Harvey v. McLaughlin, A90A0836
| Decision Date | 16 October 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. A90A0836,A90A0836 |
| Citation | 198 Ga.App. 105,400 S.E.2d 635 |
| Parties | HARVEY v. McLAUGHLIN et al. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Henning, Aitkens & Snellings, Stanley T. Snellings, for appellant.
Paul L. Hanes, Corinne M. Milsteen, Heyman & Sizemore, William B. Brown, for appellees.
Plaintiff Chmaine Harvey brought this action against her former employer, defendant/appellee Fox-Morris Associates, Inc. (Fox-Morris) and defendant Paul McLaughlin contending, inter alia, that she was sexually harassed by McLaughlin while she was employed at Fox-Morris and that both McLaughlin and Fox-Morris are liable to her for the damages she suffered as the result of this harassment. The trial court granted Fox-Morris's motion for summary judgment and plaintiff appeals. We reverse.
The record shows that plaintiff was employed by Fox-Morris at its Atlanta office as a secretary/administrative assistant after she graduated from college in June 1987. Plaintiff was interviewed and hired by McLaughlin, who was the manager of the Atlanta office and plaintiff's immediate supervisor. According to plaintiff's deposition testimony, McLaughlin repeatedly asked her to go out with him after she started working at Fox-Morris. Plaintiff stated the employees of Fox-Morris frequently socialized as a group after work but that she did not want to go out with McLaughlin alone because he was married. However, plaintiff said she eventually agreed to go out with McLaughlin "because [she] worked for him and [she] felt like [she] had to because he kept on asking [her]...."
Plaintiff testified she and McLaughlin went out once (for her birthday) without incident. However, when they went out a second time, McLaughlin continually talked about sex and, in graphic terms, his sexual relations with other women. Plaintiff stated she and McLaughlin left the bar together and drove back to Fox-Morris's office parking lot where he attacked her, trying to pull up her dress and grab her underwear. Plaintiff said she had to hit McLaughlin to make him stop. McLaughlin apologized for the incident that night and again the next day, and asked plaintiff not to tell anyone. Plaintiff said she did tell a fellow employee but no one else at that time.
Plaintiff testified McLaughlin continued to ask her out after the incident, which occurred in September, but she refused to go out with him. Plaintiff testified that McLaughlin made inappropriate remarks to her, such as suggesting that she owed him a kiss in return for office furniture he purchased for her. The situation continued until late December when, according to plaintiff, McLaughlin talked to her in a very demeaning way, telling her she was very naive and not very smart. McLaughlin also criticized plaintiff for arriving at work late and receiving too many personal calls at work. Plaintiff opined at her deposition that McLaughlin's criticisms were prompted by her refusal to go out with him, although she admitted she arrived late for work and received personal calls there. Plaintiff further testified that she was very upset after her conversation with McLaughlin and that she talked to Rebeccah Shepard, a fellow employee, about her conversation with McLaughlin and told Shepard about the earlier incident in September. Shepard, who had supervisory responsibilities over some of the employees in the Atlanta office, informed Harvey Brooks, the executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Fox-Morris, of the incident. Tom Glynn, president of the corporation, came to Atlanta to talk with plaintiff. Plaintiff repeated her story to Glynn, who also questioned McLaughlin about the incident. McLaughlin was then relieved of his managerial duties and moved to another office, where he worked alone. Plaintiff said she had no further problem with McLaughlin after that time, although she did see him on several occasions when he came into the Perimeter Center office. Plaintiff testified, however, that she eventually sought other employment because she was upset and depressed and found it difficult to continue working at Fox-Morris because of the unpleasant manner in which she was treated by some of the other employees in the office.
1. (a) Plaintiff first contends that Fox-Morris knew or reasonably should have known of McLaughlin's reputation for sexual harassment. " Favors v. Alco Mfg. Co., 186 Ga.App. 480, 483(3), 367 S.E.2d 328 (1988). In this case it is undisputed that the principals of Fox-Morris had no actual knowledge concerning inappropriate sexual conduct by McLaughlin directed towards other employees until they received notice of the incident giving rise to this lawsuit. The question then becomes whether Fox-Morris, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known of any alleged misconduct on McLaughlin's part of a sexually harassing nature. Id. at 483, 367 S.E.2d 328.
As to this issue, the record shows Fox-Morris submitted both affidavits and deposition testimony from other employees of the Atlanta office, in which the witnesses stated they were unaware of any prior similar occurrences or instances involving McLaughlin, that such behavior was out of character for McLaughlin and that...
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