Annie Roberto v. Ricardo J. Bordallo and David L.G. Shimizu

The plaintiff Roberto is a former employee of the government of Guam. She filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit against the Governor of Guam, Ricardo Bordallo, and his Chief of Staff, David Shimizu, alleging denial of due process and seeking damages for her forced resignation from a classified government position. The district court granted summary judgment for the plaintiff on liability, holding that the defendants violated clear provisions of Guam law giving procedural protections to the plaintiff. It rejected the defendants’ claim of qualified immunity. This ruling is immediately appealable. See Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 525 , 105 S.Ct. 2806, 2816 , 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985).

The plaintiff was the director of Guam’s Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in November of 1982 when outgoing Governor Calvo transferred that program to the Department of Public Health and Social Services by means of an executive order. This transfer changed her position from “Project Director,” an unclassified position without procedural protections, to “Program Coordinator III,” a classified position with procedural protections. Section 4201, 6 Guam Code Annotated, states in pertinent part as…