Brian Dias William Mason, Sr. v. Jose Elique Michael Murray University and Community College System of Nevada University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The United States District Court for the District of Nevada dismissed claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , along with pendent state-law claims, by two employees, Sergeant Brian Dias and Officer William Mason, Sr., who were terminated by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Department of Public Safety (“UNLV”) after allegedly falsifying time entries in a Department of Public Safety logbook. The district court found Appellants’ wrongful termination, retaliation, and related state-law claims were precluded by a determination made by a hearing officer from the Nevada State Personnel Commission (the “Commission”) that UNLV had “just cause” in terminating Appellants. Appellants’ remaining claims not arising from the termination were dismissed under the doctrine of qualified immunity. We find that the district court erred in applying issue preclusion but uphold the district court’s application of qualified immunity.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 10, 2001, Lieutenant Rochelle Sax told Michael Murray, Deputy Director of Public Safety for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, that she suspected Appellants had falsified time entries in the Public Safety Department logbook. The next day,…