Dawn Reynolds v. City of Eugene

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff-Appellant Dawn Reynolds appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of DefendanU-Appellees the City of Eugene and Mark Gissiner. She also appeals the district court’s denial of her motion to file a second amended complaint. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm in part and reverse and remand.

1.We reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment on Reynolds’ First Amendment retaliation claim. When public employees speak pursuant to their official duties, “the employees are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline.” Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410, 421 , 126 S.Ct. 1951 , 164 L.Ed.2d 689 (2006). To determine the scope of a public employee’s duties, the court must conduct a practical, fact-specific inquiry. Dahlia v. Rodriguez, 735 F.3d 1060, 1070-71 (9th Cir.2013). Here, genuine and material disputes remain as to the scope and content of Reynolds’ job responsibilities as Deputy Police Auditor under Gissiner and whether the proffered reasons for terminating her were pretex-tual. Specifically, there is a genuine…