Court Opinion

ID: 9707719
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 02:19:29.808774+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:41:50.727345
License: Public Domain

Michael J. Kelly, P.J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent.
In support of the existence of a just-cause employment contract, plaintiff relies primarily on the statement by his supervisor that he could return to his old job if his new job did not work out. Plaintiff also relies on a statement to the effect that, as long as he continued to remain the kind of employee that he was, he would have a job. I do not think that these statements can be construed to establish a just-cause contract in light of their context and in light of the Supreme Court’s opin*639ion in Rood v General Dynamics Corp, 444 Mich 107; 507 NW2d 591 (1993), consolidated with Schippers v SPX Corp. In Schippers, the plaintiff had consulted with his supervisors about job security before deciding whether to transfer to another division and was told by his employer that "unless something was really wrong, [he] would be there for retirement” and that "as long as [the defendant] had a truck, [he] would be the driver.” Id. at 122-123. The Court held that the plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption of employment at will:
Only by taking the statement completely out of context could a reasonable juror interpret them in the manner that Mr. Schippers asserts — as promises to terminate "only if something was really wrong,” i.e., for just cause. The record shows discussion concerning job security in the sense of HyLift’s resolve in maintaining its trucking function, but there is no evidence whatsoever that indicates that the parties even discussed job security in the sense of requiring just cause for Mr. Schipper’s termination. [Id. at 123-124.]
The Court distinguished Toussaint v Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan, 408 Mich 579; 292 NW2d 880 (1980), where it found a factual basis for a just-cause employment contract. The plaintiff in Toussaint had attended several interviews before being hired by the defendant. At one of the interviews, the plaintiff specifically inquired about job security and was told that he would be with the company as long as he did his job. The Schippers Court noted:
Unlike the facts of this case, both Mr. Toussaint’s inquiry and Mr. Schaedel’s response indicate a discussion concerning the likelihood of Mr. Toussaint being discharged. Here, the evidence *640indicates that Mr. Schippers’ only concern was losing his job as a result of Hy-Lift discontinuing its trucking function. Given that Mr. Schippers’ inquiries were restricted to this subject, his supervisors’ statements simply cannot be interpreted as assent to a contract providing for termination only for just cause. . . . Indeed, viewing the statements in context makes clear that the language referred to management’s intentions regarding the permanency of the trucking function at Hy-Lift and not to the sufficiency of the grounds required to terminate Mr. Schippers. [444 Mich 125.]
In Rood, supra, the plaintiff confronted his supervisor after becoming concerned about his job security in light of a pending merger. The supervisor told him that "[his] job [was] fine, it’s secure.” Even under those circumstances, the Court held the evidence insufficient to support a just-cause employment relationship. Id. at 134. Similarly, in Rowe v Montgomery Ward & Co, Inc, 437 Mich 627, 642; 473 NW2d 268 (1991), the Supreme Court found insufficient evidence of a just-cause contract where the plaintiff was assured by her employer that "as long as [she] sold, [she] would have a job at Montgomery Ward.”
Like the Court in Schippers, I do not see how a reasonable person could interpret defendant’s promise to return plaintiff to his old position as assent to a just-cause employment contract. Nor do I consider the other oral representations indicative of a clear intention to create such a contract. They were not made in response to an inquiry concerning when or how plaintiff’s employment might be terminated. Nor were they made in response to articulated concerns by plaintiff that he be terminated for just cause only. See Barber v SMH (US), Inc, 202 Mich App 366, 371; 509 NW2d 791 (1993). The focus of the conversations in which these *641statements arose was simply not specific enough to the topic of just-cause employment to warrant a finding that defendant clearly intended to override the at-will employment language in the employment application.
I also find unpersuasive plaintiffs argument that the termination report, listing reasons for discharge, and the written reprimand, providing that plaintiff would be reviewed on a monthly basis, created a legitimate expectation of just-cause employment. With respect to the termination report, there is no evidence that plaintiff knew of its existence before he was dismissed. Thus, the report could not have instilled any legitimate expectations of just-cause employment. Moreover, a nonexclusive list of grounds for discharge does not preclude an employer from discharging an employee at will. Rood, supra at 142; Rowe, supra at 645. With respect to the written reprimand, which applied only to plaintiff, the Supreme Court held in Rood, supra at 138, that the legitimate expectations theory is not available where the policy creating the expectation of just-cause employment applies only to an individual employee.
I would reverse the trial court’s rulings on defendant’s motions for summary disposition, a directed verdict, and judgment notwithstanding the verdict.