Judge rejects Greene's defamation claim

A federal judge in Philadelphia has dismissed a claim by Carl R. Greene, the ousted executive director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, that he had been defamed by the PHA chairman, former Mayor John F. Street.

Street had described Greene to the press and PHA board as a "serial sexual harasser." But in a decision issued Jan. 20, U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter said Street, as PHA's chairman, was a "high public official" who had immunity.

The judge also dismissed Greene's assertion that his employment contract amounted to a property interest, and that he had been denied his due process to defend it.

But Buckwalter signaled that Greene might have a claim regarding his due process to protect his reputation. He also indicated that on the matter of whether his employment contract was breached, Greene never directly named the housing authority as a defendant and should have, since his contract was with the agency, not the five board members named in the suit.

Citing those two matters, Buckwalter ruled that Greene could seek the court's permission to file an amended complaint.

PHA's board fired Greene on Sept. 23 after disclosures that multiple women had accused him of sexual harassment, and that the authority had secretly settled three complaints against him. At the time, Greene was earning $306,370 a year.

He has denied that he harassed female employees.

Clifford E. Haines, an attorney for Greene, said he was "disappointed" that the judge had dismissed the defamation claim against Street.

But he said Buckwalter had "sent a clear signal that with the breach-of-contract and due-process claims, he will clearly entertain those claims if properly pled."

"We will refile and name PHA as a defendant in addition to the individuals," Haines said.

Attorneys for PHA could not be reached for comment.

Street wrote in an e-mail that he was "pleased" with the decision.

As the person leading the PHA investigation of Greene, Buckwalter wrote, Street "was acting in his official capacity when he spoke about the matter at board meetings or corresponded with various media outlets to update them on the board's findings."

With the decision on the defamation claim, Haines said, "we are considering how to treat it."

Greene has filed a separate defamation suit against Street in state court.