Court Opinion

ID: 9596362
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:48:49.733164+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:11:54.338111
License: Public Domain

WYNN, Judge
concurring in part, dissenting in part.
The majority states that “Examination of the verified pleadings shows: (1) Yates had justification for his actions; and (2) plaintiff suffered no damage as a result. Id. Plaintiff made no showing that he was terminated because of Hurley’s request or that he suffered recoverable damages as a result of Hurley requesting plaintiffs termination.” Because, beyond the pleadings, which are not verified, the “depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits,” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 56(c) (2004), reveal that there exists a material dispute of fact as to Plaintiffs interference with contract claim, I respectfully dissent as to that claim.
Section 1A-1, Rule 56 of our General Statutes states that summary judgment “shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that any party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 56(c). Summary judgment
is “a drastic measure, and it should be used with caution.” Williams v. Carolina Power & Light Co., 296 N.C. 400, 402, 250 S.E.2d 255, 257 (1979). “When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, ‘the court must look at the record in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.’ ” Wilkes County Vocational Workshop, Inc. v. United Sleep Prods., 321 N.C. 735, 737, 365 S.E.-2d 292, 293 (1988) (quoting W.S. Clark & Sons, Inc. v. Union Nat’l Bank, 84 N.C. App. 686, 688, 353 S.E.2d 439, 440, disc. rev. denied, 320 N.C. 177, 358 S.E.2d 70 (1987)).
Moore v. City of Creedmoor, 345 N.C. 356, 364, 481 S.E.2d 14, 20 (1997).
On summary judgment, the movant has the burden of clearly establishing the lack of any material factual dispute. Jennings Communs. Corp. v. PCG of the Golden Strand, Inc., 126 N.C. App. 637, 639, 486 S.E.2d 229, 231 (1997) (“The party moving for summary *167judgment has the burden of clearly establishing a lack of any triable issue of fact by the record proper before the court.”) (citing Singleton v. Stewart, 280 N.C. 460, 465, 186 S.E.2d 400, 403 (1972)).
As the majority notes,
There are five essential elements for an action for malicious interference with contract: (1) a valid contract existed between plaintiff and a third person, (2) defendant knew of such contract, (3) defendant intentionally induced the third person not to perform his or her contract with plaintiff, (4) defendant had no justification for his or her actions, and (5) plaintiff suffered damage as a result.
Wagoner v. Elkin City Sch. Bd. of Educ., 113 N.C. App. 579, 587, 440 S.E.2d 119, 124 (1994) (citations omitted).
The majority here finds that “Examination of the verified pleadings shows: (1) Yates had justification for his actions; and (2) plaintiff suffered no damage as a result. Id. Plaintiff made no showing that he was terminated because of Hurley’s request or that he suffered recoverable damages as a result of Hurley requesting plaintiffs termination.” Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, as required by law, I disagree.
First, as to the “no justification” element, the evidence in the record demonstrates a material dispute of fact. In Plaintiffs affidavit of 13 November 2003, he stated that “Mr. Garland Yates, on numerous occasions personally stated to me that he intended to discharge me from my employment as his investigatorial assistant due to my seeking the office of Sheriff of Randolph County.” Plaintiff stated that “[o]n each such occasion, Mr. Yates stated to me that Sheriff Hurley had contacted him to complain about my continuing campaign activities.”
Mr. Tony Yates, Defendant Yates’ brother, stated in his deposition that when he went to his brother Defendant Yates’ office, “I told him, I said, I’ve come over here because I heard you were going to fire Kevin because he’s going to run for sheriff. And I said I realize that, you know, you have the right to do whatever you want.... But I said, I don’t think this is fair because a person has a right to run for a political office in this country.” Upon being asked whether “your brother ever t[old] you that Sheriff Hurley expressed any interest in having Mr. Hines discharged[,]” Mr. Yates answered “[y]es” and stated that “[a]t the end of that little statement, he made the — made the state-*168merit that the sheriff had called him and told him that he had to get rid of Kevin now.”
In his deposition, Plaintiff stated that Defendant Yates’ brother, Tony Yates, as well as Defendant Yates himself, informed him that Defendant Hurley demanded that Defendant Yates terminate Plaintiff’s employment because of Plaintiff’s candidacy for sheriff. Plaintiff stated that Defendant Yates told him “that the sheriff come to him and told him he wanted me — that he wanted me moved out of the county. He wanted me fired.” Plaintiff said that Defendant Yates “told me he was going to fire me at different — at different times. He was going to fire me if I filed. And then when I filed, he decided to wait, and then he told me he was going to fire me before the election, and then he told me he was going to fire me after the election. I was told countless times that he was going to fire me if I ran against him.”
In her deposition and through an accompanying exhibit, Ms. Cynthia Kay Lovin, administrative assistant to Defendant Yates, indicated that Plaintiff’s performance evaluations for 2001 and 2002 rated Plaintiff’s job performance as being satisfactory to outstanding. A portion of his 2001 performance evaluation stated:
Kevin had previous law enforcement experience when he joined our office. He possesses excellent investigative skills, which our office uses to develop and prepare cases for trial. He also serves as a liaison with the law enforcement agencies and has a proactive working relationship with these agencies.
Kevin has a very easy-going personality, which is a true asset in his job performance. He has proven to be invaluable in his ability to locate and interview witnesses. This is often a time-consuming process and requires someone with excellent investigative techniques and the ability to communicate with all segments of society.
Kevin is also very informed as to the elements of criminal law and the policies and procedures of the judicial system. He works independently and has the ability to analyze each case or situation and make any necessary decisions.
Kevin is always available and willing to help . . . whether it is directly in our office or in the judicial community.
In Defendant Hurley’s deposition, the following colloquy took place:
*169Q: Is it within the scope of your authority as sheriff of Randolph County to cause or seek to cause the termination of any employee at the district attorney’s office?
A: No. I didn’t try to do that.
Q: Well, my question is simply is that within the scope of your authority.
A: No, sir.
Q: So whether you did it or not, you agree you don’t have any legal right to try to cause a termination of an employee at the district attorney’s office?
A: Absolutely not.
* * *
Q: Did you have any legal right or lawful authority in the fall of 2001 to ask Garland Yates to get rid of Kevin Hines?
A: No.
With regard to the damages element of Plaintiff’s interference with contract claim, Plaintiff made clear that he was terminated from his employment with Defendant Yates, and at his deposition on 13 June 2003 that he was seeking but had not yet found full-time employment and was “drawing from the state of North Carolina unemployment . . . .” Indeed, Plaintiff stated that Defendant Hurley had contacted an administrator at a community college, at which Plaintiff obtained part-time employment after his termination by the District Attorney’s Office, and “tried to get me fired . . . .”
In sum, the pleadings in this matter, contrary to the majority’s assertion, are unverified. Under the “drastic measure” of summary judgment, this Court must look at the record in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Beyond the unverified pleadings, the “depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits” in this case show that there are genuine issues of material fact as to Plaintiff’s interference with contract claim. Thus, Superior Court Judge John O. Craig, III, correctly applied the law to this claim in denying summary judgment.