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Jones v. State12/16/2005
No. 5969
Before: Bryner, Chief Justice, Matthews, Eastaugh, Fabe, and Carpeneti, Justices.
CARPENETI, Justice, concurring.
FABE, Justice, dissenting.
I. INTRODUCTION
Floyd Ainsworth, a correctional officer, wrote a racially and sexually offensive memorandum terminating inmate Raymond Jones's job as a prison barber.
Jones sued Ainsworth and the Alaska Department of Corrections (collectively, the state), claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and unlawful termination from his prison-barber job because of race or sex, in violation of the Alaska Human Rights Act. The superior court dismissed Jones's IIED claim on summary judgment but allowed his human-rights-act claim to proceed to trial. Before trial, the state made an offer of judgment to Jones, which he refused. At trial, the court instructed the jury that Jones could only claim emotional damages for emotional distress suffered after his termination occurred. The jury found that Jones had been unlawfully terminated, but awarded him only a small amount of damages, specifying that its award was for emotional distress. The court awarded costs and attorney's fees to the state, finding that its pretrial offer of judgment exceeded the jury's verdict. Jones appeals, claiming that the superior court erred in dismissing his IIED claim, in instructing the jury on the scope of Jones's right to recover emotional damages, and in awarding attorney's fees to the state. We affirm, concluding that Jones has failed to show prejudice from any error in dismissing his IIED claim, that the jury was properly instructed on Jones's right to emotional damages, and that the court properly awarded the state costs and fees for prevailing on its offer of judgment.
II. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
Raymond Jones, an African American, was an inmate assigned to Spring Creek Correctional Center. He worked as a barber, cutting other inmates' hair for a nominal salary. Correctional Officer Floyd Ainsworth was Jones's supervisor.
On August 4, 1997, Ainsworth gave Jones the following memo: This memorandum is to inform you, that you have been fired as an APS barber/rec worker. You are a lop, lame, sissy, cake-boy, and your girl is a mud-duck. You are in fact a no talented bum. You listen to Vanilla Ice, in your 1975 AMC Pacer, and that's just not cool. In fact one of the brother's told me that you were white, and just had a really good tan. Maybe the kitchen is looking for a new pots and pans man!
Jones interpreted this memo as containing sexual and racial slurs and as being intended to terminate his employment. He stopped reporting for work and kept the memo in his possession but did not report it. The memo was discovered by correctional officers after Jones's transfer to Wildwood Correctional Center in July 1998. Its discovery triggered a departmental investigation into Ainsworth's conduct and eventually led to his termination.
Jones later sued the state, alleging that the August 4 memorandum had intentionally inflicted emotional distress and had violated the Alaska Human Rights Act by terminating Jones's employment as a prison barber for racial and sexual reasons.
The state moved for summary judgment on Jones's claims. Regarding the IIED claim, which required proof of outrageous conduct and serious emotional harm, the state argued that Jones's claim was deficient because the August 4 memo was at most an insult, rather than an outrageous act, and because Jones's general assertion that the memo had caused him to feel "anxious and upset" would not support a finding of serious emotional harm. In response, Jones insis
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