McCracken v. City of Chinook, s. 89-160
| Decision Date | 17 April 1990 |
| Docket Number | 89-385,Nos. 89-160,s. 89-160 |
| Parties | , 116 Lab.Cas. P 56,316 John M. McCRACKEN and James Waggoner, Plaintiffs, Appellants and Cross-Appellants, v. CITY OF CHINOOK, Montana, Defendant, Respondent and Appellant. |
| Court | Montana Supreme Court |
Patrick F. Flaherty, Flaherty & Winner, Robert Emmons, Great Falls, for plaintiffs, appellants and cross-appellants.
Darcy Crum, James Gray & McCafferty, Great Falls, for defendant, respondent and appellant.
John McCracken and James Waggoner appeal from an order of the Seventeenth Judicial District, Blaine County, granting summary judgment to respondent, the City of Chinook, and assessing sanctions against the appellants. The lower court found that the appellants voluntarily terminated their employment, and therefore dismissed their cause of action alleging wrongful discharge. We affirm.
The issues in this case are:
1. Whether the District Court erred in concluding that no genuine issue of material fact existed that appellants were not terminated by the City but instead quit.
2. Whether the District Court erred by assessing Rule 11 sanctions against the appellants.
Because this is an appeal from an order granting summary judgment, we review the facts in a light most favorable to the appellants.
John McCracken and James Waggoner were both police officers in Chinook, Montana. McCracken was hired on October 14, 1983 and Waggoner was hired on January 1, 1982. Both left the police department shortly past midnight on July 31, 1984.
During their careers, McCracken and Waggoner were the subject of much controversy concerning their performance while on duty. McCracken, for his part, was involved in an arrest of Pete Doney on December 5, 1983. Following this arrest, Doney alleged that he had been assaulted by McCracken and another police officer, Jerry Liese. An investigation of the incident ensued and charges were brought against McCracken before the Police Commission. Felony charges were also filed in state district court relative to this incident. The judge found probable cause to exist and allowed an information to be filed. As a result of these charges, McCracken was suspended by the Mayor of Chinook pending a full investigation by the Police Commission.
The Police Commission hearing was held on March 7, 1984. This hearing resulted in all charges against McCracken being dismissed. Eventually, the felony charges pending in district court were also dismissed. McCracken was reinstated as a police officer and awarded back pay.
Waggoner was also subject to allegations of misconduct. In May of 1984, he was a participant in a fight with Ray Nez Perce at the Elk's Bar in Chinook. As a result of this incident, he was charged and eventually convicted of disorderly conduct.
McCracken and Waggoner were also accused of an incident involving joint misconduct. There are completely different accounts of this event, however both admit that the incident was part of the reason they are no longer members of the police force.
According to the appellants' brief, McCracken and Waggoner were caught swimming in an irrigation ditch with a young woman. Their story is unclear, however it appears as though the participants were in various stages of undress while they were swimming. It is conceded that this incident was a result of poor judgment by the police officers.
The City presents a totally different version of the event. According to their brief, McCracken and Waggoner went to a house occupied by Pete Doney, Ray and Frank Nez Perce and the woman. When they arrived at the house, McCracken pushed open the door, and entered and invited the woman to go skinny dipping. The woman refused this request and the following day charges were filed against McCracken for trespass. Eventually these charges were dropped.
As a result of these events, the police officers' relationship with their employer, the City of Chinook, became very strained. According to McCracken and Waggoner, the Mayor began earnestly seeking their resignation. He also threatened to fire them on occasion. Finally, at midnight on July 31, 1984, at 12:43 a.m., the police officers called into the dispatcher and checked out "permanently 10-10, 10-42." In police terminology, 10-10 is the code for off-shift and 10-42 is the code for notifying the dispatcher that the officer is now home. According to the dispatcher's testimony, Waggoner's statement meant to her, that he was quitting. The appellants never returned to work.
According to the City, the police officers' actions were a voluntary termination of employment. Waggoner's and McCracken's resignations took them by complete surprise and as a result, the City was left without police protection during the early morning hours of July 31.
The police officers, however, steadfastly maintain that they were either forced to resign or were fired and that the City knew they would be permanently off shift as of 12:00 a.m. According to McCracken's summary of the events, he and Waggoner were summoned to the Mayor's office in the afternoon of July 30. The Mayor then informed McCracken that due to a reorganization of the police force, he would be laid off. Apparently the police chief was stepping down to patrolman and a new chief was going to be hired. Since McCracken had the least amount of seniority, he would be the one to be discharged.
Waggoner on the other hand maintains that he had been subject to repeated demands to resign. Finally the Mayor told him that if he did not quit he would be fired. However, if he quietly resigned the City would give him a good recommendation which could be used to get a job elsewhere. According to Waggoner he complied with the Mayor's request and tendered a "forced" resignation. He maintains that the Mayor accepted the resignation and that he was under the impression that he too, would be relieved of all duties as of 12:00 a.m., July 31.
Apparently Waggoner's written resignation was never accepted by the City. He states that the Mayor told him he would sign the acceptance of the resignation the following day. The resignation was never signed by the Mayor, however, and the City maintains it was never accepted due to conditions contained therein.
On February 19, 1986, Waggoner and McCracken filed a complaint alleging wrongful...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Traders State Bank of Poplar v. Mann
...standard in reviewing a grant of summary judgment is the same as that initially utilized by the trial court. McCracken v. City of Chinook (1990), 242 Mont. 21, 24, 788 P.2d 892, 894. Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, depositions, and other documents on file demonstrate tha......
-
Howell v. State
...standard in reviewing a grant of summary judgment is the same as that initially utilized by the trial court. McCracken v. City of Chinook (1990), 242 Mont. 21, 24, 788 P.2d 892, 894. Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, depositions, and other documents on file demonstrate tha......
-
Sorensen v. Farmers Ins. Exchange
...material issues of fact exist and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. McCracken v. City of Chinook (1990), 242 Mont. 21, 24, 788 P.2d 892, 894; Rule 56(c), M.R.Civ.P. In this case, the material facts are undisputed. We therefore limit our review to the corre......
-
Nentwig v. United Industry, Inc.
...Rule 56(c), M.R.Civ.P. On appeal, this Court applies the same standard as that applied by the trial court. McCracken v. City of Chinook (1990), 242 Mont. 21, 24-25, 788 P.2d 892, 894. We first address the issue of whether the option provision in the lease was void for vagueness or indefinit......