James A. Daly v. City of DeSoto, Missouri; Jeff McCreary

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 23-3223
___________________________
James A. Daly
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant
v.
City of DeSoto, Missouri; Jeff McCreary
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis
____________
Submitted: June 24, 2024
Filed: June 27, 2024
[Unpublished]
____________
Before LOKEN, GRUENDER, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.
James Daly appeals following the district court’s1 adverse grant of summary
judgment on his claims against his former employer, the City of DeSoto (the City),
1The Honorable John A. Ross, United States District Judge for the Eastern
District of Missouri.

-- 1 of 2 --

alleging that he was retaliated against during his time as a sergeant with the City’s
police department, which ultimately culminated in his termination. Upon careful
review, we conclude that summary judgment was proper. See Henry v. Johnson, 950
F.3d 1005, 1010 (8th Cir. 2020) (standard of review). As to the state-law retaliation
claim, we agree with the district court that “the record lacks any instance or
accumulation of events targeting Daly that a reasonable person objectively would
consider so abusive or severe as to constitute an actionable hostile work
environment.” See Watson v. Heartland Health Labs., Inc., 790 F.3d 856, 864 (8th
Cir. 2015); Thorn v. Amalgamated Transit Union, 305 F.3d 826, 831 (8th Cir. 2002).
As to the First Amendment retaliation claim, we agree with the district court that
Daly’s termination was justified under the balancing test set out in Pickering v. Bd.
of Educ., 391 U.S. 563 (1968), particularly as the City provided sufficient evidence
that Daly’s speech disrupted the City’s operations. See Noon v. City of Platte Woods,
94 F.4th 759, 764 (8th Cir. 2024); Henry, 950 F.3d at 1012; Anzaldua v. Northeast
Ambulance & Fire Prot. Dist., 793 F.3d 822, 835 (8th Cir. 2015). To the extent Daly
also raised these claims against the chief of police in his official capacity, we
conclude that the district court did not err in dismissing such claims as redundant.
See King v. City of Crestwood, 899 F.3d 643, 650 (8th Cir. 2018); Rumery v.
Outboard Marine Corp., 172 F.3d 531, 535 (8th Cir. 1999).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
______________________________
-2-

-- 2 of 2 --