Acciavatti v. Professional Services Group, Inc.

• Decision Date: 23 October 1997
• Docket Number: No. CA. 97-10178-JLT.,CA. 97-10178-JLT.
• Citation: 982 F.Supp. 69
• Parties: Richard ACCIAVATTI, Plaintiff, v. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES GROUP, INC. and James Muylle, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

982 F.Supp. 69

Richard ACCIAVATTI, Plaintiff, v. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES GROUP, INC. and James Muylle, Defendants.

No. CA. 97-10178-JLT.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

October 23, 1997.

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James M. Caramanica, Law Offices of John C. Carleen, Boston, MA, for Plaintiff.

Kenneth M. Bello, Matthew S. Forsyth, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C., Boston, MA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

TAURO, Chief Judge.

This action arises out of Plaintiff Richard Acciavatti's termination from the employ of Defendant Professional Services Group, Inc. ("PSG") by his supervisor, Defendant James Muylle. Mr. Acciavatti asserts state-law claims for wrongful termination in violation of public policy (Counts I and II), intentional interference with contractual relations (Count III), intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress (Count IV), defamation (Count V), and violation of his civil rights under the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act ("MCRA") (Count VI). Presently before the court are the Defendants' motions to dismiss Counts I through V of Acciavatti's original complaint and Count VI of his amended complaint.

I. BACKGROUND

For purposes of these motions, the facts alleged in Plaintiff's original and amended complaints are presumed true. Defendant PSG, a Minnesota corporation having a principal place of business in Massachusetts, contracts with municipalities throughout the country to operate drinking and waste water treatment facilities. Plaintiff Acciavatti worked as a plant operator for PSG under Defendant Muylle's supervision at the City of Brockton's water treatment facility from December 17, 1988 until May 10, 1995. On this latter date, PSG fired Mr. Acciavatti for purportedly failing to discover and correct a precipitous drop in the PH level of outflowing water, thereby allowing the plant to fall out of compliance with federal standards.

Acciavatti, throughout his employment at PSG, was covered by a collective bargaining agreement (the "CBA") between the company and Local 877, International Union of Operating Engineers. In relevant part, the CBA allows PSG to "discipline, suspend, demote, or discharge" regular employees for just cause. The CBA also provides that an employee challenging a disciplinary decision must submit a written grievance to the appropriate PSG project manager within ten days of the adverse decision and may, thereafter, submit the grievance to PSG's Vice President of Operations for resolution through discussion with the Union. Finally, the CBA provides that, given the parties' failure to resolve the matter, a grievant may submit a written request to arbitrate to PSG. See Defendants Professional Services Group, Inc.'s and James Muylle's Memorandum in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss All Claims of Plaintiff's Complaint, Exhibit A.

Acciavatti's complaint alleges that, in September of 1993, he learned that total coloform bacteria had contaminated the City's drinking water supply. Acciavatti avers that Muylle, then plant manager at the Brockton facility, also knew of the contamination. Acciavatti further avers, that both Muylle and PSG concealed the contamination for approximately three weeks and failed, during that time, to rectify the problem.

In light of PSG's and Muylle's failure to remedy the contamination, Acciavatti allegedly informed the City of Brockton's Department of Public Works Commissioner of the ongoing contamination. On October 15, 1993, City officials confronted PSG about, the contamination, and, on October 16, 1993, the defendants, according to Acciavatti, began a pattern of retaliatory treatment against him because he had reported the contamination. In particular, on January 6, 1994, Muylle placed Acciavatti on suspension without pay pending discharge. Acciavatti contested this suspension through the grievance and arbitration provisions of the CBA. An arbitrator, thereafter, ordered PSG to reinstate Acciavatti with all employment rights and benefits intact.

Acciavatti alleges that, despite his reinstatement, the defendants continued their pattern of retaliatory treatment until Muylle again placed him on suspension without pay pending discharge. He again contested his suspension, but, on August 5, 1996, the appointed arbitrator found just cause for Acciavatti's suspension and subsequent termination.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Dismissal Standard

The purpose of a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim is to "test the formality of the statement of the claim for relief." International Bank of Miami v. Banco de Economias y Prestamos, 55 F.R.D. 180, 185 (D.P.R.1972). A defendant who presents a motion to dismiss admits, for purposes of the motion, all the material allegations of the complaint but "does not admit any conclusion of law or unwarranted deductions of fact made therefrom." Id. In deciding such a motion, the court must, therefore, view all material allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and resolve all doubts in her favor. Dunn v. Gazzola, 216 F.2d 709 (1st Cir.1954). The court should not dismiss a claim "unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-02, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957).

B. Federal Jurisdiction

Defendants' removal of this case under the "federal question" rubric and their subsequent motion to dismiss the case for lack of pleading under federal law raise the issue of whether this court can properly exercise jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claim's, all of which are facially grounded in state common and statutory law. Generally, a district court cannot exercise federal question jurisdiction unless a federal question is "presented on the face of the plaintiff's properly pleaded complaint." Caterpillar, Inc. v. Williams, 482 U.S. 386, 392, 107 S.Ct. 2425, 2429, 96 L.Ed.2d 318 (1987). Under a wellestablished exception to the "well pleaded complaint" rule, however, any state law claim that is subject to complete preemption under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act ("LMRA"), 29 U.S.C. § 185, is considered a claim arising under federal law within the district court's jurisdiction. Newberry v. Pac. Racing Ass'n, 854 F.2d 1142, 1146 (9th Cir.1988).

As a result, PSG and Muylle properly sought to remove this case under 29 U.S.C. § 185, and this court can, therefore, properly hear this motion.

C. Counts I and II: Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy

In Counts I and II, Acciavatti claims that the defendants discharged him because he performed the important and socially desirable act of whistleblowing, with adverse consequences to PSG and Muylle, and not because he failed to properly maintain PH levels at the treatment facility. Complaint ¶¶ 19-20, 24-25. PSG and Muylle argue mainly that the court should dismiss these counts because Section 301 of the LMRA preempts them.¹

1. Applying the Public Policy Exception to the At Will Employment Doctrine in the Collective Bargaining Context

Taking the facts alleged in Acciavatti's complaint as true, it is undisputed that a collective bargaining agreement covered him at all times relevant to this case.² Though such coverage does not compel a finding of preemption in every instance where asserted state-law claims implicate the employment relationship, preemption does occur whenever the state-law claim "depends upon the meaning of the collective bargaining agreement." Lingle v. Norge Div. of Magic Chef, Inc., 486 U.S. 399, 406, 108 S.Ct. 1877, 1881, 100 L.Ed.2d 410 (1988); see also Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Norris, 512 U.S. 246, 114 S.Ct. 2239, 129 L.Ed.2d 203 (1994) (noting that the preemption standard that governs cases arising under the Railway Labor Act ("RLA") [i.e., that "rights and obligations that exist independent of the collective bargaining agreement" are not preempted] mirrors that which governs those arising under the LMRA); Local 174, Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America v. Lucas Flour Co., 369 U.S. 95, 82 S.Ct. 571, 7 L.Ed.2d 593 (1962) (holding that Section 301 mandates resort to federal rules of law in order to ensure uniform interpretation of collective bargaining agreements and, in effect, to promote peaceable, consistent resolution of labor-management disputes).

In order to determine whether Plaintiff's cause of action for wrongful termination in violation of public policy is preempted, therefore, the court must analyze the specific nature and elements of this state-law claim. See Allis-Chalmers v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 214, 105 S.Ct. 1904, 1912, 85 L.Ed.2d 206 (1985) (stating that "the question whether the [state-law claim] is sufficiently independent of federal contract interpretation to avoid preemption is, of course, a question of federal law"). The analysis must focus on whether the claims asserted can "stand on their own, or, instead, whether their evaluation `is inextricably intertwined with consideration of the terms of the labor contract.'" Cullen v. E.H. Friedrich Co., Inc., 910 F.Supp. 815, 821 (D.Mass.1995) (quoting Allis-Chalmers, 471 U.S. at 213, 105 S.Ct. at 1912).

In Massachusetts, the "cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy is a judicially created exception to the `employment at will' doctrine." Cullen, 910 F.Supp. at 821; see also Vijay N. Borase v. M/A-Com, Inc., 906 F.Supp. 65, 69 (D.Mass.1995); Folmsbee v. Tech Tool Grinding & Supply, Inc., 417 Mass. 388, 394, 630 N.E.2d 586, 590 (1994); Holden v. Worcester Hous. Auth., 1995 WL 809991, at *2 (Mass.Super. July 24, 1995). As Judge Ponsor has accordingly held, only at will employees may effectively avail themselves of this cause of action. Cullen, 910 F.Supp. at 821 (citing Norris v. Lumbermen's Mut. Cas. Co., 881 F.2d 1144, 1152-53 (1st Cir. 1989)). The Cullen court reasoned that...