Opinion ID: 880343
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Respondent's Burden

Text: ACS argues that it has satisfied its summary judgment burden because no attending facts show that the respondent gave Karell any reason to believe that her position was secure and, therefore, the implied covenant against bad faith never materialized. We agree; the facts of this case depict no reasonable expectations of job security. Karell's immediate supervisor, Stan Wieczorek, criticized Karell's performance on several occasions. In April of 1986, he sent Karell a letter noting that she had failed to compile a Loan Closet Inventory and Needs Assessment for the Yellowstone/Billings Unit. Noting the adverse effect of Karell's dereliction, Wieczorek stated, I can't tell you how disappointed I was that I did not receive this report and how embarrassed I was to tell Carolyn and the other volunteers it was not available. Three months later, Wieczorek admonished Karell for taking vacation time without first obtaining written permission as required by the Montana Division's personnel policies. He also noted that she had not filed weekly time summary reports for the third weeks in February, May and August which were required by the organization's auditors. At one point, Wieczorek relieved Karell of responsibility for supervising her secretary because he felt she had no management skills. A September 26 letter from Wieczorek to Karell illustrates his concerns. I was surprised to hear you admit that you did not even know what your itinerary was for 3 of the 4 day field trip [to Great Falls]. It was obvious, you did not put alot [sic] of thought into the reasons for the trip. It was even more alarming to me for you to admit that you did not know how to organize a volunteer committee. Carol, the reason I hired you as Program Director, is because you had over 6 years experience working with volunteers... . Added to this experience, I have provided Division training plus National training at the Western Area New Staff Orientation ... in February and the New Staff Public Education Conference ... this past summer. As you are aware, our Area Directors have an enormous responsibility to their Units and this is one of the reasons we decided to hire a Division Program Director, to give our staff the much needed assistance in Unit organization. ..... I need to address one of your frequently stated concerns: too much work and not enough time... . One way that would provide you with more time is to simply report to work at 9:00 a.m. every morning. You are not meeting your obligation or demonstrating staff leadership by reporting to work at 9:20 every morning. ..... Carol, please plan to meet with me Wednesday, October 1st, at 9:00 a.m. to discuss in depth your role as our Division Program Director. Defendant's Deposition Exhibit No. 5. Wieczorek took several remedial steps to improve Karell's performance. He asked her to work closely with knowledgeable personnel in preparing the Inventory and Needs Assessment report. In his September 26 letter, Wieczorek laid out a seven-step procedure for organizing volunteer committees, offered individual training by Marcia Nenno of the national organization, and asked Karell to attend several training workshops. Finally, Wieczorek asked Karell to submit weekly written reports of her activities. From these facts, it is difficult to see how any reasonable person could believe that their job was secure. We agree with the District Court that the respondent provided sufficient evidence to meet its burden of establishing that as a matter of law the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing never arose in the employment relationship between ACS and Karell.