Randall's Food Markets, Inc. v. Johnson, 94-0055

• Citation: 891 S.W.2d 640
• Decision Date: 12 January 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-0055,94-0055
• Parties: 129 Lab.Cas. P 57,855, 10 IER Cases 427, 38 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 167 RANDALL'S FOOD MARKETS, INC., Vernon Frank Davis, Lewis Simmons, and Gary Mike Seals, Petitioners, v. Mary Lynn JOHNSON, Respondent.
• Court: Supreme Court of Texas

Page 640

891 S.W.2d 640

129 Lab.Cas. P 57,855, 10 IER Cases 427,

38 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 167

RANDALL'S FOOD MARKETS, INC., Vernon Frank Davis, Lewis

Simmons, and Gary Mike Seals, Petitioners, v. Mary Lynn JOHNSON, Respondent.

No. 94-0055.

Supreme Court of Texas.

Argued Oct. 19, 1994.

Decided Jan. 12, 1995.

Jay H. Henderson, Holly H. Williamson, Houston, for petitioners.

Mark W. Stevens, Galveston, for respondent.

SPECTOR, Justice, delivered the opinion of the Court, in which PHILLIPS, Chief Justice, and GONZALEZ, HIGHTOWER, HECHT, CORNYN, GAMMAGE, and ENOCH, Justices, join.

This appeal presents three issues regarding an employer's treatment of an employee suspected of misconduct. The first is whether the employer's questioning of the employee about possible theft constitutes "extreme and outrageous conduct" necessary to state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The second is whether the employer's request that the employee stay away from a particular area of the business premises during work hours constitutes false imprisonment. The third is whether the employer's statements made in the course of its investigations of employee wrongdoing fall outside of its qualified privilege. For the reasons explained herein, we answer all three questions in the negative. We therefore render judgment that the employee take nothing.

Mary Lynn Johnson, a manager of a Randall's store, purchased several items from the store, but did not pay for a large Christmas wreath that she was holding. Vernon Davis, the check-out clerk, did not charge Johnson for the twenty-five dollar wreath because, after ringing up her other items, he asked her if there was anything else, and she replied that there was nothing else. Davis reported Johnson's failure to pay him for the wreath to management. The store's security guard was then requested to investigate the incident. The guard contacted Lewis Simmons (director of the store), and Simmons reported the incident to Mike Seals (the district manager for that store).

When Johnson returned to work two days later, Simmons escorted her to an office in the back of the store and questioned her about the wreath. Johnson admitted that she left the store without paying for the wreath, explaining that she had a lot on her mind at the time. With Johnson in the room, Simmons then called Seals and reported the results of this interview to him. Because Seals wanted to meet with Johnson later that day, Simmons asked her to stay at the store. Simmons told Johnson that he did not think it would be a good idea for her to be on the store's floor; he suggested that she either remain in the office or work on a volunteer project painting a booth for a parade. Johnson chose to wait for Seals in the office. While she waited, Johnson left the office twice, once to use the restroom and the second time to visit a friend in the floral department and to pay for the wreath.

When Seals arrived at the store, he and Simmons questioned Johnson further. They asked how she could forget to pay for an item when she was checking out with several other items at the same time. This questioning caused Johnson to cry. At the end of this interview, Seals suspended Johnson for thirty days without pay and informed her that at the conclusion of the thirty days she would be transferred to another, nearby store. Johnson never reported to work at the other store. She subsequently sued Randall's, Seals, Simmons, and Davis (collectively, "Randall's"), alleging various claims, including intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and defamation.

Some of Johnson's defamation allegations stem from statements made by Scottie Ketner, a former Randall's employee who worked in the cosmetics section of the store and was a subordinate of Johnson's. While employed at Randall's, Ketner complained about Johnson's management style and alleged that Johnson used store merchandise without paying for it. Ketner documented her complaints in memoranda addressed to Randall's management. Randall's investigated this incident and concluded that the problem was essentially a personality conflict for which Ketner was largely responsible.

The trial court granted Randall's motion for summary judgment on all of Johnson's claims. The court of appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, reversing the judgment of the trial court on the claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and defamation. ¹ 869 S.W.2d 390.

This Court has jurisdiction of this case pursuant to sections 22.001(a)(1) and 22.001(a)(6) of the Texas Government Code. Because this Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and libel actions, it has jurisdiction over the entire case, including the slander issues. ² Stafford v. Stafford, 726 S.W.2d 14, 15 (Tex.1987).

To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, a movant must establish that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that he or she is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. TEX.R.CIV.P. 166a(c). A defendant who conclusively negates at least one of the essential elements of a cause of action is entitled to summary judgment as to that cause of action. Wornick Co. v. Casas, 856 S.W.2d 732, 733 (Tex.1993); Gibbs v. General Motors Corp., 450 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex.1970). Likewise, a defendant who conclusively establishes each element of an affirmative defense is entitled to summary judgment. In reviewing a summary judgment, we must accept as true evidence in favor of the non-movant, indulging every reasonable inference and resolving all doubts in his or her favor. El Chico Corp. v. Poole, 732 S.W.2d 306, 315 (Tex.1987).

I.

To recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff must prove that (1) the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly; (2) the defendant's conduct was extreme and outrageous; (3) the defendant's actions caused the plaintiff emotional distress; and (4) the emotional distress suffered by the plaintiff was severe. Twyman v. Twyman, 855 S.W.2d 619, 621-22 (Tex.1993). In Twyman, we adopted the Restatement's formulation of the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, including the definition of extreme and outrageous conduct as conduct that is " 'so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.' " Id. at 621 (quoting RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS § 46 cmt. d (1965)). We hold that the summary judgment evidence establishes as a matter of law that Randall's conduct was not "extreme and outrageous," an essential element of the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The conduct that Johnson alleges was extreme and outrageous is Simmons and Seals' questioning of her regarding the wreath. Johnson maintains that during Simmons' telephone conversation with Seals, which occurred after Simmons' initial questioning of her, his tone and manner became severe and curt. She alleges that Simmons merely answered Seals' questions and did not explain the facts to him. During Simmons and Seals' subsequent meeting with Johnson, the summary judgment evidence establishes that Johnson explained her version of the wreath incident, and then she was asked how she could forget to pay for an item when she was checking out with several other items at the same time.

Accepting all evidence favorable to Johnson as true, we conclude that, as a matter of law, neither Randall's nor its agents engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct. Randall's merely asked a management-level employee to explain a report of wrongdoing. Employers act within their legal rights in investigating reasonably credible allegations of dishonesty of their employees. See Johnson v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 965 F.2d 31, 34 (5th Cir.1992). This conduct is not "beyond all possible bounds of decency," "atrocious," and "utterly intolerable in a civilized community"; rather, it is a managerial function that is necessary to the ordinary operation of a business organization. See Wornick Co. v. Casas, 856 S.W.2d 732, 735 (Tex.1993).

II.

The essential elements of false imprisonment are: (1) willful detention; (2) without consent; and (3) without authority of law. Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Castillo, 693 S.W.2d 374, 375 (Tex.1985). A detention may be accomplished by violence, by threats, or by any other means that restrains a person from moving from one place to another. Martinez v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 651 S.W.2d 18, 20 (Tex.App.--San Antonio 1983, no writ). Where it is alleged that a detention is effected by a threat, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the threat was such as would inspire in the threatened person a just fear of injury to her person, reputation, or property. Id. at 20-21; Black v. Kroger Co., 527 S.W.2d 794, 796 (Tex.Civ.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1975, writ dism'd). We hold that, as a matter of law, Randall's did not willfully detain Johnson.

Johnson bases her false imprisonment claim on her alleged confinement in a back office for several hours while awaiting the arrival of Seals. ³ According to Johnson's testimony, Simmons told Johnson that, while waiting for Seals, she could either paint a booth for a volunteer project or remain in the office, but he did not think it would be a good idea for her to be on the floor of the store. Johnson testified that she believed that Simmons would physically prevent her from leaving the back room had she wanted to leave. She based this belief on Simmons' "sternness, his tone of voice, [and] his insistence that I stay put."

Johnson does not contend that her detention was effected by actual physical force; rather, she alleges that Simmons detained her by sternly insisting that she stay put, which caused her to fear that he would physically prevent her from leaving had she attempted to...