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Rumley v. CESCO3/28/2000
APPEAL from the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
In October 1995, Rex B. Rumley, by and through attorney John W. Ferron, filed a "Verified Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief, and Damages." The named defendants were Mr. Rumley's former employer, CESCO, Inc., and its president, Pearl W. Johnson. Mr. Rumley's complaint contained five "counts:" negligence; retaliatory discharge; employment discrimination; and two claims based upon the same retaliation and discrimination theories but separately entitled "tortious wrongful discharge in violation of public policy."
The events culminating in the filing of this action involved a workplace injury sustained by Mr. Rumley in September 1994. In October 1994, Mr. Rumley filed a worker's compensation claim, which was subsequently allowed for a "sprain lumbosacral" condition. According to Mr. Rumley, he was granted an indefinite leave of absence from work during this time.
In April 1995, during the time Mr. Rumley was on what he believed to be a "leave of absence," he was told by a third party that his employment with CESCO had been terminated because he was suffering from hypertension, dizziness, and obesity. At all relevant times, Mr. Rumley suffered only from obesity, of which his employer was fully aware; the condition did not hinder his ability to perform the essential functions of his position at CESCO.
According to Mr. Rumley, he did not receive any written or other notification of this termination until he wrote a letter to Ms. Johnson in June 1995, in which he requested confirmation of what he had been told. The defendants, through counsel, responded with a letter in July 1995 confirming the termination; the letter indicated that his employment had been terminated months earlier, in January 1995.
Mr. Rumley subsequently sent written notice to the defendants' attorney that he intended to claim that they violated R.C. 4123.90 by terminating him in retaliation for his pursuit of worker's compensation benefits.
Mr. Rumley, through his attorney, then filed the verified complaint that is the underlying cause of action here. As indicated above, the complaint essentially alleged three primary theories of liability: his employer's negligence caused his injury; and, that his employment had been terminated unlawfully and against public policy because it was both retaliatory and based upon conditions from which he did not suffer - hypertension and dizziness. To the extent he was terminated due to his obesity, he also claimed that CESCO unlawfully discriminated against him as a "perceived handicapped person."
Pursuant to an entry filed in May 1996, the trial court granted defendant CESCO's summary judgment motion related to the negligence claim; this motion had not been opposed by Mr. Rumley. In granting summary judgment on the negligence claim, the trial court agreed that the worker's compensation system provides the exclusive remedy for employees injured on the job. The trial court also granted a motion to dismiss Pearl Johnson as a defendant, finding that CESCO, Inc. was the only "employer."
CESCO filed another motion for summary judgment as to both the handicap discrimination and the public policy claim based upon the same issue. Again, no opposition to this motion was filed on behalf of Mr. Rumley. The trial court granted the motion pursuant to a September 1996 entry.
CESCO filed a third summary judgment motion on the two remaining claims. The trial court overruled this motion, thus leaving intact the retaliatory discharge and public policy claim based upon the same. However, Mr. Rumley ultimately filed a Civ.R. 41 voluntary d
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