Sanjuan v. Ibp, Inc.

90 F.Supp.2d 1208

Guillermo SANJUAN, Plaintiff, v. IBP, INC., Defendant.

No. Civ.A. 94-1541-DES.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

March 10, 2000.

David O. Alegria, McCullough, Wareheim & LaBunker, P.A., Topeka, KS, for Guillermo Sanjuan, plaintiff.

Jack Focht, Boyd A. Byers, Foulston & Siefkin L.L.P., Wichita, KS, for IBP Inc, defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SAFFELS, Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the court on the defendant's Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law and Alternative Motion for a New Trial (Docs. 146 and 218). For the reasons set forth below, the court denies both motions.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Guillermo Sanjuan ("Sanjuan") brought this action alleging that he was fired from his job at IBP, Inc. ("IBP") in retaliation for exercising his statutory rights under the Kansas Workers' Compensation Act, Kan.Stat.Ann. § 44-501, et. seq.

Sanjuan began working as a flanker at IBP's Holcomb, Kansas, plant in May 1991. In May 1992, Sanjuan visited the company nurse because he was experiencing pain in his left arm, shoulder and back. Sanjuan believed his pain was due to using an old air knife which was not cutting properly. He informed his supervisor at IBP about the knife, but IBP refused to replace it. In July 1992, Sanjuan saw the company doctor, who restricted plaintiff to "light duty" because plaintiff was suffering from repetitive motion overuse. Sanjuan's supervisors were made aware of Sanjuan's injury and his medical restrictions. From July 1992 until December 1992, IBP assigned Sanjuan to several "light duty" positions within the company, including labeling boxes, picking up garbage, stamping beef, driving cattle with cattle prods, and blowing hair off hocks. Sanjuan was briefly reinstated to his regular position as a flanker for a trial basis on October 2, 1999, but returned to light duty due to pain.

Although Sanjuan had never been disciplined for poor job performance prior to his injury, he was written up ten times for disciplinary violations after he was placed on light duty. Many of the light duty jobs were easier than his flanker position. Supervisors refused to explain to Sanjuan, who spoke little English, the nature of alleged violations and forced him to sign documents acknowledging the violations. Sanjuan testified that his supervisors failed to train him and explain how to do the light duty jobs. Sanjuan also testified that his supervisors mistreated him by yelling at him, threatening him if he did not return to his regular job, and not allowing him to seek medical care. At trial, Sanjuan's supervisors denied any mistreatment and said that Sanjuan was written up for mistakes he made on the job.

On December 23, 1992, Sanjuan was driving cattle through a chute, using a cattle prod to keep the line moving. A cow fell down, causing the line to stop for five minutes. Sanjuan testified that the cow slipped and fell due to moisture in the chute. An IBP supervisor testified that he had seen cattle accidently slip in the chute, and that cattle entered the chute covered with snow and mud. IBP supervisors testified that Sanjuan over-shocked the cow, and had been warned about over-shocking cattle in the past. Sanjuan testified he had not been warned about over-shocking cattle. On December 23, 1992, Sanjuan was fired from IBP for poor work performance.

Sanjuan filed suit, alleging that IBP's stated reason for discharge, poor work performance, was mere pretext, and IBP's real reason for discharge was retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim. On May 10, 1996, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, awarding the plaintiff $39,076 in actual damages. The defendant appealed to the Tenth Circuit, which ordered a new trial because the trial court improperly admitted hearsay. On July 13, 1999, a jury again returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The second jury awarded $97,032 for past wages and $2,500 for embarrassment, humiliation and emotional distress, for a total award of $99,532. The second jury also found that defendant's conduct was willful, wanton, and malicious, and the court awarded $200,000 in punitive damages.

II. PROCEDURAL OBJECTIONS

Plaintiff initially argues the court should deny defendant's Renewed Motion for Judgment and Alternative Motion for a New Trial because they do not comply with D.Kan. Rule 7.6(a). Defendant's motions sufficiently comply with the local rule to allow the court to clearly understand the nature of the matter before it.

III. MOTION FOR JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW

During the first trial, IBP defended against Sanjuan's retaliation claim by arguing Sanjuan was discharged for poor work performance. Before the second trial commenced, the Kansas Court of Appeals decided Griffin v. Dodge City Coop. Exchange, 23 Kan.App.2d 139, 927 P.2d 958 (1996). In Griffin, the Kansas Court of Appeals stated, "an employee who cannot return to his or her former position does not have a retaliatory discharge claim." Id. at 964. During the second trial, IBP argued that not only was Sanjuan discharged for poor work performance but he also could not claim retaliation because he was unable to perform his job as a flanker at the time he was discharged. The jury found that Sanjuan "could have returned to his regular position as a flanker," and that IBP fired Sanjuan in retaliation.

The court denied defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law at the close of the plaintiff's case and again at the close of all evidence. IBP renews its motion pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b), and asks the court to set aside the jury's finding that IBP discharged the plaintiff in retaliation. IBP argues that under Griffin an employee must be able to return to his former position without accommodation on the day he was discharged to maintain a retaliation claim and plaintiff did not meet his burden.

Overturning a jury verdict is a judicial remedy that the court approaches with a great deal of caution. The court may grant a motion for judgment as a matter of law "only if the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, `points but one way and is susceptible to no reasonable inferences supporting' the nonmoving party." Riggs v. Scrivner, Inc., 927 F.2d 1146, 1149 (10th Cir.1991). "[T]he court must view the evidence and indulge all inferences in favor of the party opposing the motion and `cannot weigh the evidence, consider the credibility of witnesses or substitute its judgment for that of the jury.'" Lucas v. Dover Corp., 857 F.2d 1397, 1400 (10th Cir.1988). In short, judgment as a matter of law is proper only when "the evidence so strongly supports an issue that reasonable minds could not differ." Ryder v. City of Topeka, 814 F.2d 1412, 1418 (10th Cir.1987).

"Retaliatory discharge is an intentional tort: it is committed `only when the employer discharges the employee for an improper reason.'" Bausman v. Interstate Brands Corp., 50 F.Supp.2d 1028, 1042 (D.Kan.1999). Kansas courts have determined that firing an employee for filing a workers' compensation claim is improper. Murphy v. City of Topeka, 6 Kan.App.2d 488, 630 P.2d 186, 192 (1981). The public policy embodied in Kansas workers' compensation laws makes it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee because he has filed a workers compensation claim. Id.

The plaintiff bears the burden of proving retaliatory discharge by a preponderance of the evidence that is clear and convincing. Ortega v. IBP, Inc., 255 Kan. 513, 874 P.2d 1188, 1197-98 (1994). To succeed on a claim for retaliatory discharge, the plaintiff must show that: (1) he filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits, or sustained an injury for which he might assert a claim for such benefits; (2) his employer had knowledge of the claim, or of the fact that he had sustained a work-related injury for which he might file a claim; (3) his employer terminated his employment; and (4) a causal connection existed between the protected activity or injury and the termination. Huffman v. Ace Elec. Co., 883 F.Supp. 1469, 1475 (D.Kan.1995). IBP would like this court to treat the Griffin statement as an additional element to a retaliation claim, requiring the employee to prove they could return to their former position within medical restrictions at the time they were discharged.

The Griffin statement must be read within its context. At the time Griffin was discharged, he was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and had been released from his doctor's care with permanent medical restrictions. Griffin, 927 P.2d at 961. Griffin brought a retaliatory discharge action because his employer did not modify his job or consider alternative jobs to accommodate his injury. The Griffin court stated:

We do not read this language to require an employer to look for alternative work or create a position before terminating an injured employee who clearly cannot return to his prior position. While efforts to reemploy or retain injured workers should be encouraged, the Workers Compensation Act does not impose such an obligation on an employer. Likewise, our reading of [Murphy] and [Coleman] reinforce the view than an employee who cannot return to his or her former position does not have a retaliatory discharge claim.

Id. at 964 (Emphasis added). Griffin was clearly unable to return to his former position, therefore, he could not establish the improper motive necessary to maintain an action for retaliatory discharge.

Implied in Griffin is the requirement there must be clear evidence that the employee can not return to his former position to foreclose a retaliatory discharge claim. An employer is not obligated to retain an injured employee who clearly can not return to his job. Id. The word "return" itself indicates that the plaintiff was off work, returning from a period of rest or rehabilitation. The cases relied on by the Griffin court, Murphy v. City of Topeka, and Coleman v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 242 Kan. 804, ...