Currie v. Industrial Sec., Inc.

915 A.2d 400

2007 ME 12

Herschel CURRIE v. INDUSTRIAL SECURITY, INC., et al.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Argued: January 23, 2006.

Decided: January 16, 2007.

Arthur J. Greif (orally), Julie D. Farr, Gilbert & Greif, P.A., Bangor, for plaintiff.

James R. Erwin (orally), Joanne H. Pearson, Pierce Atwood, LLP, Portland, for defendants.

Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and CLIFFORD, DANA, ALEXANDER, CALKINS, LEVY, and SILVER, JJ.

DANA, J.

[¶ 1] Herschel Currie appeals from a summary judgment entered in the Superior Court (Aroostook County, Hunter, J.) in favor of Industrial Security, Inc. (ISI) and Irving Forest Products, Inc. (IFPI). Currie contends that the court erred in finding that the statements of material facts did not generate genuine issues of material fact with respect to his claims that ISI and IFPI violated the Maine Human Rights Act, 5 M.R.S. §§ 4551-4634 (2005) (MHRA), and the Whistleblowers' Protection Act, 26 M.R.S. §§ 831-840 (2005)(WPA), and that IFPI tortiously interfered with his contractual relationship with ISI. Because we agree, we vacate the judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

[¶2] The following facts are undisputed, except as noted. Currie was a security guard at IFPI's Pinkham Lumber Mill in Ashland. Prior to May 2000, Currie was an employee of Hall Security. In May 2000, after ISI obtained the contract to provide security for the Pinkham Lumber Mill, Currie became an employee of ISI. He claims that, in July 2001, he was unlawfully discharged for making (1) a report to Border Patrol regarding unauthorized workers; (2) internal reports regarding unsafe driving in the mill yard; and (3) an internal report regarding the dumping of paint thinner.

A. The Report Regarding Unauthorized Workers

[¶3] In January 2000, two Canadian employees of Industrial Security Limited (ISL is the Canadian counterpart of ISI)¹ arrived at the mill and asked Currie to assist them in performing vehicle checks. Currie, suspecting that the Canadians were not authorized to work in the United States, contacted a manager, who suggested that Currie contact Customs. Currie contacted Customs the following day, and received a return call from Border Patrol Agent Merrick, whom Currie claims told him that "`to his knowledge neither [Canadian] had the right to work in the United States.'"

[¶ 4] In February 2001, Currie received a call at home from an IFPI employee reporting that two Canadian ISL employees had arrived at the mill and he was wondering whether the two were authorized to work in the United States. Currie called Steve Varga, an ISL supervisor. Although Varga assured Currie that the Canadians were authorized, Currie told Varga that he was going to call Border Patrol.² Currie called Border Patrol and, upon returning to work, was allegedly told that the Canadians had been arrested and deported.

B. The Reports Regarding Unsafe Driving and the Dumping of Paint Thinner

[¶5] Throughout his employment at the mill, Currie lodged numerous complaints that Alain Ouellette, a regional manager for J.D. Irving, Limited, drove through the mill yard at excessive rates of speed.

[¶6] Around June 2001, Currie complained to management about an incident involving the dumping of paint thinner. Although Currie was initially accused of having reported the dumping to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the parties now agree that Currie did not report the dumping to the DEP.³

C. Currie's Discharge

[¶7] In March 2001—subsequent to Currie's reports regarding the unauthorized workers and Ouellette's unsafe driving, but prior to his report regarding the dumping of paint thinner—Ouellette and Johnson, Currie's supervisor at ISI, met and discussed the possibility of Currie's discharge. Although Ouellette wanted Johnson to discharge Currie, Johnson resisted because he believed Currie was doing a good job. Ouellette recommended Currie's firing a number of times between March and July 2001.

[¶8] ISI and IFPI assert that the discharge decision was made at this March 2001 meeting, whereas Currie asserts that it was made at a later, July 2001, meeting. Currie asserts that, in July 2001 on the morning of his discharge, Ouellette and Johnson met and discussed Currie's February 2001 report regarding the unauthorized workers as well as the dumping of paint thinner.⁴ Currie believes that his discharge was motivated not only by the report regarding the unauthorized workers but also by the reports regarding Ouellette's unsafe driving and the dumping of paint thinner.

[¶9] On July 18, 2001, Johnson fired Currie. At the time of Currie's firing, however, based on what he then knew, Johnson did not want to fire him. Johnson expressed this sentiment to Currie when he fired him, but refused to tell him the reason for the firing. Moreover, Johnson admitted that had Ouellette told him that he no longer wanted Currie fired, he would not have fired him. Johnson never had a problem with Currie during Currie's employment.

[¶10] Following his discharge, Currie filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission pursuant to 26 M.R.S. § 834-A (2005), received a right to sue letter pursuant to 5 M.R.S. § 4612(6) (2005), and commenced this action. Currie alleged that ISI and IFPI—acting either as an integrated entity or as principal and agent, respectively—had violated the MHRA and WPA. Currie further alleged that, even if IFPI was neither integrated with nor an agent of ISI, it had tortiously interfered with his contractual relationship with ISI. ISI and IFPI moved for a summary judgment,⁵ the court granted their motion, and Currie brought this appeal.

II. DISCUSSION

[¶11] A summary judgment is appropriate when the portions of the record referenced in the statements of material fact disclose no genuine issues of material fact and reveal that one party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. M.R. Civ. P. 56(c).

We review the grant of a motion for summary judgment de novo ... consider[ing] the evidence and reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the evidence in the light most favorable to the party against whom the summary judgment has been granted in order to determine if the parties' statements of material facts and referenced record evidence reveal a genuine issue of material fact.

Lever v. Acadia Hosp. Corp., 2004 ME 35, ¶ 2, 845 A.2d 1178, 1179.

A. The MHRA and WPA Claims

1. Elements of an MHRA and WPA Claim

[¶12] The MHRA prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because of actions protected under the WPA. 5 M.R.S. § 4572(1)(A) (2005). To prevail on a WPA claim, an employee must show that (1) he engaged in activity protected by the WPA; (2) he experienced an adverse employment action; and (3) a causal connection existed between the protected activity and the adverse employment action. Stanley v. Hancock County Comm'rs, 2004 ME 157, ¶ 11, 864 A.2d 169, 173. Title 26 M.R.S. § 833(1)(A) (2005) provides:

1. Discrimination prohibited. No employer may discharge ... an employee . . . because:

A. The employee, acting in good faith . . . reports orally or in writing to the employer or a public body what the employee has reasonable cause to believe is a violation of a law or rule adopted under the laws of this State, a political subdivision of this State or the United States.

Title 26 M.R.S. § 833(2) provides:

2. Initial report to employer required; exception. Subsection 1 does not apply to an employee who has reported ... a violation, or unsafe condition or practice to a public body, unless the employee has first brought the alleged violation, condition or practice to the attention of a person having supervisory authority with the employer and has allowed the employer a reasonable opportunity to correct that violation, condition or practice.

Prior notice to an employer is not required if the employee has specific reason to believe that reports to the employer will not result in promptly correcting the violation, condition or practice.

2. Summary Judgment in MHRA and WPA Claims

[¶ 13] Our construction of the MHRA and WPA has been guided by federal law, Maine Human Rights Commission v. City of Auburn, 408 A.2d 1253, 1261 (Me.1979) (stating that, in enacting the MHRA, the Maine Legislature "intended the courts to look to the federal case law to `provide significant guidance in [construing the] statute'") (quoting Maine Human Rights Comm'n v. Local 1361, United Paperworkers Intern. Union AFL-CIO, Me., 383 A.2d 369, 375 (Me.1978)), and we have previously "evaluate[d] WPA claims with the `shifting burdens' analysis articulated in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973)," Stanley, 2004 ME 157, ¶ 12, 864 A.2d at 174.

3. Analysis

a. The Report Regarding Unauthorized Workers

[¶ 14] ISI and IFPI claim that Currie was discharged for his February 2001 report to Border Patrol. Currie agrees this was one of the causes of his discharge. ISI and IFPI assert that the report was not protected under the WPA because Currie did not have reasonable cause to believe that a violation of law had occurred and, in any event, did not provide ISI and IFPI with a reasonable opportunity to correct the alleged violation prior to making the report. We consider ISI and IFPI's arguments and, finding them unpersuasive, engage in the remainder of the summary judgment analysis.

i. Reasonable Cause to Believe that a Violation of Law Had Occurred

[¶ 15] Currie asserts that, because he reasonably believed that the Canadians who came to the mill in January 2000 were unauthorized, and knew that one of the Canadians who came in January 2000 returned in February 2001, he had reasonable cause to believe that the Canadians who came in February 2001 were unauthorized.

[¶ 16] Currie's assertion that he reasonably believed that the Canadians who came to the mill in January 2000 were unauthorized is supported by the following: the two evaded Currie's questions regarding their authorization; when Currie said that h...