Lyons v. Midwest Glazing
| Decision Date | 06 June 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. C01-3071-MWB.,C01-3071-MWB. |
| Citation | 265 F.Supp.2d 1061 |
| Parties | Roger LYONS, Plaintiff, v. MIDWEST GLAZING, d/b/a Eddy's Glass & Door, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
Patricia L. Hoffman-Simanek, Mark L. Zaiger, Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, Cedar Rapids, IA, for defendant.
Randall E. Nielsen, Pappajohm-Shriver Eide Nicholas, Mason City, IA, for plaintiff.
After a one-day bench trial in this breach-of-contract case, the court is called upon to put an end to an acrimonious employment relationship that began five and one-half years ago when the defendant purchased the plaintiffs step-father's business. The defendant terminated the plaintiff, purportedly because he was a "poison pill" to the morale of the defendant's workforce. The plaintiff, however, disputes this allegation and argues in this lawsuit that the defendant did not have cause to terminate him, and he seeks damages for the defendant's alleged breach of their employment contract.
Roger Lyons and his mother, Gretchen Eddy, initiated this lawsuit against Midwest Glazing, L.L.C., doing business as Eddy's Glass & Door, ("Midwest Glazing" and "Eddy's Glass & Door"), in Iowa District Court in and for Winnebago County on July 23, 2001. Midwest Glazing filed a notice of removal on August 21, 2001 and sought to remove the plaintiffs' lawsuit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(b). Removal was proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 because, among other causes of action, the plaintiffs alleged violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. and the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201.1 The plaintiffs also alleged breach of contract, abuse of process, and defamation, and they sought punitive and actual damages. On March 28, 2002, Midwest Glazing filed an amended and substituted answer in which it asserted counterclaims against Mr. Lyons for tortious interference and breach of fiduciary duty. The court had supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' and Midwest Glazing's state-law claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367.
On November 4, 2002, Midwest Glazing moved for partial summary judgment on plaintiff Lyons's claims for abuse of process, defamation, and violation of the FMLA. Midwest Glazing also sought partial summary judgment on the issue of damages recoverable for breach of contract and on Mr. Lyons's claim for punitive damages. On December 18, 2002, this court granted Midwest Glazing's summary judgment motion on each ground raised by the defendant with the exception of Mr. Lyons's breach-of-contract claim.
On that claim, the court granted Midwest Glazing's summary judgment motion insofar as it argued Mr. Lyons was not entitled to recover emotional distress damages or punitive damages. Midwest Glazing also argued that Mr. Lyons was precluded from recovering any actual damages beyond the limited three-week period during which he was unemployed, because Mr. Lyons commands a higher annual salary at his new position than he did at Midwest Glazing. Mr. Lyons resisted this contention and argued that he should be allowed to recover the value to him of his time because his new employer has more rigorous time demands and of his vacation time which he lost with his new employer. On these points, the parties did not cite to any controlling authority or on-point case-law, and the court opined that, failing any direction from the parties, the most prudent route would be to proceed to trial on that claim.
Moreover, Mr. Lyons accepted Midwest Glazing's offer of settlement on his FLSA claim, made pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68, on November 19, 2002, and the parties stipulated to the dismissal of Mrs. Eddy from this lawsuit on December 30, 2002. Thus, Mr. Lyons's breach-of-contract claim and Midwest Glazing's counter-claims against Mr. Lyons were the sole claims remaining to be tried.
Mr. Lyons had originally filed a demand for a jury trial but later waived a jury, and the parties announced their intention to try this matter to the court. The court held a one-day bench trial on April 23, 2003 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. At this trial, Mr. Lyons was represented by Randall E. Nielsen of Pappajohn, Shriver, Eide & Nicholas, P.C., Mason City, Iowa. Midwest Glazing was represented by Mark L. Zaiger of Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C., Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
At the conclusion of the parties' well-prepared and efficient presentation of evidence, the parties and the court agreed to hold closing arguments telephonically on May 7, 2003. The court finds that this case is now ripe for disposition.
Following a bench trial, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52 directs a district court to articulate its findings of fact and conclusions of law: "In all actions tried upon the facts without a jury or with an advisory jury, the court shall find the facts specially and state separately its conclusions of law thereon. . . ." FED. R. Crv. P. 52(a). A court may then enter judgment FED. R. CIV. P. 58. In reviewing a district court's order entering judgment after a bench trial, the court of appeals reviews the district court's factual findings for clear error and reviews its legal conclusions de novo. FED. R. CIV. P. 52(a); Speer v. City of Wynne, Ark, 276 F.3d 980, 984-85 (8th Cir.2002). "Under this standard, [the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals] overturn[s] a factual finding only if it is not supported by substantial evidence in the record, if the finding is based on an erroneous view of the law, or if [the appellate court is] left with the definite and firm conviction that an error has been made." Estate of Davis v. Delo, 115 F.3d 1388, 1393-94 (8th Cir.1997). In addition, a reviewing court gives due regard to the opportunity of the district court to judge the credibility of the witnesses. Id.; FED. R. Civ. P. 52(a).
The parties do not dispute the large majority of factual matters underlying this case. Nonetheless, the court will not distinguish between the facts to which the parties have stipulated and the facts that require the court to resolve conflicting testimony. The court notes, however, that most of the conflicting testimony pertains to the fighting issue in this case—whether or not Midwest Glazing had cause to terminate Mr. Lyons's employment.
Eddy's Glass & Door was formed by Douglas Eddy in Forest City, Iowa as a glazing and overhead door company. Mr. Lyons was Mr. Eddy's step-son, and he had begun intermittently working for Eddy's Glass & Door when he was in high school and began full-time employment there in 1987. Mr. Lyons worked primarily in the company's overhead door department as a salesperson and installation technician.
When Mr. Eddy died on October 21, 1996, his will provided that the business be sold and made part of the estate. Mrs. Eddy, on behalf of the Estate of Douglas Eddy, sold Eddy's Glass & Door to Midwest Glazing on December 29, 1997. Mr. Lyons and another long-time employee of Eddy's Glass & Door, Kermith Balvance, were third-party beneficiaries of Mrs. Eddy's sale agreement with Midwest Glazing. Specifically, paragraph 7 of the sales agreement provided:
Buyer [Midwest Glazing] agrees to offer employment to all employees currently employed by Eddy's Glass and Door as of said date of closing for a period of not less than six months from said date and further agrees to maintain the employment of key employees, namely: Kermith Balvance and Roger Lyons subject only to termination for cause on the part of said employees or voluntary resignation or termination at the option of said employees.
[Exh. MG1].
Management difficulties were apparent from the outset of Midwest Glazing's purchase of Eddy's Glass & Door. Midwest Glazing's headquarters are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa—approximately 165 miles from Eddy's Glass & Door in Forest City, Iowa. Because of the distance, strong local management was particularly important. After acquiring Eddy's Glass & Door in 1997, Midwest Glazing sought to fill the "branch manager" position at Eddy's Glass & Door. This position was salaried, and the person who filled it would be responsible for overseeing the daily operations at Eddy's Glass & Door and would report to Jeff Driscoll, Midwest Glazing's Operations Manager, in Cedar Rapids.
Midwest Glazing first offered the branch manager position to Mr. Lyons, but he declined the invitation. Instead, Mr. Lyons assumed the newly-created Product Manager position, in which he managed the Eddy's Glass & Door's overhead door department. As the...
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