Opinion ID: 761503
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Stated Reason May be Invalid on Its Face

Text: 32 Although it has addressed this issue several times, the Montana Supreme Court has not yet held that an employer's given reason for an employee's discharge was invalid as a matter of law under the WDEA. This result is unsurprising, however, because an employer is unlikely ever to offer such a reason for discharging an employee. 33 A discussion of this issue was presented in Buck, supra. Plaintiff James Buck was employed by Frontier Chevrolet as the manager of its car dealership, and was considered to be an exemplary employee. Buck, 811 P.2d at 540. After Frontier was purchased by F.S. Enterprises (FSE), FSE discharged Buck in compliance with a long standing policy of [FSE] ... which placed long term employees in charge of the new dealership. Id. at 539. Buck did not allege that the reason given for his discharge was pretextual or based on a mistaken interpretation of facts; he only challenged whether FSE's policy was a valid business reason on its face under the WDEA. Buck appealed the trial court's grant of summary judgment to FSE. 34 The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the grant of summary judgment, holding that where an employer seeks to fill sensitive managerial or confidential positions, it may properly look to its own employees. Id. at 541. The policy used by FSE would allow FSE to place people in those positions who hold the same business values and philosophies as itself, and also reward its long term employees. Id. The Court determined that because Buck failed to demonstrate that FSE's reason for discharging him was invalid on its face, and further has not come forward with any evidence showing bad faith or falsehood, we hold summary judgment was properly awarded. Id. at 541. In other words, once the Montana Supreme Court determined that Buck had failed to demonstrate that the reason for his discharge was not a legitimate business reason, Buck no longer had a valid claim under the WDEA. 35