Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc., HEALTH-TE

CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
Writing for the CourtADAMS; HORNSBY
Citation567 So.2d 1307
Parties5 IER Cases 1643 Deborah GORE v. 89-782.
Docket NumberHEALTH-TE,INC
Decision Date07 September 1990

Page 1307

567 So.2d 1307
5 IER Cases 1643
Deborah GORE
v.
HEALTH-TEX, INC.
89-782.
Supreme Court of Alabama.
Sept. 7, 1990.

David B. Carnes of Carnes, Wamsley, Waid & Hyman, Gadsden, for appellant.

James C. Stivender of Inzer, Suttle, Swann & Stivender, Gadsden, for appellee.

ADAMS, Justice.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of Health-Tex, Inc. The appellant, Ms. Deborah Gore, in October 1987, filed a complaint alleging slander and claiming that she was entitled to damages arising out of allegedly defamatory statements, which, she says, she herself was required to publicize, concerning the termination of her employment at Health-Tex.

In 1986, Ms. Gore was employed by Health-Tex to operate a sewing machine at its plant. Approximately one month after beginning work, she began having pains in her back and shoulder and, upon consulting a physician, she learned that she was suffering from fibrositis, an inflammation of the fibers under the skin. The physician gave her injections and oral medication and advised her to slow down her arm movements. The company was never notified of her condition, which disappeared after approximately two months. Ms. Gore left the employment of Health-Tex sometime thereafter. Subsequently, Ms. Gore was rehired by Health-Tex and, pursuant to company policy, she was interviewed by the company nurse regarding any health problems she had had while working with Health-Tex in the past and any other problems she had encountered since her previous employment there. Ms. Gore did not mention her fibrositis.

After working for Health-Tex for approximately one month, and while still in her probationary period with the company, Ms. Gore experienced a recurrence of her fibrositis. When she consulted the nurse regarding her symptoms, she explained that she had had the condition during her previous employment with Health-Tex. She was given some anti-inflammatory drugs and the nurse adjusted the chair at her work station to ease the strain on her back. Shortly after reporting her condition to the nurse, Ms. Gore was called in by

Page 1308

managing personnel at Health-Tex and was asked to resign. When she refused to do so, she was terminated for falsifying company records, i.e., for not revealing her previous health condition when she was rehired. When applying for other jobs, Ms. Gore alleged, she was required to put on her application as the reason she left her previous employment that she was fired...

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26 practice notes
  • Gray v. Koch Foods, Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-595-RAH
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. Middle District of Alabama
    • 14 Enero 2022
    ...is a question of fact as to whether Gray's communications were made in good faith and free of malice. See Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc. , 567 So. 2d 1307, 1308 (Ala. 1990) ("It 580 F.Supp.3d 1136 is well established that absent a showing of malice, an action alleging slander will not lie where t......
  • Raymond v. International Business Machines Corp., 2:95-CV-158.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. District of Vermont
    • 27 Enero 1997
    ...Misc. 59, 203 N.E.2d 665 (Comm.Pleas 1963); First State Bank v. Ake, 606 S.W.2d 696 (Tex.Civ.App.1980). 7. See Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc., 567 So.2d 1307 (Ala.1990); Layne v. Builders Plumbing Supply Co., 210 Ill.App.3d 966, 155 Ill.Dec. 493, 569 N.E.2d 1104 (1991); Church of Scientology v. G......
  • Butler v. Town of Argo
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Alabama
    • 30 Junio 2003
    ...369, 371, 98 So. 290 (1923). See also Clark v. America's First Credit Union, 585 So.2d 1367, 1370 (Ala.1991); Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc., 567 So.2d 1307, 1308 (Ala.1990); Atkins Ford Sales, Inc. v. Royster, 560 So.2d 197, 200 (Ala.1990); Reynolds Metals Co. v. Mays, 547 So.2d 518, 524 (Ala.19......
  • Gonsalves v. Nissan Motor in Hawaii, 23505.
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Hawai'i
    • 27 Noviembre 2002
    ...when the publication is compelled in the employment setting." Sullivan, 58 P.3d 1219 995 S.W.2d at 573 (citing Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc., 567 So.2d 1307 (Ala.1990)); see also Layne v. Builders Plumbing Supply Co., 210 Ill.App.3d 966, 155 Ill.Dec. 493, 569 N.E.2d 1104 (1991); Parsons v. Gulf ......
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24 cases
  • Butler v. Town of Argo,
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Alabama
    • 30 Junio 2003
    ...369, 371, 98 So. 290 (1923). See also Clark v. America's First Credit Union, 585 So.2d 1367, 1370 (Ala.1991); Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc., 567 So.2d 1307, 1308 (Ala.1990); Atkins Ford Sales, Inc. v. Royster, 560 So.2d 197, 200 (Ala.1990); Reynolds Metals Co. v. Mays, 547 So.2d 518, 524 (Ala.19......
  • Kmery v. N.E. Ill. Regional Commuter R.R., No. 1-05-3584.
    • United States
    • United States Appellate Court of Illinois
    • 30 Noviembre 2007
    ...(Mass.2004); Cweklinsky, 267 Conn. at 229, 837 A.2d at 770; Gonsalves, 100 Hawaii at 173, 58 P.3d at 1220; Gore v. Health-Tex., Inc., 567 So.2d 1307, 1308 (Ala.1990); Sullivan, 995 S.W.2d at 574; Lunz v. Neuman, 48 Wash.2d 26, 34, 290 P.2d 697, 702 (Wash. Numerous federal courts applying st......
  • Downs v. Waremart, Inc., C-11646
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Oregon
    • 23 Enero 1996
    ...Mayer, 203 N.E.2d 665, 668-71 (Ohio 1963). State courts have rejected compelled self-publication defamation in: Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc., 567 So.2d 1307, 1309 (Ala1990); Layne v. Builders Plumbing Supply Co., 210 Ill.App.3d 966, 976, 155 Ill.Dec. 493, 500, 569 N.E.2d 1104, 1111 (1991); Wein......
  • Gonsalves v. Nissan Motor in Hawaii, No. 23505.
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Hawai'i
    • 27 Noviembre 2002
    ...when the publication is compelled in the employment setting." Sullivan, 58 P.3d 1219 995 S.W.2d at 573 (citing Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc., 567 So.2d 1307 (Ala.1990)); see also Layne v. Builders Plumbing Supply Co., 210 Ill.App.3d 966, 155 Ill.Dec. 493, 569 N.E.2d 1104 (1991); Parsons v. Gulf ......
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2 books & journal articles
  • Related State Torts
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Litigating Employment Discrimination Cases. Volume 1-2 Volume 1 - Law
    • 1 Mayo 2023
    ...not only to the well-settled law of this state and the majority view but also important policy principles.”); Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc. , 567 So.2d 1307, 1308-1309 (Ala. 1990) (“We are not prepared to hold that a plaintiff’s own repetition of allegedly defamatory statements can supply the el......
  • Due Process Liability in Personnel Records Management: Preserving Employee Liberty Interests
    • United States
    • Public Personnel Management Nbr. 21-4, December 1992
    • 1 Diciembre 1992
    ...Ohio, Oregon, North Carolina, and Washington to the roster of states adopting the self-publication theory. 22 Gore v. Health-Tex, Inc., 567 So. 2d 1307 (Ala. 1990). 23 Yetter v. Ward Trucking Corp., 585 A.2d 1022, 6 BNA Ind. Emp. Rts. Cases 146 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991). 24 DeLeon v. St. Joseph......

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