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Workers' Compensation Recovery6/8/2004
CR. Marvin did not apprise Johansen of the meeting. According to Marvin, during the April 17 meeting, BHS requested that Marvin contact other BHS facilities that had yet to sign on with WCR in an effort to get them to do business with WCR. Marvin stated that she felt obligated to inform BHS that she would be resigning from WCR to start her own business. According to Marvin,
asked me where I was going. I informed them I was going out on my own. At this time they asked me to contact them after I had given my resignation to Mr. Johansen at WCR. Thus, I did not ask them for BHS's business, we did not discuss any terms or contracts, and the meeting was certainly not to solicit business.
Lowell Larson, a BHS representative, confirms Marvin's version of events, stating that, "Marvin did not ask or request BHS business at the April 17, 2003 meeting."
Marvin met with Johansen to tender her resignation on April 28. When Johansen asked if Marvin had met with BHS, Marvin asserts that she told him that she had, but not to solicit business. Johansen, on the other hand, asserts that Marvin told him that she believed that BHS would be "supportive" of her efforts to start her own business, which he understood to mean that Marvin "had solicited business from BHS on behalf of her new company." Johansen stated that he was "stunned by [Marvin's] admissions" and asked whether Marvin had "any ethical problems in soliciting business from WCR's main customer on behalf of her own business while still employed by WCR," to which Marvin indicated that she did not. Marvin contends that Johansen accused her of being unethical and immoral, but that she did not respond to the accusations. At the conclusion of the meeting, Johansen terminated Marvin.
Johansen then contacted two BHS representatives, who confirmed that Marvin had met with BHS on April 17. After speaking with BHS, Johansen was convinced that Marvin had "solicited BHS to direct its business away from WCR and to her new company." Johansen also states that he subsequently learned that Marvin had prepared marketing materials for her new company that incorporated WCR's methodology. Marvin denies this allegation and further contends that WCR's methodology was not Johansen's creation, but rather is commonly used throughout the workers' compensation industry and is even advocated on the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's website.
After Marvin's termination, WCR moved another employee, Nicole Marvin, into Marvin's position. Johansen later learned that despite her termination, Marvin attended a doctor's appointment with Nicole Marvin and an injured BHS employee on May 8, 2003. Johansen believes that Marvin misrepresented her employment status with WCR to maintain her relationship with BHS while starting her own business. Marvin admits to attending the appointment, explaining that she did so because Nicole Marvin was apprehensive about her new position, but denies misrepresenting her employment status to the client. Johansen also asserts that Marvin attempted to hire Nicole Marvin away from WCR and even threatened to "bury" Nicole Marvin if she remained employed with WCR. Marvin denies these allegations. Nicole Marvin resigned from WCR effective May 20, 2003. Marvin states that since May 21, Nicole Marvin has been helping with her new business, but continues to look for employment.
On May 7, 2003, WCR received a letter stating that BHS intended to cancel its contract with WCR effective May 20, 2003. Although the letter did not explicitly state that BHS planned to secure Marvin's services, Johansen believed that to be BHS's intention. Lowell Larson, a BHS representative, testified that "BHS intended to either
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