GM Corp. v. Seay

• Decision Date: 10 August 2005
• Docket Number: No. 66 September Term 2004.,66 September Term 2004.
• Citation: 879 A.2d 1049,388 Md. 341
• Parties: GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, et al. v. Randall C. SEAY.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

879 A.2d 1049

388 Md. 341

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, et al. v. Randall C. SEAY.

No. .

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

August 10, 2005.

David C. Vogel (Sara J. Kagay of Lathrop & Gage L.C., of Kansas City, Missouri) on brief, for petitioners/cross respondents.

Byron L. Warnken (Warnken, LLC of Towson) on brief, for respondent/cross petitioner.

Argued before BELL, C.J., RAKER, WILNER, HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE, JOHN C. ELDRIDGE, (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.

GREENE, J.

On March 24, 2003, a jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City found in favor of Randall C. Seay in his wrongful termination case against General Motors Corporation ("GM") and Gerry Grant, a labor relations representative at GM (collectively "GM" unless otherwise indicated). During the trial, GM made a motion for judgment at the close of Seay's case-in-chief and, ostensibly, again at the close of its own case. GM did not, however, renew the motion following rebuttal testimony offered by Mr. Seay. On April 3, 2003, GM filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict ("JNOV"), or in the alternative a motion for a new trial. Seay opposed the motion but did not raise the issue of GM's failure to renew the motion for judgment following Seay's rebuttal testimony. The trial court granted the motion for JNOV on May 27, 2003. Seay filed a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals which held that GM's right to file a motion for JNOV was relinquished when it failed to renew the motion for judgment following Seay's rebuttal testimony. By petition for writ of certiorari, GM presents the following questions, which we have reworded, for our review:

1. Whether the trial court is entitled to consider a motion for JNOV where a defendant made a motion for judgment following both the close of plaintiff's case and the close of defendant's case, but did not formally renew the motion following protracted argument on the motion and the trial court's ruling?

2. Considering that Seay failed to object to the timeliness of GM's motion for JNOV at trial, should the Court of Special Appeals have ruled that plaintiff's objection was waived and refused to consider the issue when raised for the first time on appeal?

Seay requested, in a conditional cross-petition for writ of certiorari, that if this Court were to grant certiorari to GM, we should, in the interest of judicial economy, address the merits of the trial court's ruling on GM's motion for JNOV.

We granted both certiorari petitions. General Motors v. Seay, 383 Md. 211, 857 A.2d 1129 (2004).

For the reasons that follow, we hold that the trial court erred in granting the motion for JNOV. As we have often said, the Maryland Rules are "precise rubrics" which are to be strictly followed. Maryland Rule 2-532(a) provides that "a party may move for judgment notwithstanding the verdict only if that party made a motion for judgment at the close of all the evidence and only on the grounds advanced in support of the earlier motion." The language is mandatory and unambiguous. Therefore, when GM failed to renew the motion for judgment at the close of all of the evidence as the Rule provides, it lost its right to file a motion for JNOV. Because we hold that the motion was procedurally defective we need not address the merits of the trial court's decision.

FACTS

Randall C. Seay ("Seay") was employed for thirteen years with General Motors Corporation at its Broening Highway plant in Baltimore City. On February 14, 2000, he was discharged, allegedly for falsifying a workers' compensation claim following an injury to his hand that occurred on November 18, 1999. Seay denies that the claim was false and argues that he was terminated solely because he filed a workers' compensation claim.¹

On November 18, 1999, Seay began his shift at 4:30 in the afternoon. According to Seay, he left the GM plant at 9:30 p.m. for his "lunch" break. He testified that he drove to Poncabird Pub ("Pub") and purchased a sandwich.² Seay saw Barry Blevins, another GM employee, at the Pub. They spoke briefly and then followed each other back to the plant. Seay "punched back in" at 9:43 and, at approximately 10:10 p.m., resumed work. At approximately 11:40 p.m., Seay claims to have injured his hand on the edge of a piece of equipment while performing his job duties in the body shop. At first he tried to stop the bleeding by sucking on his hand and then by rinsing it in the bathroom. His immediate supervisor sent him to the on-site medical department after Seay asked for a band-aid. The nurse in the medical department sent him to Concentra Medical Center for stitches. Subsequently, Seay's hand became infected from human saliva and required surgery. Seay testified that he was hospitalized for four days as a result of the injury. On or about November 27, 1999, after being released from the hospital, Seay filed a workers' compensation claim. He returned to work and was assigned to perform light duties for a period of three months until a doctor released him to return to his regular duties. Shortly thereafter, on February 14, 2000, Seay was discharged.

General Motors disputes Seay's version of events. GM claims that Seay left the GM plant during his lunch break, drove to "Jimmy's (Famous Seafood) Restaurant," and was involved in an altercation with another GM employee, Anthony Tucker. GM's version is based on an investigation by Grant, that included interviewing five GM employees and a physician.³ At trial, GM presented testimony of Tucker and Joseph Wooten. Tucker testified that he was involved in an altercation with Seay and that Seay punched him in the mouth. Wooten testified that he witnessed the altercation and, for the most part, confirmed Tucker's account of the events.⁴ They both testified that Seay was not bleeding following the altercation. GM argues that Seay injured his hand during the scuffle, not at work. GM further argues that since the injury did not occur at work, Seay filed a false workers' compensation claim.

On March 3, 2000, prior to Seay filing a civil complaint, the Workers' Compensation Commission ("Commission") awarded Seay workers' compensation benefits. The Commission found that Seay, "sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of employment on November 18, 1999; and f[ou]nd that the disability of the claimant [wa]s the result of the aforesaid accidental injury; and that as a result thereof the claimant was temporarily totally disabled." He was awarded $602.00 a week from November 24, 1999, through December 28, 1999.

General Motors sought judicial review of the Commission's ruling in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. On January 19, 2001, a jury in Baltimore County answered "No" to the question, "Did the claimant sustain an accidental personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment on or about November 18, 1999?". Based on the jury's finding, the court reversed the Commission's award and disallowed Seay's workers' compensation claim. On February 9, 2001, Seay appealed the decision to the Court of Special Appeals. General Motors filed a Motion to Dismiss, which was granted on September 11, 2001, when Seay failed to respond in a timely manner.⁵

Subsequently, on March 14, 2001, Seay filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City against GM and Grant, as well as GM employees, Jerome Jones,⁶ Anthony Tucker, and Joseph Wooten. GM removed the action to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on the grounds that Seay's claims were preempted under the Labor Management Relations Act.⁷ Seay subsequently dropped the claims in his complaint that were based on the collective bargaining agreement ("CBA"), and on October 24, 2001, the case was remanded to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.⁸

On February 22, 2002, Seay filed his third amended complaint alleging wrongful termination, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.⁹ At the end of Seay's case-in-chief, both parties made a motion for judgment. The court reserved its ruling on the motion until the next day following the close of GM's case-in-chief. The court then ruled on the motion made at the close of the plaintiff's case. The court stated "[a]s to defendant's motion for judgment at the close of the plaintiff's case, I have up to this point, heard motion and argument and I have granted the motion for judgment [on the wrongful termination count] in favor of defendant's Tucker and Wooton, and as of this moment denied it as to defendants General Motors, Grant, and Jones." The court also granted the motion for judgment for all defendants as to the defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress counts.

Following the court's ruling on the motions at the close of the plaintiff's case, General Motors presented argument regarding the proper parties in the wrongful termination action and whether Seay met his burden of demonstrating that he was fired "solely" for filing a workers' compensation claim. GM stated:

I'm sorry for being redundant from yesterday but since this is also up for a new motion for judgment at the close of all of the evidence¹⁰ we would state that there has been evidence clearly from the plaintiff that there were other reasons involved here. It was unequivocal that there were other reasons involved here.

Following argument by Seay, the court held:

Okay. Again, at least taking these separately, at the junction at the close of the plaintiff's case facts and inferences in a light most favorable I'll deny the motion still as to General Motors, Mr. Grant and Mr. Jones and then even at the close of all of the evidence I think there — I'm persuaded that there is sufficient to allow the jury to sort out whether solely because he filed a workers' compensation claim or because he filed a false claim, and that's something — that's why we have juries to sort out.

Over GM's objection, Seay's counsel then presented rebuttal testimony. The testimony was offered to...