Brady v. Allstate Ins. Co., 81-2045
| Decision Date | 06 July 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 81-2045,81-2045 |
| Citation | 683 F.2d 86 |
| Parties | 29 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 213, 29 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 32,887 Obert E. BRADY, Appellee, v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
Kalvin M. Grove, Chicago, Ill. (Jeffery A. Colby, Fox & Grove, Chartered, Chicago, Ill., on brief), for appellant.
Norman B. Smith, Greensboro, N. C. (Smith, Patterson, Follin, Curtis, James & Harkavy, Greensboro, N. C., on brief), for appellee.
Before HAYNSWORTH, Senior Circuit Judge, and HALL and SPROUSE, Circuit Judges.
Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate) appeals a judgment entered after a jury verdict for the plaintiff, Obert E. Brady, in the amount of $33,431.00 on his claim that his discharge from employment was the result of "reverse discrimination" in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Finding insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict, we reverse.
Brady was employed as an Allstate claims adjuster in Greensboro, North Carolina, until 1977, when he was discharged for violating a company policy which prohibited employees from engaging in outside employment in the auto repair business.
The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the appellee, Millers Mutual Insurance Ass'n v. Southern Ry. Corp., 483 F.2d 1044 (4th Cir. 1973), was that for many years prior to Brady's discharge Allstate had a formal, written policy which barred claims employees from owning or maintaining a business interest in any business performing services commonly used in the adjustment of claims, such as auto garages and body shops.
At the time he was hired by Allstate in 1966, and continuously throughout his employment with Allstate, Brady operated an enterprise known as "Brady's Body Shop" in a building adjoining his house. Brady, who is white, held the shop license, owned the shop tow-truck, and represented himself as the sole owner on the shop's business cards and estimate forms. His tax returns indicated that he was the sole proprietor. Brady was frequently assisted at the shop by Joe Williamson, who also was employed as an Allstate claims adjuster; Williamson is black. Both men brought work into the shop. Also, Brady and Williamson often shared jobs and on those occasions split the profit from the work. Williamson had his own key to the shop and occasionally worked there even in Brady's absence. Brady and Williamson sometimes purchased wrecked vehicles, repaired them and sold them for a profit. The bulk of their work, however, was repairing damaged automobiles for private customers.
When Brady was hired as a claims adjuster he read and acknowledged Allstate's policy on outside employment, and he asked for and was granted permission to continue operating the shop so long as he did not repair automobiles involved in Allstate claims. The warning regarding repair of Allstate vehicles was repeated to him numerous times during his employment.
The incident leading to Brady's discharge occurred in 1976, when he agreed to repair and repaint an automobile belonging to the wife of David Coble, his neighbor. Brady and Coble also served together in the local volunteer fire department, and were well acquainted. Before Brady could begin the repair work, the automobile was involved in a collision with an Allstate insured motorist. Both Brady and Williamson were present, by chance, at Allstate's drive-in office when Coble arrived with his damaged vehicle to present his claim against the Allstate insured. Later, Coble asked Brady if he would do the repair work on the vehicle, including the work he previously had agreed to do. After being advised that the claim had been paid by Coble's wife's insurance carrier, and not by Allstate, Brady agreed to make the repairs. Williamson was present when Brady agreed to repair the automobile, but he did not participate in the conversation; both men performed the repair work and they split the profits.
In early 1977, Allstate learned that Brady had performed work on a vehicle involved in an Allstate claim. Brady was suspended with full pay and benefits, pending an investigation. Williamson was not suspended since at this time Allstate was unaware that he had any involvement in the incident. Following completion of the investigation by Allstate's regional office, James Britt, the regional office personnel manager, approved and forwarded to the zone office the recommendation of the claims department that Brady be dismissed. 1
Fred Riley, the Southern Zone Employee Relations Manager, reviewed the recommendation and concluded that Brady should be reinstated since Allstate erroneously had permitted him to operate the body shop in violation of company rules. Neither Riley nor Britt was aware of the race of either Brady or Williamson. At Riley's direction, two regional supervisors met with Brady and were instructed to reinstate him if he would agree to comply in the future with the company's Claim Code of Ethics. Brady refused to acknowledge the Code of Ethics by signing a cover memorandum. Rather, he asked for and received additional time to consider the matter, stating that he needed the additional income generated by the body shop. Although...
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