 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Cummins v. Mold-In Graphic Systems6/5/2001
Mold-In Graphic Systems (MIGS) and Michael and Kathleen Stevenson, collectively referred to as the defendants, appeal from the trial court's denial of the defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law on Sean and Deirdre Cummins' claim for wrongful discharge under the public policy exception to the at-will employment doctrine. The plaintiffs cross appeal from the trial court's dismissal of their claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and punitive damages. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the trial court's denial of the defendants' motion for judgment as a matter of law on the wrongful discharge claim, and we affirm its dismissal of the plaintiffs' claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Our resolution of these issues eliminates the need to address the plaintiffs' argument regarding their punitive damages claim.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
MIGS is a plastic products manufacturing company located in Clarkdale, Arizona. The Stevensons are the sole stockholders of MIGS, and Mike Stevenson is the CEO of the company. Mr. Cummins, who is blind, was hired by MIGS in September 1994. After a brief stint in the Art Department, Mr. Cummins was transferred to the Management Information Systems (MIS) Department, where he input data and performed network maintenance.
The plaintiffs contend that in the fall of 1995, Arthur Brault, a MIGS employee, told Mr. Cummins that Mike Stevenson wanted him to copy Bible study software onto Brault's computer system. Mr. Cummins refused to do so on the basis that it may constitute an illegal copying of software. Mr. Cummins advised his supervisor, Mel Smart, of the incident, and, according to Mr. Cummins, Mr. Smart agreed that it was an inappropriate request and advised him not to copy the software.
Shortly thereafter, Chris Eymann, a MIGS employee and the Stevensons' son-in-law, requested Mr. Cummins' assistance in copying Stevenson's Bible study software onto Brault's computer. Again, Mr. Cummins refused, explaining he did not believe such copying was appropriate under the copyright laws. The parties never addressed whether any licenses existed that would permit the software to be copied.
The plaintiffs assert that, over the course of the six to seven months following these two incidents, MIGS' employees and Mike Stevenson engaged in a course of conduct that amounted to intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination of Mr. Cummins. The plaintiffs complain, inter alia, that employees at MIGS began to shun Mr. Cummins, that management approved vacation time and then reversed its position, that Mr. Cummins' position was changed from that of a salaried employee to an hourly employee, that he was no longer allowed to accrue overtime, that Mike Stevenson openly chastised and rebuked him in an off-site Bible study, that his network security access was revoked, that his job description was changed to include activities that he could not perform, that management instituted a policy that Mr. Cummins perceived applied only to him, that he was given no meaningful work, that his hours were reduced, and that he was eventually terminated. By contrast, MIGS claimed that Mr. Cummins' termination was due to company downsizing.
The plaintiffs filed this lawsuit against the defendants, alleging claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, wrongful discharge in violation of public policy against handicap and religious discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violation of the Arizona Civil Rights Act, Ariz. Rev. Stat. (A.R.S.) ยงยง 41-1461 to -1465.
The Stevensons an
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Arizona Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|