Case Title: Cross v. Coffman

Citation: 304 Ark. 666, 805 S.W.2d 44

Docket Number: 

State: arkansas

Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Date: 1991-03-04T00:00:00Z

Document:
805 S.W.2d 44 (1991) 304 Ark. 666 JoAnn CROSS, Appellant, v. James and Helen COFFMAN, Appellees. No. 90-241. Supreme Court of Arkansas. March 4, 1991. Guy Jones, Jr., Conway, for appellant. George F. Hartje, Jr., Conway, for appellees. HOLT, Chief Justice. The sole point of error relied upon by the appellant, JoAnn Cross, is whether the trial court erred in dismissing her independent cause of action for wrongful discharge under Ark.Code Ann. §§ 11-9-105 and -107 (1987) as a matter of law. On November 17, 1986, Ms. Cross allegedly suffered an injury during the course of her employment at a business owned or operated by the appellees, James and Helen Coffman. Ms. Cross reported the injury to the Coffmans and later made a claim for workers' compensation benefits. The Coffmans subsequently discharged Ms. Cross from their employment. Ms. Cross filed suit against the Coffmans on September 30, 1988, and alleged that they "... jointly, severally and in concert, fired, terminated or discharged [her] from her employment for filing, pursuing or exercising her legal right to secure and obtain Workers' Compensation benefits directly in violation of the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Act and the public policy of the State of Arkansas." (Emphasis ours.) *45 On May 18, 1990, the trial court granted the Coffmans' motion to dismiss and stated in pertinent part as follows: Ms. Cross appeals on the basis that the trial court erred in dismissing her independent cause of action for wrongful discharge under sections 11-9-105 and 11-9-107 as a matter of law. Section 11-9-105 provides in pertinent part as follows: Section 11-9-107 addresses the penalties for discrimination for filing a workers' compensation claim and provides as follows: Clearly, this act provides an exclusive remedy to recover damages from an employer based on an employee's injury. Seawright v. U.S.F. & G. Co., 275 Ark. 96, 627 S.W.2d 557 (1982); section 11-9-105. Additionally, the extent to which an employer may be criminally penalized under the Workers' Compensation Law for wilfull discrimination in the tenure of an employee is set out in section 11-9-107. In this case, Ms. Cross provides no coherent or convincing argument that the Workers' Compensation Law allows a civil remedy for wrongful discharge. In reviewing a trial court's decision on a motion to dismiss, we treat the facts alleged in the complaint as true and view them in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. CDI Contractors, Inc. v. Goff Steel Erectors, Inc., 301 Ark. 311, 783 S.W.2d 846 (1990). Here, there are no facts alleged in the complaint, relative to the specific argument on appeal, that would support a civil cause of action for Ms. Cross under the Workers' Compensation Law. However, Ms. Cross also based her cause of action on the violation of public policy. We have previously recognized that an at-will employee has a cause of action for wrongful discharge if he or she is fired in violation of a well-established public policy of the state. The exception is limited and not meant to protect merely private or proprietary interests. Sterling Drug, Inc. v. Oxford, 294 Ark. 239, 743 S.W.2d 380 (1988). We construe the Coffmans' motion to dismiss on the contention that "no cause of action is recognized in Arkansas by virtue of `wrongful discharge'" as a motion to dismiss under Ark.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state facts upon which relief can be granted. Rule 12(b)(6) further states that: Arkansas R.Civ.P. 56(c) provides in pertinent part that "... [t]he judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law..." In Ms. Cross's pleading, she asserts her employment with the Coffmans, an injury resulting in the filing of a workers' compensation claim, a wrongful discharge cause of action based on the violation of a public policy of the State of Arkansas, and damages. Additionally, her answer to the Coffmans' interrogatories includes the following information: The burden of proving that there is no genuine issue of fact is upon the moving party, and, on review, all proof submitted is viewed in the light most favorable to the party resisting the motion. Any doubts and inferences are resolved against the moving party. Scully v. Middleton, 295 Ark. 603, 751 S.W.2d 5 (1988). Treating the facts in the complaint and interrogatories in a light most favorable to Ms. Cross, we cannot say that her asserted cause of action failed to show that a genuine issue of material fact existed or that the Coffmans were entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Affirmed in part; reversed and remanded in part.