Hammon v. DHL Airways, Inc.

• Decision Date: 12 January 1999
• Docket Number: No. 97-4054,97-4054
• Citation: 165 F.3d 441
• Parties: 75 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,800, 137 Lab.Cas. P 33,862, 5 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 99, 8 A.D. Cases 1707, 14 NDLR P 75 Tom HAMMON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DHL AIRWAYS, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 441

165 F.3d 441

75 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,800, 137 Lab.Cas. P 33,862,

5 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 99, 8 A.D. Cases 1707,

14 NDLR P 75

Tom HAMMON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DHL AIRWAYS, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 97-4054.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued Sept. 18, 1998.

Decided Jan. 12, 1999.

David G. Torchia (argued and briefed), Tobias, Kraus & Torchia, Cincinnati, OH, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Linda L. Woeber (argued and briefed), Montgomery, Rennie & Jonson, Cincinnati, OH, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before: SUHRHEINRICH, CLAY, and OAKES, ^* Circuit Judges.

OPINION

CLAY, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff, Tom Hammon, appeals from the order granting summary judgment to DHL Airways, Inc. ("DHL") on his claims brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act, ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213, the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2654, and the Employment Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of DHL on Plaintiff's ADA and FMLA claims because the court determined that Plaintiff "constructively resigned" before he requested relief under the statutes, and therefore he had no right to invoke their protections. Specifically, the court ruled that Plaintiff's ADA and FMLA claims were barred because an employee who voluntarily resigns before he requests relief under the ADA or the FMLA cannot make a claim against his employer under these statutes, and "constructive resignation" is a form of voluntary resignation. See State ex rel. Waldman v. Burke, 152 Ohio St. 213, 88 N.E.2d 578, 579 (Ohio 1949) (describing constructive resignation as a form of voluntary resignation). The district court dismissed Plaintiff's ERISA claim because Plaintiff failed to prove that his employer encouraged him to resign or accepted his resignation in order to prevent him from claiming an employee benefit. ¹

Plaintiff argues on appeal that he presented enough evidence at summary judgment to create genuine issues of material fact about whether he "constructively resigned" and therefore the district court erred in concluding that his resignation was a voluntary resignation.

We agree with the district court's decision that Plaintiff voluntarily resigned from his position with DHL. However, we find that the district court erred when it determined that Plaintiff's resignation scenario was a "constructive resignation." Rather, Plaintiff's resignation should have been recognized under the line of voluntary resignation cases describing "effective resignation." State ex. rel. Dwyer v. City of Middletown, 52 Ohio App.3d 87, 557 N.E.2d 788, 791-93 (Ohio Ct.App.1988).

However, because "effective resignation" and "constructive resignation" are both forms of voluntary resignation, the district court's error in analysis does not materially affect our decision. Although we reject the district court's conclusion that Plaintiff "constructively resigned" from DHL and find that Plaintiff "effectively resigned" from his position, this does not alter our holding that the district court did not err in granting DHL summary judgment. See Union CATV v. City of Sturgis, 107 F.3d 434, 442 (6th Cir.1997) (finding that an appellate court may affirm a district court where the district court reached the right result for the wrong reason).

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was a pilot at DHL Airlines from 1989 until 1993. Plaintiff was hired as a "First Officer for Metro Aircraft" and became "Captain of Lear Jets" and "Captain of Metros." ² DHL reported no significant problems with Plaintiff's performance until the summer of 1993. DHL ceased flying Metro aircrafts in 1993 and offered all of its Metro pilots flight training on Boeing 727 § or DC-8s. Plaintiff chose to begin training on the Boeing 727.

Plaintiff attended and completed ground school in September of 1993. Plaintiff's flight simulator training began on September 29, 1993. Plaintiff informed DHL on September 30, 1993, that he would be unable to finish the training because he had contracted pneumonia. After verifying his illness, DHL allowed Plaintiff, under the FMLA, to take a leave of absence until November 6, 1993.

Plaintiff returned to work in November of 1993 and was placed in a more senior flight training class consisting of DHL flight instructors. ³ A flight instructor named Mark Mahoney screamed at Plaintiff on November 12, 1993, because Plaintiff failed to respond properly to a fire alarm test drill. Plaintiff's mistake caused him to crash the simulated airplane. Plaintiff claims that he became anxious and disheartened after the incident because Mahoney spoke to him harshly and because Mahoney complained about him to his supervisor, Jim Pebler.

Plaintiff's anxiety and nervousness increased during the week following Mahoney's reprimand. Plaintiff told Pebler on November 20, 1993, that he was going to drop out of the training program because he was "going backwards" in training. Plaintiff also told Pebler that he was thinking about resigning from DHL entirely. Plaintiff stated that he might be destined to be a small plane pilot and that he thought he might never be able to fly the Boeing 727 aircraft. Pebler attempted to dissuade Plaintiff from turning in his resignation. Pebler told Plaintiff to go home, advised him to think things over, and counseled him to talk with Boeing Chief Pilot, Joe Sarsfield, the next day. Pebler mentioned to Plaintiff that he ought to consider taking a leave of absence.

On November 22, 1993, Plaintiff met with Sarsfield to talk about his problems. Sarsfield asked Plaintiff why Plaintiff believed he was regressing in flight training, and offered to change Plaintiff's flight instructor. Plaintiff alleges that Sarsfield told him that his only option was to take his last two training sections and then go on a "check ride" flight in the Boeing 727. ⁴ Plaintiff also alleges that Sarsfield told him that he was an employee the company wanted to keep. Plaintiff reasserted his intention to resign, explaining that things were not working out. Sarsfield told Plaintiff to go home, and advised Plaintiff that he would not submit Plaintiff's resignation to the Chief Systems Pilot, Jim Driscoll, for twenty-four hours. Sarsfield told Plaintiff that if Plaintiff did not call him by noon the next day, he would call the next supervisor and begin processing Plaintiff's resignation. Plaintiff failed to call Sarsfield for four days. During this period, Plaintiff did not rejoin the flight training class, he did not schedule his check ride, and he did not call DHL to find out if he was being assigned a new flight instructor.

Plaintiff met with Dr. Kreyling, an internist who examines flight pilots for their Federal Aviation Association ("FAA") certification, on November 26, 1993. Dr. Kreyling noted that Plaintiff was extremely nervous and had high blood pressure; he suspected that Plaintiff's emotional problems were causing his physical condition. Dr. Kreyling did not specifically diagnosis Plaintiff, but he told Sarsfield that Plaintiff was too anxious to fly, that Plaintiff should be checked out by an FAA physician, and that it would take Plaintiff more than a month to recover. The doctor testified that either Sarsfield or Plaintiff told him that Plaintiff no longer worked for DHL.

Plaintiff called Sarsfield on Friday, November 26, 1996. Sarsfield returned Plaintiff's phone call the following Monday, November 29, 1998. Plaintiff informed Sarsfield that he had met with Dr. Kreyling and he summarized the doctor's findings. Sarsfield told Plaintiff that, since he had resigned, Plaintiff's condition was immaterial to DHL at this point. Sarsfield advised Plaintiff to write a letter requesting reinstatement.

Dr. Kreyling referred Plaintiff to Dr. Muldering for additional counseling, and Plaintiff commenced his treatment on December 9, 1993. On December 21, 1993, Plaintiff wrote a letter to DHL to request reconsideration of his "verbal resignation under duress" and to "apply for reinstatement at a later date." ⁵ DHL refused to reinstate Plaintiff. Plaintiff continued to see Dr. Muldering until May of 1996.

Plaintiff filed suit against DHL under the ADA, the FMLA and ERISA in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on November 22, 1995. DHL filed a motion for summary judgment on April 1, 1997. The district court granted DHL's motion for summary judgment on August 13, 1997, and Plaintiff timely filed the current appeal.

II. DISCUSSION

This Court reviews a district court's order granting summary judgment de novo. See Berlin v. Michigan Bell Tel. Co., 858 F.2d 1154, 1161 (6th Cir.1988). Summary judgment is proper when "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 the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c). The party moving for summary judgment must establish that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the evidence, when read in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, compels a ruling in favor of the moving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

At summary judgment, the moving party may show that he is entitled to a ruling in his favor by "pointing out to the district court that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). To prevent summary judgment, the nonmoving party must have created a genuine issue of material fact by offering enough evidence "such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). If the facts in a case are undisputed, one of the...