Court Opinion

ID: 9468246
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:08:57.05002+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:46.307515
License: Public Domain

*331BRIGHT, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
I concur in the result reached by the majority in this case, but write separately to express my views on the constitutionality of awarding punitive damages under the Missouri service letter statute.
The majority opinion assumes that Rim-mer can recover punitive damages only by proving that “the reasons stated in the letter for the discharge were false, that Colt knew they were false, and nonetheless wantonly and maliciously issued the letter.” At 326. Based on this assumption, I join in the majority opinion. I add a further comment. I believe that the majority’s standard for imposing punitive damages represents the minimum requirement for upholding the statute against attack on first amendment grounds.
For the reasons stated by Judge Collinson in Rimmer v. Colt Industries Operating Corp., 495 F.Supp. 1217, 1222-25 (W.D.Mo. 1980), I agree that the service letter statute must be measured by the standard established in Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323, 94 S.Ct. 2997, 41 L.Ed.2d 789 (1974). Under the Gertz standard as applied to a service letter case, a plaintiff, to recover punitive damages, must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that an employer made a false statement, knowing it to be false or with reckless disregard for its truth. Id. at 349, 94 S.Ct. at 3011.
The Missouri courts, however, have not clearly articulated whether an award of punitive damages depends on such a showing of actual malice. See Potter v. Milbank Manufacturing Co., 489 S.W.2d 197 (Mo. 1972); Beggs v. Universal C.I.T. Credit Corp., 409 S.W.2d 719 (Mo.1966); Newman v. Greater Kansas City Baptist and Community Hospital Association, 604 S.W.2d 619 (Mo.App.1980); Rotermund v. Basic Materials Co., 558 S.W.2d 688 (Mo.App.1977); Booth v. Quality Dairy Co., 393 S.W.2d 845 (Mo.App.1965). Unfortunately, the Missouri courts’ uneven construction of the statute seems to place the corporate employer in the unenviable position of being liable for substantial punitive damages 1 even though the discharged employee has not presented evidence that the employer wantonly or maliciously issued the service letter.
Under the pleadings and decision of this court, the plaintiff will be required to prove actual malice to recover punitive damages. In my view, any less rigorous standard would offend the first amendment rights of an employer. Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., supra.

. According to statistics compiled by the Greater Kansas City Jury Verdict Service, plaintiffs recovered a verdict in 100% of the reported cases, with an average punitive damages award of $117,000 in 1980, $150,000 in 1979, and $23,-501 in 1978. A recent case in this circuit also illustrates the heavy damages awarded in service letter cases. In McCluney v. Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co., 649 F.2d 578 (8th Cir. 1981), the employer furnished a service letter stating the employee had resigned. The employee brought suit, claiming the employer’s statement was false because he had in fact been fired. The critical question for the jury was whether McCluney resigned or was fired. The jury awarded $1 in actual damages and $400,000 in punitive damages. We reversed solely on the ground that Missouri law did not apply to the contract entered into in Wisconsin. This case also shows that substantial punitive damages may be awarded without requiring the plaintiff to prove actual injury. Cf. Maheu v. Hughes Tool Co., 569 F.2d 459, 480 (9th Cir. 1978) (no first amendment violation because California courts require a reasonable relationship between punitive and actual damages awarded).