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Cripe9/28/2005
FOR PUBLICATION
Case Summary
In this interlocutory appeal, Appellant-Defendant Cripe, Inc. d/b/a D.C. Garage Doors ("Cripe") appeals the trial court's denial of its motion to dismiss the complaint filed by James L. Clark ("Clark") for retaliatory discharge. We reverse and remand.
Issue
Cripe raises one issue, which we restate as whether the trial court erred by denying its motion to dismiss because Clark voluntarily terminated his employment with Cripe and, as a consequence, has failed to state a claim for retaliatory discharge upon which relief may be granted.
Facts and Procedural History
The relevant facts, as set forth in the complaint at issue, follow. On or about January 29, 2002, Cripe hired Clark as an installer and service technician of garage doors. From the date of his hire, Clark-an at-will employee -was supervised by Dennis Cripe ("Dennis") and Jim Brown ("Brown"). A few months after Clark began his employment with Cripe, Dennis assigned him to drive a Chevrolet van. This van lacked operating turn signals, at least one brake light, operating warning-hazard lights, and an interior center rear-view mirror. The van also had severely worn tires and brakes and "loose exterior rear-view mirrors." Appellant's App. at 5. Clark informed Dennis and Brown of the defective condition of the Chevrolet van and was assured that necessary repairs would be made. Except for an attempted repair of the front brakes, however, no such repairs were completed. At some point, one of Clark's co-workers, who is neither skilled nor certified to make brake repairs, attempted to repair the van.
In June of 2003, Brown directed Clark to drive the Chevrolet van to the Cripe facility located in Knox, Indiana. Upon his arrival at the Knox facility, Clark was instructed to load the van with materials, the bulk of which exceeded the loading capacity of the vehicle. Accordingly, Clark was required to drive a "F350 diesel duel-wheeled pick-up truck," with a trailer attached. Id. at 6. From a previous experience with this truck, Clark knew that its brakes had been defective. When Clark inquired about the present condition of the brakes, he was directed to drive the truck irrespective of whether the brakes had been repaired. In addition, the trailer that Clark was required to haul behind the truck had a flat tire, no operating harness for turn signals or brake lights, and a license plate that belonged to another vehicle. Before he departed from the Knox facility, Dennis advised Clark to "just be careful and don't drive fast." Id.
Because of the truck's faulty brakes, Clark was unable to safely stop the truck and trailer at the intersection of U.S. Highways 35 and 6 and, instead, the vehicles "veered onto the right-hand berm" and came to rest in an adjacent ditch. Id. After an unsuccessful attempt to use the in-cab radio, Clark continued driving the truck and trailer and encountered "several other near accidents (i.e., near rear-end collisions with vehicles in front of the [truck] due to the defective brakes, and near rear-end collisions to the trailer from following vehicles due to the trailer's defective brake lights)." Id. at 7. Eventually, Clark returned the vehicles to the Knox facility and reported the hazardous conditions.
Approximately one week later, Clark was assigned to drive a "1996 G30 Chevrolet utility van" for a certain service job in Plymouth, Indiana. Id. This utility van had been serviced on numerous occasions for sudden losses of power. Notwithstanding the attempted repairs, however, Clark had noticed that "the same loss of power problem persisted." Id. Indeed, in June of 2003, while Clark was driving the
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