Martin v. Baer

• Decision Date: 17 April 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-3230,90-3230
• Citation: 928 F.2d 1067
• Parties: Robert Dale MARTIN, Plaintiff-Counterdefendant-Appellant, v. Deborah D. BAER, et al., Defendants-Counterclaimants, United Automobile Workers Union, Local 323, Gerald R. Rhoden, International Union, United Automobile Workers Union, Defendants, General Motors Corporation, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1067

928 F.2d 1067

6 Indiv.Empl.Rts.Cas. 663

Robert Dale MARTIN, Plaintiff-Counterdefendant-Appellant, v. Deborah D. BAER, et al., Defendants-Counterclaimants United Automobile Workers Union, Local 323, Gerald R Rhoden, International Union, United Automobile Workers Union, Defendants General Motors Corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 90-3230.

United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit.

April 17, 1991.

Alan Michael Foody, Noe & Eakin, Atlantic Beach, Fla., for plaintiff-counterdefendant-appellant.

Gavin S. Appelby, Paul T. Stagliano, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky, & Walker, Atlanta, Ga., for defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before FAY and JOHNSON, Circuit Judges, and PECK, Senior Circuit Judge ^*.

FAY, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-appellant Robert Dale Martin appeals an order granting summary judgement in favor of defendant-appellee General Motors Corporation ("GM"). Martin claims that the district court erred in failing to find under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) that any genuine issues of material fact existed in connection with three counts in Martin's complaint seeking relief from GM for "Breach of Contract," "Infliction of Emotional Distress," and "Tortious Nonfeasance and Excessive Publication of Slanderous Statements." Because we agree with the district court that no material fact issues exist in relation to any of these claims, we AFFIRM the order of summary judgment in favor of GM.

I. FACTS

Appellant Martin was initially hired by GM in 1961 as an hourly employee at GM's Chevrolet National Parts Distribution Facility in Flint, Michigan (now referred to as a Service Parts Organization ("SPO") facility). In 1964, Martin was promoted to a supervisory position, and purportedly ¹ signed a standard form employment agreement. ² Except for approximately two years in the late 1970's when he was employed in a planning capacity, Martin remained a level six supervisor for the rest of his GM career. ³

In 1984, Martin requested and was granted a transfer from GM's Flint, Michigan SPO facility to a similar parts facility in Jacksonville, Florida. Martin alleges that the leadership of Local 323 of the United Automobile Workers, which represents the hourly production employees at GM's Jacksonville facility, began to create and disseminate rumors about him shortly after his arrival in Jacksonville. According to Martin, the first rumor that surfaced in 1984 was that he was a homosexual. The rumor was allegedly part of an organized union "smear campaign" to undermine Martin's supervisory authority, or to have him discharged from GM's Jacksonville facility. Martin contends that this alleged "smear campaign" was similarly the source of two additional rumors spread about him some time around the spring of 1985: that he was having sexual relations with several women in the facility, and that he was attempting to buy or sell illegal drugs. According to GM, the vagueness of the rumors made them difficult to evaluate. Nevertheless, GM promptly investigated the rumors of buying and selling drugs after specific charges were alleged. The investigation failed to uncover any facts to support the allegations, and GM found no basis for pursuing the matter further. ⁴

Another rumor concerning Martin began circulating in 1986. This time, the allegation was that Martin had sexually harassed Betty Brown, a female hourly employee at the Jacksonville facility. On May 19, 1986, Robert Roviaro, GM's Local Personnel Director and Labor Relations Representative, notified Calvin Shiver, the Regional Labor Relations Director, of the existence of the rumor. Another allegation of sexual harassment came to Shiver's attention in mid-November. ⁵ During this time, both Martin and GM agree that Martin repeatedly demanded of company officials on numerous occasions that investigations be made in accordance with GM's formal policies, and that hourly workers be punished for making the allegedly false claims against him. GM's position is that it never accepted or rejected the merits of Martin's claim, because it had insufficient evidence upon which to make a determination of the veracity of Martin's charges. According to GM, Calvin Shiver's investigation of sexual harassment allegations involving Martin between September and December, 1986, essentially was inconclusive. ⁶ In December, 1986, Shiver requested GM's Divisional Personnel Director in Flint, Michigan, to investigate the rumors of sexual harassment involving Martin. Shiver continued to investigate the allegations through at least April or May of 1987.

In January of 1987, Betty Brown and Deborah Baer filed formal sexual harassment grievances against Martin, which involved conduct that had allegedly occurred as early as May of 1986. ⁷ GM requested Local 323 to provide factual support for these allegations. After numerous requests, the union finally provided the supporting data to the company in April, and according to GM, Shiver immediately provided this material to Martin. Shiver requested Martin to assist him in responding to the grievances. Although Martin apparently prepared a reply, he never gave it to either his supervisors or Shiver. Soon thereafter, in May, 1987, Martin requested and took sick leave, from which he never returned. Martin was classified as totally and permanently disabled. He subsequently applied for and received a disability retirement from GM.

Like Martin, Deborah Baer also left GM in the spring of 1987, and began working for the United States Postal Service. In addition to her grievance, she filed a charge of sexual harassment with both the Jacksonville Equal Opportunity Commission ("JEOC") and the EEOC, naming Martin as the individual who had committed the violation. ⁸ The investigation of this charge was assigned, at the suggestion of Shiver, to Lovina Springer, an EEOC coordinator in GM's division office in Michigan who usually reviews such cases. She began an investigation of the claims against Martin in May, 1987.

At the conclusion of its investigations, GM was unable to determine the truth or falsity of the sexual harassment allegations against Martin. With regard to the Baer complaint, the JEOC ultimately concluded that there was no reason to believe that harassment had occurred. The EEOC accepted this finding, although by this time Martin had already filed suit against Brown and Baer.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Martin originally filed two substantively identical but separate actions in the Circuit Court of Duval County, Florida, against Deborah Baer and Betty Brown. Both cases were removed to federal court and ultimately consolidated before the Honorable Howell Melton of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Along the way, Martin amended his complaint several times to add as named defendants Local 323 of the United Automobile Workers Union ("UAW"); Gerald Rhoden, an officer of Local 323; the International UAW; and GM. Following discovery, GM filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, to which Martin responded. While GM's motion was pending, all defendants except GM settled with Martin. On February 13, 1990, the district court entered an order granting GM's motion for summary judgment, and dismissing Martin's claims against GM. Martin filed his timely Notice of Appeal on March 9, 1990.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This is an appeal from an order granting summary judgment. Our review is plenary, and we apply the same legal standards as those that controlled the district court in determining whether summary judgment is appropriate. Computel, Inc. v. Emery Air Freight Corp., 919 F.2d 678, 680 (11th Cir.1990) (citing Hoffman v. Allied Corp., 912 F.2d 1379, 1382-83 (11th Cir.1990)); Thrasher v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 734 F.2d 637, 638 (11th Cir.1984)). We therefore examine the record in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and resolve all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of the nonmovant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2513, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Computel, 919 F.2d at 680; Hoffman, 912 F.2d at 1382-83; Bannum, Inc. v. City of Ft. Lauderdale, 901 F.2d 989, 996 (11th Cir.1990). If "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact," summary judgment is proper and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Moreover, "the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. at 2510 (emphasis in original).

IV. DISCUSSION

As suggested by the factual background above, the gist of Martin's suit has been that the Local UAW and the International UAW, with the assistance of other individuals also formerly named as defendants, engaged in a "smear campaign" to discredit Martin by spreading allegedly false and scandalous information about him. According to Martin, this information primarily consisted of allegations that he was homosexual, sexually promiscuous, used or sold drugs, and harassed or physically fondled female employees at GM's Jacksonville plant. Martin's claims against GM are based upon alleged excessive publication of the rumors by GM company representatives, and upon an alleged failure of GM to take corrective action once company officials were made aware of the rumors.

Specifically, Martin sought relief from GM on three counts: Count IV, "Breach of Contract"; Count V, "Infliction of Emotional Distress"; and Count VI, "Tortious Nonfeasance and Excessive Publication of Slanderous Statements." His principal argument on appeal is that certain factual...