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Smith v. SCI Management Corp.8/31/2000
Appellant, Mark Smith ("Smith"), appeals the granting of a traditional motion for summary judgment in favor of appellee, SCI Management Corporation ("SCI"). Smith raises one point of error asserting that the trial court erred in granting the summary judgment. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Smith was an employee of SCI, a funeral service provider, for nearly eight years. During his employment, SCI investigated allegations of theft by an employee in Smith's department. Upon discovering that Smith's department was improperly shifting costs among various construction projects, SCI asked Smith to resign. An SCI representative gave Smith a "voluntary" letter of resignation, and told Smith that if he did not sign it, he would be terminated. Smith then signed the letter.
Almost a year before these events took place, Smith had his annual review with Spillane, the SCI representative who hired him. During that review, Spillane and Smith had a general discussion about what Smith's annual compensation would be for the following year, and Spillane orally told Smith that he would receive $85,000.00. However, Spillane did not tell Smith anything further about the terms and conditions of his employment, nor did he promise to employ Smith for a one-year period.
After he was terminated, Smith sued SCI for wrongful termination, arguing that he was terminated without just cause under duress and in breach of his employment contract. SCI moved for summary judgment on two grounds, alleging that (1) Smith's resignation was not procured by duress and (2) Smith did not have a contract of employment that altered his at-will status. The trial court granted SCI's motion for summary judgment, and this appeal followed.
DISCUSSION AND HOLDINGS
In one point of error, Smith argues that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment for SCI. Specifically, Smith contends that SCI failed to establish as a matter of law that (1) he was an at-will employee and that (2) he voluntarily resigned. We disagree.
We begin our analysis by noting that the order granting summary judgment for SCI does not specify the reason the trial court granted the motion. When such an order exists, we will affirm the judgment if any of the theories advanced in the motion are meritorious and supported by competent summary judgment evidence. See Carr v. Brasher, 776 S.W.2d 567, 569 (Tex. 1985); Kyle v. West Gulf Maritime, Ass'n, 792 S.W.2d 805, 807 (Tex. App.--Houston [14 th Dist.] 1990, no writ). As we explain below, we find that the trial court was correct in granting summary judgment for SCI because no material issue of fact existed as to whether Smith had an employment contract that altered his at-will status. Thus, we will address only the issue of Smith's at-will status in our opinion.
In a traditional motion for summary judgment, the movant has the burden of showing, with competent proof, that no genuine issue of material fact exists, and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See TEX. R. CIV. P. 166a; Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548 (Tex. 1985). When a defendant is the movant for summary judgment, it has the burden to conclusively negate at least one essential element of the plaintiff's cause of action, or conclusively establish each element of an affirmative defense. See Doe v. Boys Clubs of Greater Dallas, Inc., 907 S.W.2d 472, 476-77 (Tex. 1995); Montgomery v. Kennedy, 669 S.W.2d 309, 310-11 (Tex. 1995). If the movant's motion and summary judgment proof facially establish its right to judgment as a matter of law, the burden shifts to the non-movant to raise a material fa
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