and submitted it to Pelecky, who also personally interviewed Hlubek. Following the investigation, Pelecky began termination proceedings under Iowa Code chapter 279. Hlubek requested a hearing before the AEA board of directors. See Iowa Code ยง 279.15 (1999). However, before a hearing could be held, Hlubek resigned. He claims he did so only because Pelecky threatened to not only terminate him but to also seek revocation of his teaching certificate if he did not resign.
Shortly thereafter, Hlubek was charged by the state with criminal assault, based on Nicole Preston's allegations, but he was ultimately acquitted. After his acquittal he began substituting for the Clinton school district. He was initially offered a job as an art teacher, but after Clinton school officials conducted a background check, they rescinded the offer.
In March of 2000 Hlubek interviewed for a teaching position at the Maquoketa Community School District. During the interview, Hlubek disclosed his acquittal on the criminal assault charge. After the interview, the Maquoketa superintendent called defendant Pelecky to inquire about Hlubek's performance while employed at AEA. Pelecky did not go into specific details but did say that AEA was "dissatisfied" with Hlubek's performance and decided not to renew his contract. Shortly after that phone conversation, Hlubek received a letter from the Maquoketa school district informing him that, based on a background check and his criminal record, he would not be hired.
In March 2001 Hlubek sued Pelecky and Wirtz, raising several claims. He claimed the defendants acted unreasonably and with bad faith in investigating the allegations made by Nicole Preston. He claimed this amounted to intentional interference with his AEA contract. Second, he claimed
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