Bennett v. Coors Brewing Co.
| Decision Date | 27 August 1999 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 97-1195,97-1221,s. 97-1195 |
| Citation | 189 F.3d 1221 |
| Parties | (10th Cir. 1999) WARDER W. BENNETT, CHARLES BLALOCK, LEONARD L. GARRETT, ROBERT HANNAH, ERNEST HOWARD, JOHN MCMINIMEE, and JULIA A. SIMPSON, Plaintiffs-Appellants-Cross- Appellees, v. COORS BREWING COMPANY, a Colorado corporation, Defendant-Appellee-Cross-Appellant |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted] K. Preston Oade, Jr.(Richard G. Wilkins and Kelly M. Condon with him on the briefs), of Holme, Roberts & Owen, LLP, Denver, Colorado for Defendant-Appellee-Cross-Appellant.
Charles Welton (Alan E. Richman, Stephen J. Hensen, C. Todd Drake, of Richman & Henderson, P.C., Denver, Colorado, with him of the briefs), of Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellants-Cross-Appellees.
Before PORFILIO, HOLLOWAY, and HENRY, Circuit Judges.
This case involves identical early retirement and voluntary separation releases signed by the plaintiffs-appellants, Warder W. Bennett, Charles Blalock, Leonard L. Garrett, Robert Hannah, Ernest Howard, John McMinimee, and Julia A. Simpson. The appellants appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant-appellee, Coors Brewing Company ("Coors"), on their claims for age discrimination under 29 U.S.C. §621-634, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), and their pendent state law claims for wrongful discharge, outrageous conduct, negligent misrepresentation, and fraud. The district court rejected all of the appellants' claims, holding that the appellants had knowingly and voluntarily executed a release of all claims against Coors. In the alternative, the district court held that, even if the releases were invalid due to fraud, appellants ratified the releases because they did not "tender back" their separation benefits before filing suit against Coors. As an ancillary matter, Coors cross-appeals the district court's denial of its contractual claim for attorneys' fees. We exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm in part and reverse in part.
1. BACKGROUND
In reciting the facts, we review the record and the inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Sanchez v. Denver Pub. Sch., 164 F.3d 527, 531 (10th Cir. 1998). Appellants were among twenty-eight employees in the security department at Coors. In the summer of 1993, Coors announced that, as part of a work place redesign, Coors would reduce its workforce by 500 employees. To avoid involuntary layoffs, Coors planned to achieve this reduction through voluntary severance and attrition. Coors created two voluntary separation plans: the Enhanced Voluntary Severance Program ("EVSP") and the Enhanced Early Retirement Window ("EERW"). Both the EVSP and EERW were one-time benefits packages offered to qualified employees who volunteered to terminate employment or retire during the election period.
Between August and October of 1993, Coors supplied all eligible employees, including the appellants, with detailed and complete explanations of the EVSP and EERW. Specifically, Coors attempted to inform eligible employees about the plans by providing personalized employee information packets, company-sponsored meetings regarding the plans, a telephone "hotline" for employee questions, and a videotape featuring company executives discussing the voluntary severance and early retirement programs.
As part of the downsizing, eligible employees in the security department were given the option of participating in the EVSP or the EERW. In addition to downsizing, Coors evaluated the possibility of completely outsourcing the security department, a decision that if approved would have eliminated all twenty-eight positions in the department. Appellants were aware of rumors of potential outsourcing in the late summer of 1993, when they were considering whether to accept one of the benefit packages.
On September 20, 1993, in an attempt to control rumors about the outsourcing of the security department, Coors informed employees through its company newsletter that there had been no decision on whether to outsource security. The newsletter stated:
Aplts' App., vol. II, at 491. Subsequently, according to the affidavits of the appellants, Coors made two statements regarding the downsizing and potential outsourcing of the security department. See Aplts' App., vol. II, at 684-87. On October 11, 1993, at a meeting attended by the appellants, Coors announced that it intended to eliminate 9.36 full-time employees from the security department. Id. Further, at the same meeting, Coors announced that security was not going to be outsourced at the present time, but that outsourcing would be examined again in six months. Id.
Between September 1 and October 28, 1993, all seven of the appellants accepted either the early retirement or the enhanced severance package. Charles Blalock received a $51,563 lump-sum cash payment in return for his voluntary severance and Leonard Garrett, John McMinimee and Ernest Howard respectively received $38,640, $33,088 and $24,563 in cash for their voluntary severance. Warder Bennett was paid a $9,944 lump sum for his early retirement, with an additional enhanced payment of $453 per month to him and his spouse for the rest of their lives. Robert Hannah and Julie Simpson respectively received $7,426 and $5,460 in cash at the time of their early retirements, with additional monthly payments of $383 and $501 respectively, continuing for life.
As part of the packages, appellants each signed a "Legal Release and Agreement Not to Sue," which provided, among other things:
You agree fully and forever to release all of your legal rights and claims against Coors, whether or not presently known to you, including future legal rights and claims, if based on acts or omissions occurring before you deliver this signed Agreement to the Benefits Department, in any way relating to your employment with Coors, including your separation from employment . . . .
You agree that the legal rights and claims that you are giving up include, but are not limited to, all state and federal statutes which protect you from discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, race, national origin, religion, disability and age, such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1987, . . . as well as all common law rights and claims, such as breach of contract, express or implied, tort, whether negligent or intentional, wrongful discharge and any claim for fraud, omission or misrepresentation concerning the [Early Retirement Window or Enhanced Severance Program].
* * *
You agree that, if you bring any kind of legal claim against Coors that you have given up by signing this Agreement, then you will be violating this Agreement and you must pay all legal fees, other costs and expenses incurred by Coors in defending against your claim.
Aplts' App., vol. I, at 85-98. The releases further advised employees to consult a lawyer before signing the release, afforded a forty-five day period in which to consider signing the release, and established a seven-day revocation period in which employees could revoke their acceptances. See id. By November 5, 1993, the official employment of each of the appellants had terminated as a result of their participation in the programs.
Only days later, on November 10, 1993, Coors posted a "Job Opportunities" bulletin in its in-house news letter, advertising seven openings in the security department. On January 2, 1994, Coors ran an advertisement in the Denver Post seeking full-time employees for its security department. As a result of these ads, Coors hired new personnel for the security department. However, the record is not clear on the number of new employees hired or their ages.
Appellants claim that, as a result of the advertisements, Coors hired a total of twelve new security personnel by the end of February, 1994, eleven of whom were under the age of forty and one who was forty-one. See Aplts' Reply Br. at 2. Appellants further argue that Coors continued to hire new employees so that by the end of 1994, Coors had re-hired the security department to approximately the same number of personnel as before the downsizing. See id. at 3 (). However, appellants have not presented, and we are unable to find in the record, any "evidence" that shows the level did or did not materially change.
Coors disputes these assertions and explains that any new hiring done in the security department was the result of more employees taking the benefit packages than anticipated or due to the restructuring of the security department. See Aple's Br. at 14. Coors maintains that, as a result of the restructuring, it reduced the number of management positions and increased the number of entry-level positions in the security department. Further, Coors affirmatively states that "employees over the age of 40 were hired by or transferred into the Coors Security Department." Aplts' App., vol. I, at 53. Moreover, Coors claims that it only hired eight new employees so that, by February of 1994, the security department had nineteen employees, "a decrease of nine employees as compared to July 1993 -- exactly the reduction that Coors announced in fall 1993." Id. at 66. Coors does not address whether more employees were hired in the Security Department after February 1994. The record does not resolve this factual dispute.
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