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Yeager v. Harrah's Club6/27/1995
By the Court, Rose, J.: This action commenced in the district court after appellant Charles Yeager (Yeager) was terminated from his employment by respondent Harrah's Club (Harrah's). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Harrah's against all of Yeager's claims because Yeager failed to overcome the presumption that he was employed at-will. For reasons discussed hereafter, we conclude that Yeager has failed to raise genuine issues of material fact concerning his status as an at-will employee; therefore, we affirm the lower court's order of summary judgment.
FACTS
Yeager began working for Harrah's as a cashier during the summer of 1965. During the next twenty-one years, Yeager progressed through the ranks, ultimately becoming the assistant general manager of operations. Sometime in early 1986, Holiday Corp. 1 began a restructuring of the organization. As a result, Yeager's position and nine other key casino executive positions were eliminated. Consequently, Yeager and the nine other executives were terminated on July 29, 1986. Almost two years later, Yeager filed a complaint in the district court in which he joined Harrah's and Holiday Corp. as defendants. Yeager's complaint set forth nine causes of action: (1) breach of an employment contract; (2) tortious breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (3) slander; (4) negligence; (5) conspiracy; (6) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (7) negligent infliction of emotional distress; (8) invasion of privacy"public disclosure of private facts; and (9) invasion of privacy"false light.
[111 Nev. 830, Page 833]
Yeager alleged that he had an implied contract for continued employment arising from: (1) verbal promises made at the outset of his employment relationship and continuously thereafter for twenty-one years; (2) written promises contained in the employee handbook that Yeager was required to read and acknowledge at the outset of his employment relationship; and (3) Harrah's demonstrated policy of not terminating employees, including supervisory personnel, except for cause, which policy Yeager himself was required to follow as a supervisor. To buttress these assertions, Yeager provided the district court with the sworn affidavits of former co-workers James Caselli and Barney Mozingo. Mr. Caselli was employed at Harrah's Reno from 1958 until 1986. Mr. Mozingo was employed at Harrah's Reno for many years commencing in 1973. Both affiants' employment careers overlapped with the career of Charles Yeager. 2 In response to Yeager's complaint, the respondents filed a joint answer denying all of the claims made by Yeager. Additionally, the respondents moved the district court for summary judgment pursuant to NRCP 56(b). They asserted that Yeager was merely an employee at-will, and was, therefore, subject to termination without cause as a matter of law. Following a hearing on the summary judgment motion, the district court concluded that Yeager failed to overcome the presumption that he was employed at-will, and granted summary judgment in favor of the respondents. The district court further concluded that since Yeager's tortious claims were dependent upon the existence of a contract for continued employment, summary judgment should be granted on them as well. This appeal followed.
LEGAL DISCUSSION
This court's review of a summary judgment order is de novo. Tore, Ltd. v. Church, 105 Nev. 183, 185, 772 P.2d 1281, 1282 (1989). Where a motion for summary judgment under NRCP 56(c) has been granted, the essential question on appeal is whether genuine issues of material fact were created by pleadings and proof offered. Copeland v. Desert Inn Hotel, 99 Nev. 823, 673 P.2d 4
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