Ferrara v. Mills

101 Citing cases

  1. Friedman v. Town of Pembroke Park

    0:24-cv-60241-LEIBOWITZ/HUNT (S.D. Fla. Nov. 15, 2024)

    However, a government employee cannot “transform a personal grievance into a matter of public concern by invoking a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run.” Ferrara v. Mills, 781 F.2d 1508, 1516 (11th Cir. 1986).

  2. Zen Grp. v. Fla. Agency for Health Care Admin. (AHCA)

    80 F.4th 1319 (11th Cir. 2023)   Cited 7 times

    "[V]irtually all speech which is made in and about a public employment [or contracting] setting will have some public significance . . . ." Ferrara v. Mills, 781 F.2d 1508, 1515 (11th Cir. 1986). But "a public employee [or contractor] may not transform a personal grievance into a matter of public concern by invoking a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run."

  3. Green v. Finkelstein

    73 F.4th 1258 (11th Cir. 2023)   Cited 5 times

    Although these statements have some public import because Green was a government employee complaining about her elected boss, "a public employee may not transform a personal grievance into a matter of public concern by invoking a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run." Ferrara v. Mills, 781 F.2d 1508, 1516 (11th Cir. 1986).

  4. Stern v. Leath

    3:18-CV-807-WKW [WO] (M.D. Ala. Mar. 31, 2022)   Cited 2 times
    Finding that some adverse actions alleged in the complaint failed under both Stavropoulos and Bennett, but finding that certain alleged adverse actions survived dismissal, including that a university provost instructed an associate provost not to give a professor an annual evaluation "which laid the groundwork for denying [the professor] an annual raise and one-time merit supplement in 2018"

    Carter, 731 F.3d at 1168 (quoting Connick, 461 U.S. at 149). The Eleventh Circuit has “emphasized that ‘a public employee may not transform a personal grievance into a matter of public concern by invoking a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run.'” Id. (quoting Ferrara v. Mills, 781 F.2d 1508, 1516 (11th Cir. 1986)).

  5. Daniels v. Riggien

    333 So. 3d 1171 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2022)

    Second, as for the suggestion that her complaint was a matter of public concern because she claimed that Daniels’ demands were "costing money to the taxpayers," we agree with the court in Boyce v. Andrew , 510 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2007) : "A ‘public employee may not transform a personal grievance into a matter of public concern by invoking a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run.’ " Id. at 1344 (quoting Ferrara v. Mills , 781 F.2d 1508, 1516 (11th Cir. 1986) ); see alsoAlves , 804 F.3d at 1167 (holding that the issue of public concern raised in the employee complaint "was only incident to voicing their personal concerns"); Boyce , 510 F.3d at 1344–45 (holding that while public employees’ complaint was intermingled with issues of child safety and agency mismanagement, it was not meant to address matters of public concern from the perspective of a citizen); White Plains Towing Corp. v. Patterson , 991 F.2d 1049, 1059 (2d Cir. 1993) (recognizing that "[e]ven as to an issue that could arguably be viewed as a matter of public concern, if the employee has raised the issue solely in order to further his own employment interest, his First Amendment right to comment on that issue is entitled to little weight"). Because Riggien failed to allege a First Amendment violation, her individual capacity claim against Daniels must be dismissed on qualified immunity grounds.

  6. Green v. Finkelstein

    20-cv-62160-BLOOM/Valle (S.D. Fla. Oct. 10, 2021)   Cited 1 times

    The Eleventh Circuit has made clear that “a public employee may not transform a personal grievance into a matter of public concern by invoking a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run.” Ferrara v. Mills, 781 F.2d 1508, 1516 (11th Cir. 1986).

  7. Joiner v. Hines

    CASE NO. 2:19-CV-374-WKW [WO] (M.D. Ala. Jul. 12, 2021)

    And the Eleventh Circuit has “emphasized that ‘a public employee may not transform a personal grievance into a matter of public concern by invoking a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run.'” Id. (quoting Ferrara v. Mills, 781 F.2d 1508, 1516 (11th Cir. 1986)). Here, Joiner fails to demonstrate that his personalized complaints about discrimination qualify as a matter of public concern.

  8. O'Neal v. City of Hiram

    CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 4:19-CV-0177-TWT-WEJ (N.D. Ga. Feb. 19, 2021)

    Here, the primary focus of plaintiff's speech concerned his private grievances related to Chief Vande Zande and Mr. Palmer's treatment of him and the status of investigations related to workplace grievances. While plaintiff's speech did concern what he believed to be a hostile work environment and discrimination by the City against its employees, plaintiff cannot convert his personal grievances to a matter of public concern based on “a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run.'” Ferrara v. Mills, 781 F.2d 1508, 1516 (11th Cir. 1986). Therefore, plaintiff's speech primarily concerned private grievances about his working conditions rather than matters of public concern.

  9. Burks v. Coastal Ala. Cmty. Coll.

    CIVIL ACTION: 1:20-00069-KD-C (S.D. Ala. Jun. 19, 2020)

    "A public employee may not transform a personal grievance into a matter of public concern by invoking a supposed popular interest in the way public institutions are run." Boyce v. Andrew, 510 F.3d 1333, 1344 (11th Cir. 2007) (citing Ferrara v. Mills, 781 F.2d 1508, 1516 (11th Cir. 1986)). The Court has been unable to find any case law indicating that Burks' foregoing alleged instances of First Amendment retaliation concern matters of public concern.

  10. Gwinnett v. Sw. Fla. Reg'l Planning Council

    407 F. Supp. 3d 1273 (M.D. Fla. 2019)   Cited 3 times

    So the Complaint fails to state a claim. Ferrara v. Mills , 781 F.2d 1508, 1512 (11th Cir. 1986) ("If the employee's speech cannot fairly be characterized as constituting speech on a matter of public concern, the inquiry is at an end."). Curiously, Gwinnett alleges she made statements about the incident to the police as a citizen on a matter of public concern.