Curran v. Children's Service Center of Wyoming County, Inc.

• Decision Date: 09 August 1990
• Citation: 578 A.2d 8,396 Pa.Super. 29
• Parties: , 118 Lab.Cas. P 56,542 Bernard J. CURRAN, Appellant, v. The CHILDREN'S SERVICE CENTER OF WYOMING COUNTY, INC., and Milford E. Barnes, Appellees. (Two Cases)
• Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court

Page 8

578 A.2d 8

396 Pa.Super. 29, 118 Lab.Cas. P 56,542

Bernard J. CURRAN, Appellant, v. The CHILDREN'S SERVICE CENTER OF WYOMING COUNTY, INC., and Milford E. Barnes, Appellees. (Two Cases)

Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued March 29, 1990.

Filed Aug. 9, 1990.

Peter G. Loftus, Scranton, for appellant.

Paul A. Barrett, Scranton, for appellees.

Before WIEAND, BECK and POPOVICH, JJ.

WIEAND, Judge:

Bernard J. Curran was employed as a psychologist by The Children's Service Center of Wyoming County, Inc. (CSC) on April 18, 1983. On June 10, 1985, he was given notice by Milford E. Barnes, acting in the capacity as agent for CSC, that his employment would be terminated on June 14, 1985. Curran thereafter commenced a civil action against Barnes and CSC in which he sought to recover damages for wrongful discharge and invasion of privacy. In a separate count he alleged that Barnes had wrongfully interfered with the contractual relationship between Curran and CSC. After the pleadings had been closed and Curran's depositions had been taken for discovery purposes, the trial court granted motions filed by Barnes and CSC for summary judgment. Curran has appealed from the order entering summary judgment.

A motion for summary judgment may properly be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Pa.R.C.P. 1035(b). See also: Craddock v. Gross, 350 Pa.Super. 575, 577-578, 504 A.2d 1300, 1301 (1986); Berardi v. Johns-Manville Corp., 334 Pa.Super. 36, 38, 482 A.2d 1067, 1068-1069 (1984); Thorsen v. Iron and Glass Bank, 328 Pa.Super. 135, 140, 476 A.2d 928, 930 (1984). When a motion for summary judgment is made and supported as provided in Rule 1035, the non-moving party may not rest upon the mere allegations and denials of his pleadings. To avoid summary judgment the non-moving party must set forth specific facts by way of affidavit, or as otherwise provided in Rule 1035, demonstrating that a genuine factual issue exists. Phaff v. Gerner, 451 Pa. 146, 149, 303 A.2d 826, 829 (1973); Ressler v. Jones Motor Co., Inc., 337 Pa.Super. 602, 609, 487 A.2d 424, 428 (1985). The inquiry in deciding a motion for summary judgment "is whether the admissible evidence in the record, in whatever form, from whatever source, considered in the light most favorable to the respondent to the motion, fails to establish a prima facie case...." In re Japanese Electronic Products Antitrust Litigation, 723 F.2d 238 (3d Cir.1983), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1029, 107 S.Ct. 1955, 95 L.Ed.2d 527 (1985). Summary judgment serves to eliminate the waste of time and resources of both litigants and the courts in cases where a trial would be a useless formality.

"[A]s a general rule, there is no common law cause of action against an employer for termination of an at-will employment relationship." Paul, M.D. v. Lankenau Hospital, 524 Pa. 90, ----, 569 A.2d 346, 348 (1990), quoting Clay v. Advanced Computer Applications, 522 Pa. 86, 89, 559 A.2d 917, 918 (1989). An employee at-will may be discharged with or without cause. "Exceptions to this rule have been recognized in only the most limited of circumstances, where discharges of at-will employees would threaten clear mandates of public policy." Id.

Appellant does not quarrel with these principles of law but argues that his employment was not at-will but for the term of his life. Although there was no express agreement that his hiring was to be other than at-will, he contends that the circumstances surrounding his hiring were such as to evidence that the parties intended a relationship which could not be terminated by the employer except for cause. The trial court determined that, as a matter of law, appellant could not show more than at-will employment.

When appellant was hired as a staff psychologist, he was placed on probation. The salary terms were set forth in a letter addressed to appellant on April 18, 1983. The letter stated: "The position of psychologist is temporary, depending upon your meeting the Pennsylvania licensing requirements for clinical psychologist." Appellant did not take the licensing exam in October, 1983, because he felt he was not adequately prepared. He took the exam in April, 1984, but failed to pass it. In a letter dated August 10, 1984, and signed by Joseph DeVizia, executive director, and Milford E. Barnes, clinical director, appellant was informed that his status had been reviewed by the personnel committee of the board and, because he had not received his license, he would remain in a temporary employment status and would not be approved for an increase in salary.

Although appellant successfully took the licensing exam in October, 1984, he was thereafter advised by letter of March 5, 1985, signed by Barnes, that CSC had decided, after full review of all relevant matters, that it would not offer him a permanent position on its professional staff. Appellant was also told to begin looking for another job. Finally, on June 10, 1985, appellant received a letter, signed by Barnes, which stated: "This note will confirm our verbal agreement on May 30, 1985, that your employment at the Children's Service Center would terminate, by mutual consent, on June 14, 1985."

Appellant's contention that he expected lifelong employment from which he could be discharged only for cause is not alone an adequate basis for overcoming the presumption of employment at-will where the parties have not agreed to a specific term of employment. Decisions in Pennsylvania evince a reluctance to enforce contracts of employment for life or for periods of similar breadth. Scott v. Extracorporeal, Inc., 376 Pa.Super. 90, 96, 545 A.2d 334, 337 (1988). See: Ross v. Montour Railroad Co., 357 Pa.Super. 376, 516 A.2d 29 (1986) (expectation of "life long" employment alone not sufficient to overcome the at-will rule); Murphy v. Publicker Industries, Inc., 357 Pa.Super. 409, 516 A.2d 47 (1986) (promise of lifetime employment not in itself sufficiently definite to overcome at-will presumption); Veno v. Meredith, 357 Pa.Super. 85, 515 A.2d 571 (1986) (employer's statements to employee, including "I want to retire together," held too broad and vague to overcome at-will presumption); Darlington v. General Electric, 350 Pa.Super. 183, 504 A.2d 306 (1986) (employer's statement that employee was hired to work on "long range project" held too vague and unspecified to overcome at-will presumption); Betts v. Stroehmann Bros., 355 Pa.Super. 195, 512 A.2d 1280 (1986) (employee's understanding that employment was to be "long term" insufficient to overcome at-will presumption).

"[A] written personnel policy may serve as the basis for a cause of action for breach of a provision contained within it if, under all the circumstances, the parties manifest an intent that it become a legally binding contract." Ramsbottom v. First Pennsylvania Bank N.A., 718 F.Supp. 405, 410 (D.N.J.1989), quoting Klages v. Sperry Corp., No. 83-3295, slip op., 1986 WL 7636 (E.D.Pa. July 8, 1986). See: Scott v. Extracorporeal, Inc., supra 376 Pa.Super. at 97, 545 A.2d at 337.

The employee handbook given to appellant at the time of his employment contained references to hiring practices, probation, employee benefits, termination of employment, and other conditions of employment. It provided that employees who resigned were expected to give thirty days notice, but no notice was required where termination was by mutual agreement. During the probationary period, an employee could be terminated by the employer by giving notice. After a probationary period of temporary employment had been served, a permanent status might be acquired, but even such a position could be terminated because of retrenchment or reorganization. A permanent employee who was discharged for unsatisfactory performance had a right of review according to standards set forth in the handbook.

Appellant was hired as an employee at-will and placed in a temporary status. There was, as he concedes, no agreement that he would be given permanent employment for life or other extended period. Appellant never did achieve permanent status. When his employment came to an end, he was still a temporary employee. At that time, there clearly was no basis on which appellant could reasonably have believed that he was an employee who could be discharged only for "just cause." Cf. Martin v. Capital Cities Media, Inc., 354 Pa.Super. 199, 511 A.2d 830 (1986), alloc. denied, 514 Pa. 643, 523 A.2d 1132 (1987).

Appellant also asserts that an implied contract of permanent employment was created by the fact that he had given additional consideration to his employer by remaining in his position without a pay raise for two years and by obtaining state certification as a licensed psychologist. It is correct that employment may be taken out of an at-will status where an employee has given his employer additional consideration, other than the services for which he was hired, from which it may be inferred that he was contracting for employment which could not be terminated at will. Darlington v. General Electric, supra 350 Pa.Super. at 199, 504 A.2d at 314. In such cases, an employee will not be subject to discharge without just cause for a reasonable time. Veno v. Meredith, supra 357 Pa.Super. at 102, 515 A.2d at 580. In Darlington v. General Electric, supra, the Court said:

The term "consideration" is not used here as it is in the usual contractual context to signify a validation device. The term is used, rather, more as an interpretation device. When "sufficient additional consideration" is present, courts infer that the parties intended that the contract will not be terminable at-will. This inference may be nothing more than a legal fiction because it is possible that in a given case, the parties...