Geltzer v. J.B. Hunt Transp., Inc.

• Decision Date: 30 March 2012
• Docket Number: No. 09-CV-3865 (ERK) (MDG),09-CV-3865 (ERK) (MDG)
• Parties: ROBERT L. GELTZER, as Trustee of the Estate of the Debtors, IGOR MANRIQUE and ANDREA PRYOR, Plaintiff, v. J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

ROBERT L. GELTZER, as Trustee of the Estate of the

Debtors, IGOR MANRIQUE and ANDREA PRYOR, Plaintiff,

v.J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT, INC., Defendant.

No. 09-CV-3865 (ERK) (MDG)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

March 30, 2012

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

KORMAN, J.:

Igor Manrique ("Manrique") and his wife, Andrea Pryor ("Pryor"), (collectively, the "plaintiffs") filed a lawsuit against Manrique's former employer, J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. ("J.B. Hunt"), a trucking company, after Manrique was terminated for violating company policy and this fact was subsequently included in his employment report.¹ Specifically, the plaintiffs brought claims for (1) negligence, (2) breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, (3) defamation, and (4) tortious interference with contract. J.B. Hunt now moves for summary judgment.

FACTS

I. The Accident, Phone Calls, Drug Test, and Termination

On the night of May 5, 2008, Manrique, a tractor trailer driver employed by J.B. Hunt, was injured by the trailer door of a parked truck.² [Def.'s R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1; Pls.' R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 1-2, 5-6; Manrique Dep. at 107.] As Manrique explained it, the trailer door did not closeproperly, so he used extra force to reopen it so that he could try closing it again. [Manrique Dep. at 107.] Because of this extra force, however, the handle came out of place and hit Manrique in the face.³ [Manrique Dep. at 107.] Manrique was knocked unconscious and taken by ambulance to the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. [Pls.' R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 7; Def.'s R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 2; Manrique Dep. at 106, 108-09; Ex. P.] When Manrique woke up, he was in the Emergency Room being told that he was getting a few stitches in his mouth and that he had small cuts on his face, upper lip, and gums.⁴ [Manrique Dep. at 106.] Manrique was prescribed painkillers for these injuries. [Manrique Dep. at 110.]

At 1 or 2 a.m. on May 6, 2008, Manrique was discharged from the hospital and was picked up by his wife, Pryor. [Manrique Dep. at 109, 111; Pryor Dep. at 29-30.] Manrique and Pryor got in their car, and, while still parked in the hospital parking garage, Pryor called J.B. Hunt's Corporate Safety Department, using a 1-800 number that was on a label that someone at the hospital had taped to Manrique's arm. [See Manrique Dep. at 106, 111, 112-13, 114-15; Pryor Dep. at 29-30.] Manrique had been told to call this number "as soon as possible." [Manrique Dep. at 112-14.] During Pryor's conversation with J.B. Hunt, she was told that Manrique had to take a drug test the following morning—that is, the morning of May 6, 2008— and that the drug test would take place near their home in Jackson Heights in Queens, New York.⁵ [See Manrique Dep. at 115; Clarke Dep. at 19; Pryor Dep. at 30-31; Ex. P.] Pryor was also told that Manrique should call J.B. Hunt in the morning to get the address of the drug testing site. [See Manrique Dep. at 125; Pryor Dep. at 31.] According to Manrique, Pryor was not toldthat Manrique had to take the drug test immediately. [Manrique Dep. at 125.] Manrique testified that it was 4 a.m. by the time he and his wife got home that night. [Manrique Dep. at 109-10.]

The morning of May 6, at around 9 a.m., Manrique called J.B. Hunt from his home and spoke to Kim Clarke ("Clarke"), a worker's compensation examiner who works in J.B. Hunt's Corporate Safety Department.⁶ [Manrique Dep. at 116; Clarke Dep. at 5, 8.] Clarke told Manrique that he had "to go and take the drug test immediately or [he would] be terminated." [Manrique Dep. at 116.] In discovering that his drug test would take place in New Jersey, Manrique explained to Clarke that his wife had been told the drug test would take place near his house in Queens. [See Manrique Dep. at 116; Ex. P.] Clarke told Manrique that she would call him right back.⁷ [Manrique Dep. at 116.]

Forty-five minutes later, around 10 a.m., Clarke called Manrique and told him that the only drug testing site available was in Hoboken, New Jersey.⁸ [Manrique Dep. at 116.] Manrique explained that Hoboken was a bit far for him and that he was unable to drive at that moment. [Manrique Dep. at 116.] Clarke responded that there were no sites available near his house and that the closest testing site was in Jersey City, New Jersey. [Manrique Dep. at 116.] Manrique then asked if he could wait until his wife got back from work "because [he did not] feel completely a hundred percent to go by [himself] on the train."⁹ [Manrique Dep. at 116-17.]Clarke responded by telling Manrique that, if he did not go take the drug test "immediately," he would be terminated. [Manrique Dep. at 117.] Manrique testified that Clarke then hung up. [Manrique Dep. at 117.] Manrique also testified that, when he was notified that his drug test would be in New Jersey, he "had no transportation to New Jersey, had been awake since the middle of the previous night, and had been on medication." [Manrique Aff. ¶ 14.] And Clarke testified that, during this conversation, Manrique was "argumentative." [Clarke Dep. at 8.]

According to Manrique, he then called Clarke back and asked her why she had hung up on him. [Manrique Dep. at 117.] Clarke responded, "I told you right away what you have to do." [Manrique Dep. at 117.] Manrique then said to her, "[L]isten, I am just asking you to give me time until my wife comes back from work, because I don't feel right to go by myself on the train." [Manrique Dep. at 117.] As Manrique explained it, Clarke then got upset, told Manrique that she did not care what happened to him, that she did not believe his version of events, and that she thought Manrique had been involved in a fight. [Manrique Dep. at 117.] Clarke then hung up. [Manrique Dep. at 117.]

Manrique then tried calling his wife, but she was at work. [Manrique Dep. at 117.] He also tried calling J.B. Hunt in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but no one could help him out. [Manrique Dep. at 117-18.] Manrique then called Clarke back to tell her that he could not go by himself to take the drug test. [Manrique Dep. at 118.] Clarke responded, "I told you right away what you have to do. You have to take the drug test immediately or you [will] be terminated." [Manrique Dep. at 118.] Manrique then said, "[O]kay, let's do this. I am going to take the fucking drug test right now. As soon as I take the drug test, I quit this company, because I don't need thisbullshit."¹⁰ [Manrique Dep. at 118.] Clarke hung up again. [Manrique Dep. at 118.] According to Clarke, Manrique said that he was "going to quit J.B. Hunt" and that "he didn't need this shit" and then hung up on her.¹¹ [Clarke Dep. at 10, 20.] Manrique testified, however, that he never told Clarke "I quit right now." [Manrique Dep. at 127.] According to Manrique, he never actually quit his employment with J.B. Hunt. [Manrique Aff. ¶ 27.]

Manrique then called Clarke back and again said, "[L]isten, I just want you to give me time until my wife comes back [from] work and I go to take the drug test." [Manrique Dep. at 118.] Clarke again responded, "[I]f you don't go to take the drug test immediately, you will be terminated," and hung up. [Manrique Dep. at 118.] During one of these conversations, Manrique told Clarke that he was going to go to the Labor Department. [Clarke Dep. at 9; Manrique Dep. at 127.] Clarke did not respond to Manrique's Labor Department comment, but rather, repeated that he had to go get drug tested "immediately," that it was "company policy," that it was "mandatory," and that he should call her when he arrived at the testing site. [Clarke Dep. at 9, 11, 23.] According to Clarke, Manrique then told her to "fuck [her]self," and she hung up on him. [Clarke Dep. at 10-11.] Manrique, however, denies telling Clarke to go fuck herself.¹² [Manrique Dep. at 127.]

At 11:45 a.m., Manrique arrived at Concentra Medical Center ("Concentra") in Jersey City. [See Manrique Dep. at 118.] To get there, Manrique took three trains and a taxi. [Manrique Dep. at 130.] Manrique then called Clarke to tell her that he had arrived at the drug testing center. [Clarke Dep. at 12-13.] According to Manrique, Clarke responded sarcastically,saying, "Oh, you're at the clinic." [Manrique Dep. at 128.] Clarke put Manrique on hold and, when she returned to the line, told him that he needed to speak to his area risk manager, Andrew Berkhemper ("Berkhemper"). [Clarke Dep. at 13, 16.] She also told Manrique that someone would be calling him but that he should fill out the drug testing center's paperwork in the meantime. [See Manrique Dep. at 128-29.]

Manrique walked up to the front desk and told Kimberly Mitchell ("Mitchell"), the woman working the desk, that he was from J.B. Hunt and that he was there to take a drug test. [Manrique Dep. at 118-19, 159.] Mitchell gave Manrique paperwork to fill out and, while Manrique was doing so, someone from J.B. Hunt's Corporate Safety Department called Concentra to cancel his drug test. [Manrique Dep. at 119, 129-31.] Manrique overheard Mitchell saying to the person on the phone that Manrique was already there and was filling out paperwork. [Manrique Dep. at 119, 132-33.] When Mitchell hung up, she told Manrique that his drug test had been cancelled and that someone would be calling him in the next five to fifteen minutes. [Manrique Dep. at 119, 133.] Manrique then called Clarke to ask why his drug test had been cancelled. [Clarke Dep. at 13.] Clarke again told him that he needed to speak to his area risk manager. [Clarke Dep. at 13.] Clarke testified that, based on what she had been told, Manrique's drug test was cancelled because he "was refusing to go and delaying the process."¹³ [Clarke Dep. at 17.]

While Manrique was still at Concentra, someone from J.B. Hunt's Corporate Safety Department—likely Berkhemper—called him and said, "Mr. Manrique, you have beenterminated, because you refused to take a drug test. That's part of our company's policies."¹⁴ [Manrique Dep. at 119-20, 132; Ex....