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Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Ind. Decisions - Employment law is focus of Court of Appeals ruling

Among the decisions posted the Court of Appeals today is Cripe, Inc. v. James Clark, an 10-page opinion written by Judge Bailey, with Judge Friedlander concurring. Judge Robb has written a 12-page dissent. The majority opinion ends:

In the present case, the averments contained in Clark’s complaint are insufficient to allege that Cripe purposefully created a working condition so intolerable that Clark had no choice but to resign. See, e.g., Tutman v. WBBM-TV, Inc., 209 F.3d 1044, 1050 (7th Cir. 2000) (recognizing that the doctrine of constructive discharge is limited to egregious cases, such as, for example, where an employee is subjected to threats or repeated racist taunting), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1078 (2001). Rather, the allegations merely assert that Cripe refused to provide Clark—an installer and service technician of garage doors—with a safe vehicle and that, as a consequence, Clark resigned. Accordingly, the complaint in dispute fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. As such, the trial court erred by denying Cripe’s motion to dismiss Clark’s complaint.

For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the trial court’s denial of Cripe’s motion to dismiss Clark’s complaint and remand for judgment consistent with this opinion.

Judge Robb's dissent begins:
I respectfully dissent, as I believe Indiana should recognize the doctrine of constructive discharge as a defense that an at-will-employee can raise in the context of a common law retaliatory discharge claim brought against his employer.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 28, 2005 10:58 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions