Title: Johnson v. Gary

State: alabama

Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court

Document:

443 So. 2d 924 (1983)
Mary JOHNSON
v.
Paul GARY and Mitsuko Gary d/b/a B & N Steakhouse.
82-844.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
December 22, 1983.
*925 M. Ashley McKathan of Powell & Powell, Andalusia, for appellant.
Charles J. Kettler, Jr., Luverne, for appellees.
SHORES, Justice.
Plaintiff Mary Johnson sued her former employers, Paul and Mitsuko Gary, d/b/a B & N Steakhouse, alleging that she was wrongfully discharged from her job. It is undisputed that plaintiff's job status was that of an employee at will. The trial court dismissed plaintiff's action, ruling that her complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Although it was referred to as a judgment of dismissal, it was, as to the last two claims, more properly a summary judgment, since the trial court had before it, in addition to the pleadings, the uncontroverted statement by the Alabama Unemployment Agency as to why the plaintiff was not entitled to unemployment compensation. Johnson appeals. We affirm.
The complaint alleges that Johnson, a 58-year-old employee of defendants, injured her back and neck on October 10, 1982, when she fell at work. She sought and received workmen's compensation benefits as provided under Ala.Code 1975, § 25-5-1, et seq. She was subsequently discharged from her employment at the restaurant.
In Count I of her complaint she alleges that she was discharged by the defendants in retaliation for having applied for workmen's compensation benefits. Counts II and III of the complaint allege tortious interference by the defendants with Johnson's efforts to receive unemployment compensation benefits following her discharge from the restaurant.
Meredith v. C.E. Walther, Inc., 422 So. 2d 761, 762 (Ala.1982).
This case presents nothing to justify adoption of an exception to the long-standing rule of this jurisdiction.
The Alabama legislature has provided the exclusive remedy for determinations regarding unemployment compensation. Section 25-4-96, Ala.Code 1975, provides:
Mrs. Johnson was initially denied unemployment compensation. She made use of the procedural and appellate remedies provided by the act and ultimately received benefits. She properly pursued the adequate remedy at law and won. Any possible hindrance to that process that her former employers may have raised was resolved within the remedy the law affords. Therefore, her allegations regarding tortious interference with her efforts to receive unemployment compensation are without merit.
The judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
TORBERT, C.J., and MADDOX, JONES and BEATTY, JJ., concur.