Rimmer v. Colt Industries Operating Corp., 78-0576-CV-W-2.

• Decision Date: 24 July 1980
• Docket Number: No. 78-0576-CV-W-2.,78-0576-CV-W-2.
• Parties: Jerry N. RIMMER, Plaintiff, v. COLT INDUSTRIES OPERATING CORPORATION, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri

495 F. Supp. 1217

Jerry N. RIMMER, Plaintiff, v. COLT INDUSTRIES OPERATING CORPORATION, Defendant.

No. 78-0576-CV-W-2.

United States District Court, W. D. Missouri.

July 24, 1980.

Michael W. Manners, Independence, Mo., for plaintiff.

Paul E. Donnelly, Kansas City, Mo., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND FINAL ORDER

COLLINSON, District Judge.

In 1905, the State of Missouri adopted "an act for the protection of laboring men," Mo.Laws 1905, p. 178, which required corporate employers, when requested, to provide their past employees with a letter stating the nature and character of service rendered by the employee and truly stating for what cause, if any, such employee had left the service of the corporation. That act, which has become known as the Missouri Service Letter Statute, provided that corporate officers who failed to issue the requested letter were subject to both a fine and imprisonment. The statute did not specifically provide for a private cause of action against either the corporation or its officers. In 1916, however, the Supreme Court of Missouri held that there existed a private cause of action in favor of an ex-employee of a corporation whose officers failed to provide, when requested, a letter setting forth the nature and character of the past employment and truly stating the reason, if any, for the employee's discharge. Cheek v. Prudential Ins. Co., 192 S.W. 387, 391 (Mo. 1916).

The defendant in this action has challenged the constitutionality of Missouri's existing service letter law, R.S.Mo. § 290.140 (1969) (hereinafter Missouri Service Letter Statute), as presently applied by the Missouri courts in private actions against corporations, by filing a motion for judgment on the pleadings. The motion is based solely upon defendant's contention that the Missouri Service Letter Statute is unconstitutional.

Since this challenge is being raised by a motion for judgment on the pleadings, a detailed statement of the allegations of the complaint is necessary. The plaintiff in this action is Jerry N. Rimmer, a resident of Jackson County, Missouri, and a past employee of Holley Carburetor Division of Colt Industries Operating Corporation. The defendant in the action is Colt Industries Operating Corporation (hereinafter Colt), a Delaware corporation who does business in the State of Missouri and whose principal place of business is the State of New York. Plaintiff began working as a district sales manager for the Holley Carburetor Division of defendant Colt in April, 1976. On October 2, 1977, defendant Colt notified plaintiff that his employment would be terminated effective October 31, 1977. On October 11, 1977, plaintiff's attorney mailed the following letter to Mr. Stan Jursek, who is an officer in the Holley Carburetor Division of defendant Colt:

October 11, 1977 Mr. Stan Jursek Vice President in Charge of Sales Holley Carburetor Corp 11955 East 9 Mile Road Warren, Michigan

Dear Mr. Jursek:

This firm has been retained by Mr. Jerry Rimmer of 3600 Lake Drive, Lee's Summit, Missouri, an employee of your company in sales in the Kansas City area. Mr. Rimmer advises us that he has been notified orally of the termination of his employment as of October 31 of this year. Mr. Rimmer also advises us that he knows of no difficulty in his work record with your company and that he has exceeded the sales goals that have been set for him.

As I am sure your company is aware, Mr. Rimmer was transferred to this area at the request of your company and is faced with many personal responsibilities including the pending birth of a new child. We are asking, in Mr. Rimmer's behalf, that he be retained with your company, particularly in view of his past performance record.

We are also asking that you, as employer, furnish Mr. Rimmer with a letter duly signed by a superintendent or manager in charge, setting forth the nature and character of the service rendered by Mr. Rimmer to your corporation, the duration of him sic employment, and truly stating what causes, if any, your company might have for the present notification to Mr. Rimmer of his discharge.

Inasmuch as the prospective termination of Mr. Rimmer's services is so close, I will look forward to hearing from you within a very short time of the receipt of this letter.

Regards PADEN, WELCH, MARTIN & ABLANO P.C. By: Robert J. Graeff ROBERT J. GRAEFF RJG:ps cc: Jerry Rimmer CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED On January 23, 1978, plaintiff mailed the following letter to Mr. Jursek January 23, 1978 CERTIFIED MAIL Mr. Stan Jursek Vice President in Charge of Sales Holley Carburetor Corp 11955 East 9 Mile Road Warren, Michigan

Dear Mr. Jursek:

Some time ago my attorney, Mr. Robert J. Graeff of Independence, Missouri, wrote you a letter on my behalf requesting that you furnish me with a letter telling me why I was discharged from my job on October 31, 1977. To date, I have not received a reply to that letter.

Since I lost my job I have tried to find employment with a number of other companies without success. Some of these companies have indicated to me that I have not been hired because, when they contacted Holley's personnel office, they were told that I was discharged because of poor work performance.

The reason I requested that you tell me the true reasons for my discharge in my letter of October 11, 1977, was so that I can tell my prospective employers why I left my last job. I would reiterate that request for a letter telling me the reasons for my discharge including a detailed explanation of why my work performance was considered poor.

I would also request (as I did in my letter of October 11, 1977) that you include in such a letter the nature and character of my job and how long I worked for Holley.

Because of my continuing inability to find a job, I would urge you to reply to this letter as soon as possible.

Very truly yours, _________________ Jerry N. Rimmer

On April 7, 1978, plaintiff received the following letter from defendant Colt:

April 7, 1978 Mr. Jerry N. Rimmer 3600 Lake Drive Lee's Summit, Missouri 64063

Dear Mr. Rimmer:

This is written in response to your letter dated January 23, 1978.

As a division of a Delaware Corporation with its principal place of business in Warren, Michigan, Holley Carburetor Division of Colt Industries Operating Corp was totally unaware that Missouri law required us to issue a letter to you setting forth the dates of your employment, the nature and character of your duties and the true cause of your termination.

Had either you or your attorney notified us that such a letter was required under Missouri law, we would have promptly supplied one. As it developed, we became aware of this unusual Missouri law only when you chose to sue Colt Industries Inc, a Nevada Corporation, unrelated in the corporate structure to Holley Carburetor Division of Warren, Michigan.

You were employed by Holley Carburetor Division as District Manager of High Performance Product Sales and Service from May 3, 1976 until October 31, 1977. Your district included all of the State of Missouri, all of the State of Kansas, most of the State of Nebraska, and part of the State of Iowa.

In this capacity, the nature and character of the services rendered by you involved contacting existing and prospective high performance warehouse distributors, jobbers and other dealers in your geographical area in order to stimulate sales growth. It was a prerequisite that you contact all direct Holley accounts in your district on a periodic basis in order to maintain proper inventory levels and to initiate sales growth. In this connection, it was your responsibility to up-date customer cataloging and handle warranty and obsolescence problems at all levels of the distribution network. It was your duty to initiate and conduct service clinics throughout your sales and distribution territory as well as at Holley-sponsored races. Implicit in these duties was a technical expertise based on a thorough and complete knowledge of the entire Holley product line with special emphasis on those areas relating to high performance products.

You were terminated because we did not feel you exhibited the effort, willingness or initiative to accomplish the technical portion of your duties, which included performing as technical liaison at Holley-sponsored races and the holding of instructional meetings or clinics for Holley warehouse or jobber customers. We felt that this apparent lack of effort negated the considerable costs incurred in training you for this function.

We were of the opinion that you did not exhibit the level of selling skills commensurate with your assignment, despite the fact that you were put through a special Selling Skills Program. It appeared that you did little towards obtaining our 1977 preseason dating orders. You were informed of our dissatisfaction with your performance on several occasions, both orally and in writing, but you did not remedy the situation.

In an effort to give you an opportunity to develop your potential in an area requiring less technical expertise, we approached you in late May and again in early June, 1977, concerning the possibility of accepting two separate positions in our Original Equipment Department. Because these possible offers entailed relocation, you chose not to express an interest in them. As a result of your decision, we decided to grant you more additional time in which to develop technical expertise in your assignment duties as District Manager for High Performance Product Sales and Service. We notified you of this by letter dated June 10, 1977. We did not feel that you developed this necessary expertise. At least two of the large accounts in your territory complained about your perceived attitude and the manner in which they felt you were servicing them. One such account requested that you be told not to call on them in the future.

It was our belief that your reporting practices...