Marwood v. Elizabeth Forward School District

Opinions of the United
2004 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
2-19-2004
Marwood v. Elizabeth Forward
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 02-3273
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"Marwood v. Elizabeth Forward" (2004). 2004 Decisions. Paper 999.
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NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
Nos. 02-3273/4599
LINDY MARWOOD
v.
ELIZABETH FORWARD SCHOOL DISTRICT;
DONNA SHULTZ, DIRECTOR OF THE
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION OF THE ELIZABETH
FORWARD SCHOOL DISTRICT; HERBERT MORGAN,
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE ELIZABETH FORWARD
SCHOOL DISTRICT
(Western District of PA, D.C. 92-cv-01089)
LINDY MARWOOD
v.
HERBERT MORGAN, individually and in his
capacity as Superintendent of Elizabeth
Forward School District; ELIZABETH FORWARD
SCHOOL DISTRICT
(Western District of PA, D.C. 93-cv-02041)
Lindy Marwood,
Appellant
ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
(Dist. Court No. 92-cv-01089)
District Court Judge: Honorable Donald E. Ziegler
Argued: October 24, 2003
Before: ALITO, FUENTES, and BECKER, Circuit Judges.
(Opinion Filed: February 19, 2004)
Edward A. Olds (argued)
1007 M ount Royal Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15223
Attorney for Appellant
Suzanne B. Merrick (argued)
Gaitens, Tucceri & Nicholas, P.C.
519 Court Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
John F. Cambest
Dodaro, Kennedy & Cambest
1001 Ardmore Boulevard
Suite 100
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
Attorney for Appellees
OPINION OF THE COURT
PER CURIAM:
I.
As we write for the parties only, we do not extensively set out the
background of this case. Lindy Marwood is a teacher in the Elizabeth Forward School
District (hereinafter “EFSD”). Marwood is a proponent of “Learnball,” a classroom
motivational system. As described by Marwood, Learnball consists of a package of
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techniques, some of which, such as dividing students into teams, are not uncommon even
in classrooms where Learnball is not used. In April 1992, EFSD banned the use of
Learnball in the classroom, and Marwood brought suit in the United States District Court
for the Western District of Pennsylvania. After the inception of the lawsuit, EFSD
promulgated a new set of rules entitled, “Classroom Management Techniques,” which
more specifically codified EFSD’s prohibitions on Learnball. The first Marwood case
was terminated when Marwood and EFSD entered into a settlement agreement
(hereinafter “the Settlement Agreement”) in 1996. The Settlement Agreement, which was
set out in the District Court’s Settlement Order, among other things, eliminated all
mention of Learnball in the Classroom Management Techniques,1 allowed Marwood to
use in her classroom a hoop and ball, items that are employed in the Learnball program,
and permitted Marwood to lead a nonschool sponsored Learnball League Club. See App.
29a-30a. In 1997, Marwood began to insist that the Settlement Order allowed her to use
Learnball in the classroom and admitted to using Learnball in the classroom.
Subsequently, EFSD disciplined Marwood for her use of Learnball in the classroom.
This discipline was brought to arbitration, and ESFD sought clarification of the
Settlement Order. The arbitrator refused to consider whether the Settlement Order
prohibited Marwood from using Learnball, stating that any such clarification would need
1
The original Classroom Management Techniques made only one mention of
Learnball in a provision prohibiting advertisement for “Learnball Superbowl Activities.”
App. at 40a.
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to be provided by the District Court. EFSD subsequently filed with the District Court a
“Petition for Clarification of the Settlement Order of June 19, 1996.” EFSD asked the
District Court to make it clear that the Settlement Order did not permit the use of
Learnball in the classroom. The District Court in an order dated July 17, 2002, clarified
the Settlement Order, stating that EFSD had not agreed to permit the use of Learnball in
the classroom and had not otherwise waived its right to ban Learnball, that a
constitutionally permitted ban of Learnball was implemented through the Classroom
Management Techniques, and that M arwood was limited in her use of the Learnball
program to the extracurricular activity set out in the Settlement Order. See App. at 14a-
15a. Marwood now appeals this order, arguing that the District Court lacked jurisdiction
to interpret the Settlement Order, that there was no ripe case or controversy before the
District Court, that the District Court’s interpretation of the Settlement Order was clearly
erroneous, and that the Court erred in disposing of the matter without an evidentiary
hearing. Because the Supreme Court has held that consent decrees are to be treated as
injunctions for the purposes of interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1), see
Carson v. American Brands, Inc., 450 U.S. 79 (1981), we have jurisdiction under 28
U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1) to review the order of the District Court if the Court modified the
Settlement Order, but not if the Court merely interpreted the Order. United States Fire
Ins. Co. v. Asbestospray, Inc., 182 F.3d 201, 207-08 (3d Cir. 1999); see also Martin’s
Herend Imports, Inc. v. Diamond & Gem Trading United States of America Co., 195 F.3d
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765, 769 (5th Cir. 1999); In re Seabulk Offshore, Ltd., 158 F.3d 897, 899 (5th Cir. 1998);
Mikel v. Gourley, 951 F.2d 166, 168-69 (8th Cir. 1991); Motorola, Inc. v. Computer
Displays Int’l, Inc., 739 F.2d 1149, 1155 (7th Cir. 1984). Moreover, in the latter event,
we perceive no other basis for appellate jurisdiction. We must determine whether, as
Marwood argues, the District Court substantively modified the Settlement Order order or
whether it merely interpreted that Order .
II.
A.
Before reaching the question of appellate jurisdiction, however, we first consider
another jurisdictional question. Marwood argues that the District Court did not retain
jurisdiction over the enforcement of the Settlement Order. This argument fails. Though
we have stated that the “phrase ‘pursuant to the terms of the Settlement’ in the dismissal
order [is] insufficient to incorporate the terms of the settlement agreement and therefore
[does] not confer subject matter jurisdiction over settlement enforcement,” Shaffer v.
GTE North, Inc., 284 F.3d 500, 503 (3d Cir. 2002), we have also held that a District
Court retained jurisdiction where the District Court incorporated a settlement agreement
into its final order. See Halderman v. Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp., 901 F.2d 311, 317
(3d Cir. 1990) (stating that where the District Court not only approved but incorporated
the final settlement agreement into its order that it had “retained jurisdiction over the case
sub judice”). Here, the Settlement Order clearly incorporated the Settlement Agreement
5
by specifically and explicitly setting out the terms of the agreement within the order itself.
Therefore, under our case law, the District Court clearly retained jurisdiction over the
continued enforcement and interpretation of the Settlement Order. The fact that the
District Court retained jurisdiction over the continued enforcement of the Settlement
Order also suffices to answer Marwood’s claim that there was no ripe case or controversy
over which the District Court could exercise jurisdiction. See Kokkonen v. Guardian Life
Insurance Co. of America, 511 U.S. 375, 381 (1994) (stating that ancillary jurisdiction to
enforce an agreement would exist where the parties have an obligation to comply with the
settlement order because the “terms of the settlement agreement” were incorporated into
the order).
B.
Turning to the issue of appellate jurisdiction, we hold that the District Court
merely interpreted the Settlement Order. A settlement order is to be “construed
consistently with fundamental precepts of contract construction.” Washington Hospital v.
White, 889 F.2d 1294, 1300 (3d Cir. 1989). Determining whether a settlement order is
ambiguous is a question subject to our plenary review. Thermice Corp. v. Vistron Corp.,
832 F.2d 248, 252 (3d Cir. 1987). As we stated in Washington Hospital, the meaning of a
settlement agreement should initially be discerned by looking to the four corners of the
agreement itself. Washington Hospital, 889 F.2d at 1300. An agreement is unambiguous
when it is reasonably capable of only one construction. Id. at 1301. Furthermore, when
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determining whether an agreement is ambiguous, the Court “does not just ask whether the
language is clear; instead it hears the proffer of the parties and determines if there are
objective indicia that, from the linguistic reference point of the parties, the terms of the
contract are susceptible of different meanings.” American Flint Glass Workers Union v.
Beaumont Glass Co., 62 F.3d 574, 581 (3d Cir. 1995) (internal quotation marks and
citations omitted). We are also to construe the Settlement Order “so as to give meaning to
all of its words and phrases.” Halderman, 901 F.2d at 318 (3d Cir. 1990).
Applying these principles to the Settlement Order, it is clear that the Order is not
ambiguous and that M arwood has not provided the Court with a reading that is
reasonable. If the Settlement Order had been intended to rescind the entire Learnball ban
and to allow the use of the technique in the classroom, one would think that it would say
so, but it clearly does not. Rather, the Settlement Order merely removes a reference to
Learnball in the text,2 while retaining the prohibitions within the Classroom Management
Techniques against specific Learnball techniques. Learnball consists of a package of
techniques all of which are supposed to be used together. Learnball literature specifically
states that it is not proper to use only some of the techniques. App. at 441a. Thus, the
fact that the Settlement Order indisputably prohibits some Learnball components means
that Learnball as such is not allowed. The mere fact that the Order allows Marwood to
use the “hoop and ball” in the classroom plainly does not show that the entire Learnball
2
It is important to note that this reference was merely to solicitation on behalf of the
Learnball tournament.
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package was allowed. Furthermore, the fact that EFSD permitted Marwood to lead a
nonschool-sponsored Learnball League Club also supports the District Court’s
interpretation. If Learnball were not banned within the classroom, such permission would
not need to be stated or given. Given all this, we conclude that the Settlement Order was
not ambiguous and that the interpretation given it by the District Court was not in error
and did not in any substantive way modify the prior Order. As a result, we lack
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(2). W e therefore dismiss the appeal.
III.
We have reviewed all of Marwood’s arguments, but we conclude that the appeal
must be dismissed.
BECKER, Circuit Judge, dissenting.
I agree with the jurisdictional framework applied by the majority, but I would
resolve the question of our appellate jurisdiction differently. Finding jurisdiction, I would
reach the merits and vacate the District Court’s order. I view the “clarification order” at
issue not as mere interpretation but as a substantive modification of the earlier settlement
order, and thus locate our appellate jurisdiction in 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1). Because the
District Court modified the settlement order without stating reasons of the sort that Fed.
R. Civ. P. 65(d) requires in the closely related context of injunction orders, I would vacate
the clarification order and remand to the District Court to reconsider the order and enter
8
supporting reasons for its modification.
On the question whether the clarification order was a modification, I agree with
the majority’s analysis with respect to the scope of the in-classroom Learnball ban. But
the clarification order also addresses out-of-classroom activities, and it is here that we
part company. The majority fails to reconcile ¶D of the settlement order with ¶3 of the
clarification order. Paragraph D reads:
The Elizabeth Forward School District will permit Marwood to lead a
nonschool sponsored Learnball League Club. It will be made clear the
Elizabeth Forward School District is not a club sponsor. The Learnball
League club will operate pursuant to the same guidelines, as from time to
time adopted, as other nonschool sponsored groups that have permission to
use school facilities during after-school hours. The Learnball League Club
has permission to post informational circulars on school bulletin boards and
to distribute such circulars to students and others in the same manner as
other nonprofit, nonschool sponsored groups. The parties acknowledge the
major purpose of the after-school Learnball Club is to hold a Learnball
tournament.
In contrast, ¶3 reads:
[T]he use of the Learnball program by Plaintiff is limited to the extra-
curricular activity described in Paragraph “D” of the Settlement Order.
The modification I see is that ¶D, which in the settlement order set out a
nonexclusive description of Marwood’s right to engage in Learnball-related
extracurricular activity, is transmogrified by ¶3 of the clarification order into an
extracurricular right that is exclusive. Indeed, the literal terms of ¶3 so constrict
Marwood’s opportunities to use Learnball outside the classroom that one wonders if it is
even consistent with the First Amendment, let alone fairly within the scope of the earlier
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settlement order. Does ¶3 mean that Marwood may not demonstrate Learnball in a
private seminar on the weekends, or that she may not use it when teaching summer school
in another school district?
The result is that since the clarification order is actually a modification of the
settlement order, and so we have jurisdiction under § 1292(a)(1). Moreover, if the
clarification order is a modification under the injunction-related provision of §
1292(a)(1), then it follows that it is also a modification for the purposes of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure. Accordingly, I would look to Fed. R. Civ. P. 65 to supply the
requirements for entering the order. Rule 65(d) provides that “[e]very order granting an
injunction . . . shall set forth the reasons for its issuance.” This would appear to apply
with equal force to orders modifying injunctions and consent decrees. The bare order
entered by the District Court does not explain the reasons for the modification worked by
¶3, and hence does not comply with Rule 65. Thus I would vacate the clarification order
and remand to the District Court to reconsider the clarification order and explain the
reasons behind the modification.
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