Louis Gorenc v. Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District

Plaintiff-appellant, Louis Gorenc (“Go-renc”), filed a pro se complaint in U.S. District Court against the defendant-appel-lee, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District (“Salt River”). Gorenc alleged Salt River violated his right to procedural due process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments and asserted a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . He alleged that Salt River had terminated his employment under “color of state law” without notice and an opportunity to respond to the reasons for his discharge.

The district court granted Salt River’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted on the grounds that the discharge of Gorenc did not constitute state action sufficient to allege a constitutional deprivation. We hold that Salt River is a governmental entity only for a limited purpose and the termination of Gorenc was a proprietary function, and purely private action and affirm the district court.

I.

BACKGROUND

The history of Salt River began in the late 1860’s, as farmers combined efforts to irrigate the arid lands of the Salt River Valley. Ball v. James, 451 U.S. 355, 357 , 101 S.Ct. 1811, 1814 , 68 L.Ed.2d 150…