Clay v. Advanced Computer Applications, Inc.

• Decision Date: 28 January 1988
• Parties: , 45 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1487, 46 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 37,848, 2 IER Cases 1657 Jeffrey CLAY and Mary Clay, Individually and as Husband and Wife, Appellants, v. ADVANCED COMPUTER APPLICATIONS, INC., Bjorn J. Gruenwald, Individually and as President of Advanced Computer Applications, Inc., and Richard Baus, Appellees.
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

Page 1375

536 A.2d 1375

370 Pa.Super. 497, 45 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1487,

46 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 37,848, 2 IER Cases 1657

Jeffrey CLAY and Mary Clay, Individually and as Husband and Wife, Appellants, v. ADVANCED COMPUTER APPLICATIONS, INC., Bjorn J. Gruenwald Individually and as President of Advanced Computer Applications, Inc., and Richard Baus, Appellees.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued Sept. 16, 1987.

Filed Jan. 28, 1988.

Lee D. Rockafellow, Morrisville, for appellants.

Alfred J. Monte, Jr., Doylestown, for Advanced Computer, appellees.

Dianne C. Magee, Doylestown, for Baus, appellee.

Before CIRILLO, President Judge, and CAVANAUGH, BROSKY, DEL SOLE, MONTEMURO, TAMILIA, KELLY, POPOVICH and JOHNSON, JJ.

MONTEMURO, Judge:

Appellants, Jeffrey Clay and Mary Clay, challenge the dismissal of their claims against appellees, Bjorn J. Gruenwald and Richard Baus. We affirm in part and reverse in part the order of the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

The Clays filed this action to recover damages for wrongful discharge, breach of an implied contract of employment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In their complaint, they alleged that Bjorn Gruenwald had terminated their employment with Advanced Computer Applications, Inc. solely because Mary Clay had rebuffed the sexual advances of Richard Baus, a management-level employee. The complaint named as defendants (1) Advanced Computer; (2) Bjorn J. Gruenwald, both individually and as president of Advanced Computer, and (3) Richard Baus. On September 20, 1985, an attorney representing both Advanced Computer and Mr. Gruenwald filed preliminary objections to the Clays' complaint. The preliminary objections contained a "motion to strike Bjorn J. Gruenwald as an individual defendant" and a "demurrer." ¹ Both the "motion to strike" and the "demurrer" rested on the same two theories. The first was that Mr. Gruenwald had acted as an agent of Advanced Computer, not as an individual, in discharging the Clays. The second was that none of the allegations in the complaint were sufficient to state a cause of action against Mr. Gruenwald even if he had acted as an individual.

On October 4, 1985, an attorney representing Mr. Baus also filed preliminary objections to the complaint. These objections contained five "demurrers" and a "petition raising a question of lack of personal jurisdiction." The "petition" challenged the method by which the sheriff served process against Mr. Baus. The "demurrers" in sum declared that the allegations in the Clays' complaint were insufficient to state a cause of action against Mr. Baus for either wrongful discharge, breach of contract or intentional infliction of emotional distress. The trial court decided these preliminary objections together with those filed by the attorney for Advanced Computer and Mr. Gruenwald.

In an order dated April 7, 1986, the court referred to the various preliminary objections collectively as "motions to dismiss." The order simply granted the "motions" without elaboration. In a subsequent opinion, however, the court offered three grounds for its action. First, the court reasoned that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over any of the wrongful discharge claims because the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 951 et seq., and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., provide the exclusive remedy for grievances arising from sexual discrimination in the workplace. Second, the court concluded that the Clays had failed in their complaint to state a cause of action for breach of contract. The conclusion apparently applied to both Mr. Baus and Mr. Gruenwald, although only Mr. Baus specifically challenged the sufficiency of the breach of contract allegation. The order granted both "motions to dismiss" without distinguishing between the two. Moreover, the parties in their arguments on appeal have assumed that the trial court meant to dismiss the contract claim against Mr. Gruenwald as well as the one against Mr. Baus. Third, the court also concluded that the Clays had failed to state a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Again, this apparently applied to both Mr. Gruenwald and Mr. Baus alike. ²

On appeal, the Clays raise the following issues:

1. Did the trial court err in dismissing the wrongful discharge claims for want of subject matter jurisdiction when none of the parties raised subject matter jurisdiction as a ground for dismissal?

2. Do either the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bar common law tort actions for wrongful discharge in cases that arise from alleged sex discriminating?

3. Did the trial court act on its own initiative, rather than on the preliminary objections actually raised by the parties, when it dismissed the breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims against Mr. Gruenwald and Mr. Baus?

4. Did the trial court err in concluding that the Clays failed in their complaint to state causes of action against Mr. Gruenwald and Mr. Baus for breach of contract and intentional infliction of emotional distress? ³

We will address these issues in order.

The Clays contend that the trial court could not raise lack of subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte as a ground for dismissal. We disagree. A court necessarily has the authority to determine on its own initiative whether it has jurisdiction to decide a controversy. See Hanik v. Pennsylvania Power Co., 308 Pa.Super. 352, 454 A.2d 572 (1982); Marcus v. Diulus, 242 Pa.Super. 151, 363 A.2d 1205 (1976). The action or inaction of the parties cannot bestow subject matter jurisdiction upon a court that otherwise lacks it. See T.C.R. Realty, Inc. v. Cox, 472 Pa. 331, 372 A.2d 721 (1977); Cheng v. Cheng, 347 Pa.Super. 515, 500 A.2d 1175 (1985). Our rules of procedure therefore provide that either the parties or the court sua sponte can raise lack of subject matter jurisdiction at any time. See Pa.R.C.P. 1032(2). See also LeFlar v. Gulf Creek Industrial Park No. 2, 511 Pa. 574, 515 A.2d 875 (1986); Cheng v. Cheng, supra; Shields v. C.D. Johnson Marine Service, 342 Pa.Super. 501, 493 A.2d 701 (1985). In the case now before us, the trial court properly addressed the jurisdiction issue even though the parties never raised it in their preliminary objections.

We nonetheless agree with the Clays that neither the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 951 et seq., nor Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, U.S.C. § 2000e, deprives the trial court of jurisdiction over the Clays' wrongful discharge causes of action. The Clays had each sought relief for wrongful discharge against each of the three defendants. Their complaint offered three theories in support of these claims. First, the Clays maintained that their discharge "violated" the "public policy" of this Commonwealth. Second, they charged that the defendants acted with "malice." Third, they indicated that the defendants breached an "implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing." ⁴ Although the trial court in its opinion mentioned only "good faith and fair dealing" specifically, it appears to have concluded that "statutory remedies" exclude any "tort cause action" for wrongful discharge, regardless of the underlying theory. In so concluding, the trial court has misconstrued the Human Relations Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Section 962 of the Human Relations Act provides in part as follows:

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), nothing contained in this act shall be deemed to repeal or supersede any of the provisions of any existing or hereafter adopted municipal ordinance, municipal charter or of any law of this Commonwealth relating to discrimination because of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age, sex, national origin or handicap or disability, but as to acts declared unlawful by section five of this act the procedure herein provided shall, when invoked, be exclusive and the final determination therein shall exclude any other action, civil, or criminal, based on the same grievance of the complainant concerned. If such complainant institutes any action based on such grievance without resorting to the procedure provided in this act, he may not subsequently resort to the procedure herein....

(c) In cases involving a claim of discrimination, if a complaint invokes the procedures set forth in this act, that individual's right of action in the courts of the Commonwealth shall not be foreclosed. If within one (1) year after the filing of a complaint with the Commission, the Commission dismisses the complaint or has not entered into a conciliation agreement to which the complainant is a party, the Commission must so notify the complainant. On receipt of such a notice the complainant shall be able to bring an action in the courts of common pleas of the Commonwealth based on the right to freedom from discrimination granted by this act.

43 P.S. § 962(b) and (c) (emphasis added). Subsection (b) of this provision plainly affords the aggrieved party an election of remedies. The party can opt either to pursue relief under the Human Relations Act or to pursue whatever other avenues are available, including "civil" actions. See Fye v. Central Transportation Inc., 487 Pa. 137, 409 A.2d 2 (1979); Daly v. School District of Darby Twp., 434 Pa. 286, 252 A.2d 638 (1969). Once the party elects his or her remedy, the chosen path becomes exclusive. See Fye, supra. The General Assembly did not intend to bar judicial remedies for discrimination in the workplace. It sought rather to address "the undesirability of allowing the person aggrieved to commence several different actions for relief." Id. at 140, 409 A.2d at 4. ⁵ Section 962 therefore prevented the Clays from pursuing both an administrative and a judicial remedy in the present case. It did not, however, foreclose their right to choose at the outset between the courts or...