Clemente v. VASLO, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 9746

Former City of Lincoln Park employees were terminated after an investigation into alleged water-meter tampering.
Duchane (city manager) led the investigation with city workers and outside counsel, using a tiered approach to access meters (request, ordinance-based entry, direct supervisor order, warrant).
Meters of several plaintiffs were inspected; some consented, others refused, and subsequent warrants were sought for further search actions.
Investigators later seized meters and engaged a third-party public works director to inspect, who could not definitively conclude tampering and noted possible non-tampering causes.
Terminations were upheld at arbitration; plaintiffs filed § 1983 claims alleging Fourth Amendment violations, retaliation, right to association, and municipal liability; state-law claims were dismissed.
The district court granted qualified immunity to individual defendants on Fourth Amendment claims and granted summary judgment on retaliation, association, and municipal liability; the city and Vaslo were largely dismissed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was consent to entry voluntary for Stol, Ray, and Werksma?	Consent coerced by employment threat (coercion).	Consent voluntary under totality of circumstances; no coercion established.	Consent not clearly established as involuntary; qualified immunity applies.
Was the Fourth Amendment violation clearly established in this fact pattern?	Pattern of coercive steps violated clearly established law.	No clearly established case forbidding gradual steps short of termination threats; qualified immunity applies.	Not clearly established; Bartok and Duchane entitled to qualified immunity.
Did plaintiffs Dailey, Clemente, and Taylor establish retaliation for exercising rights?	Terminations were retaliatory for asserting Fourth Amendment rights.	Terminations based on water usage findings and meter tampering; no causal link shown to protected activity.	No genuine material fact showing retaliation; district court affirmed summary judgment.
Did Brian DePalma prove retaliation based on his family association?	Termination linked to brother's admitted tampering.	Investigation and termination based on DePalma's meter usage and tampering indicators, not familial ties.	Insufficient evidence of causal connection; no triable issue.
Whether the City can be held liable for municipal policy or custom?	Arbitrary policy or custom caused constitutional violations.	No pleaded or argued policy or custom; evidence insufficient.	Municipal liability abandoned; affirmed dismissal.

Uniformed Sanitation Men Ass'n, Inc. v. City of New York, 392 U.S. 280 (1968) (cannot coerce employees to surrender constitutional rights or lose employment)
Gardner v. Broderick, 392 U.S. 273 (1968) (cannot condition employment on waiving immunity; dismissal improper)
Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967) (coercive questioning linked to loss of employment violates due process)
Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (2001) (two-step qualified immunity test; need not be on point if clearly established)
Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009) (courts may address qualified immunity prongs in any order)
Thaddeus-X v. Blatter, 175 F.3d 378 (1999) (elements and framework for retaliation claims)
Mt. Healthy City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274 (1977) (burden shifting in causation for retaliation; but plaintiff must show protected conduct mattered)
Lewis v. Philip Morris Inc., 355 F.3d 515 (2004) (mere speculation insufficient to create triable retaliation issue)