Dugan v. Midwest Cap Co.

• Decision Date: 18 March 1930
• Docket Number: No. 40268.,40268.
• Citation: 229 N.W. 847
• Parties: DUGAN v. MIDWEST CAP CO. ET AL.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

229 N.W. 847

DUGAN

v.MIDWEST CAP CO. ET AL.

No. 40268.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

March 18, 1930.

Appeal from District Court, Polk County; Lester L. Thompson, Judge.

Action at law to recover damages for personal injuries. Verdict and judgment in favor of certain of the defendants, and plaintiff appeals.

Affirmed.Walter F. Maley and Chester J. Eller, both of Des Moines, for appellant.

Milton W. Strickler, of Des Moines, for appellees Carey and Pittman.

Parrish, Cohen, Guthrie, Watters & Halloran, of Des Moines, for appellees Midwest Cap Co., Maness, and Friedman.

STEVENS, J.

This is an action at law to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the appellant as the result of an assault committed upon her by the appellees, Mrs. J. Carey and Mrs. Eulah Pittman, her daughter, on April 4, 1927, in the office of the appellees Midwest Cap Company, a corporation, of which the appellees Samuel Maness is president and William Friedman secretary and general manager.

At the close of the evidence, the court directed the jury to return a verdict in favor of appellees, that is, the corporation and its officers. The cause was submitted to the jury as to the other defendants, and a verdict returned against them. They have not appealed, and no appearance is made for them in this court.

Appellant Margaret Dugan and the appellees Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Pittman were, prior to the date of the assault complained of, employees of the Midwest Cap Company, a manufacturer of men's and boys' caps. Appellant had been employed thereby for approximately two years, and appellees for a longer period. Friction appears to have arisen between some of the employees and the employer. To what extent appellant and appellees were involved in this controversy is not disclosed by the record. A letter signed “some of your employees” was received at the office of the corporation on April 2d. The letter, in part, is as follows: “Carrie says you talked these questions over with her last Saturday. Now Carrie is strong Klux Klan. She made the statement this week that Dave was at fault for all the 8/4 caps that are wrong, and that nothing was done about it because he was a Jew. Now, not one of us wish to complain, but ask you to be fair. Why not talk these questions over with all of us, if you think our wages are too high, that we waste our time, or do not do our work satisfactory.”

Mrs. Carey and an employee by the name of Polsky were discharged the evening of April 2d. When appellant arrived at the office of the company to go to work on the morning of April 4th, according to her testimony, she was advised by Friedman that she could not return to work until she saw Maness. According to the testimony of Friedman, he peremptorily discharged her upon her arrival at the office. The presence of Mrs. Carey at the office on Monday morning, after her discharge the preceding Saturday night, is unexplained. We infer, however, from the record that she had been reinstated and was working at her usual task on that morning.

Appellant and her co-workers sat at the same table in the work room. Mrs. Pittman was a visor maker, and appellant put the linings in the caps after they were otherwise completed. Men's caps manufactured by the concern were placed over a block before finishing and, shortly preceding the events in question, it was found that some of the caps were too small and would rip when placed over the block. This was due to some defect in the workmanship. So far as the record shows, the work of the employees was otherwise satisfactory. The evidence does not affirmatively disclose any unpleasantness between any of the employees, or between them and their employer. The reason assigned by Friedman, who had charge of the employment and discharge of the help, for the discharge of appellant was that a reduction of the number of employees was desired.

Appellant, in substance, testified that when she entered the office of the company on the morning of April 4th, Friedman told her that she could not go to work until she had talked with Maness, and requested her to wait in the office, which she did. Maness arrived at the office some time later and, according to the testimony of appellant, said that he desired to question her concerning some trouble in the shop; that he intended questioning all employees; that he inquired if she had heard Mrs. Carey say something on Saturday morning to Mr. Polsky to the effect that a Jew was not supposed to be employed in this country if an American had to be laid off; that she replied that she was very busy on Saturday morning; that she supposed Polsky and Mrs. Carey were arguing over their jobs; that Maness then told her that he wanted her to answer his questions truthfully, and informed her that Mrs. Carey and Polsky were discharged Saturday night. She further testified that Maness then asked her how many of the girls belonged to the Ku Klux Klan; that she jokingly replied “All of us” but promptly corrected her statement, explaining that she was not, and could not be a member thereof; that she did not know but she believed Mrs. Carey was a member of the Klan; that Maness then told her that he would treat the information as confidential and that, during the conversation and at his request, signed a statement as follows: “I, Margaret Dugan, sign this statement that I say that Mrs. J. Carey is a Klan member. [Signed] Margaret Dugan.”

According to appellant's version of the trouble, as soon as she signed the statement, Maness stepped to the workroom, motioned to Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Pittman who came at once into the office; that when she entered, Mrs. Carey had a large spool of thread in her hand about 8 inches long, 4 inches in diameter, and weighing about 3 pounds; that Mrs. Pittman picked up a cap block after she entered the room and that, thereupon, Maness handed the signed statement to Mrs. Carey to read. Appellant further testified that she had placed her hat and coat in the corner of the room on a table; that she picked them up and started to go by Mrs. Carey when she threw herself against her with such force as to throw her backward over a chair; that she got up, took hold of the table, turned it around so that it was between her and Mrs. Pittman and that as she started out Maness stepped up in front of her and reached out his arm; that Mrs. Carey was then two or three feet from her, and...