To overcome the qualified immunity defense, it was incumbent upon Plaintiffs to show that any reasonable person in Dr. Bruce’s position would know that discipline could not be meted out under the circumstances she encountered. “That’s a tough standard. How tough? Well, [Plaintiffs’] must show that ‘then-existing precedent’ put the illegality of [Dr. Bruce’s] conduct ‘beyond debate.’” Ashford v. Raby, 951 F.3d 798, 801 (6th Cir. 2020). Because Plaintiffs have not done so, Dr. Bruce is entitled to qualified immunity in her individual capacity on Plaintiffs’ First Amendment retaliation claim.
- C. Due Process and the Fourteenth Amendment
“The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. To state a procedural due process claim, a plaintiff must establish that: (1) he has a property interest protected by the Due Process Clause; (2) he was deprived of this property interest; and (3) the state did not afford him adequate pre-deprivation procedural rights.” Cahoo v. SAS Analytics Inc., 912 F.3d 887, 900 (6th Cir. 2019); accord Albrecht v. Treon, 617 F.3d 890, 894 (6th Cir. 2010).
As a preliminary matter, the parties dispute whether Plaintiffs were deprived of a property interest, which “are not created by the Constitution,” but, instead, “are created and their dimensions are defined by existing rules or understandings that stem from an independent source such as state law[.]” Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 538 (1985) (quoting Bd. of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 576 (1972)). Plaintiffs claim they were denied property interests when Dr. Gruber’s grant was revoked, they were prohibited from study abroad trips, and they were subjected to random visits to their classroom by the Dean of the College of Arts and Science. According to them, these actions limited their professional growth, stunted their careers, and damaged their
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Case 2:21-cv-00039 Document 90 Filed 12/01/22 Page 22 of 27 PageID #: 8934
