Motion Industries, Inc. v. Pate

• Decision Date: 15 March 1996
• Citation: 678 So.2d 724
• Parties: MOTION INDUSTRIES, INC. v. Robert Theron PATE. 1940250.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Page 724

678 So.2d 724

MOTION INDUSTRIES, INC. v. Robert Theron PATE.

1940250.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

March 15, 1996.

Robert N. Godfrey and Suzanne J. Mulliken of Smith, Currie & Hancock, Atlanta, Georgia, for Appellant.

Anna Lee Giattina of Anna Lee Giattina, P.C., Birmingham, and Bill Thomason of Paden & Thomason, Bessemer, for Appellee.

SHORES, Justice.

Motion Industries, Inc. ("Motion"), appeals a judgment based on a jury verdict in favor of Robert Theron Pate on his complaint alleging a retaliatory discharge. See § 25-5-11.1, Ala.Code 1975. The jury awarded $40,000 in compensatory damages and $210,000 in punitive damages. Motion argues for reversal on several grounds: that the trial court erred in submitting Pate's retaliatory discharge claim to the jury because, it argues, Pate did not prove that he was discharged, or, assuming that he was discharged, did not prove that his workers' compensation claim was the sole determining factor for the termination; that the jury's compensatory damages verdict was contrary to the great weight of the evidence; that the trial court erred in submitting the punitive damages claim; ¹ and that evidence regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. ("ADA"), was erroneously admitted and misled the jury.

Both at the close of Pate's case and also at the close of all the evidence, Motion moved for a directed verdict. After the court entered a judgment on the jury verdict in favor of Pate, Motion moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or, in the alternative, for a new trial. The trial court denied both. After carefully considering the record, this Court affirms.

I. The Retaliatory Discharge Claim

Motion argues that Pate's claim of a retaliatory discharge is not supported by substantial evidence and that the trial court erred in denying its motions for a directed verdict and a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. In reviewing the denial of motions for directed verdict and J.N.O.V., this Court must apply the same standard the trial court applies to its rulings on the motions. Gold Kist, Inc. v. Griffin, 657 So.2d 826 (Ala.1994); Continental Eagle Corp. v. Mokrzycki, 611 So.2d 313 (Ala.1992). This Court determines whether the party with the burden of proof produced sufficient evidence to require a jury determination of the issue. Id. This Court must view the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party and must entertain such reasonable inferences as the jury would have been free to draw. Id.

Section 25-5-11.1 provides:

"No employee shall be terminated by an employer solely because the employee has instituted or maintained any action against the employer to recover workers' compensation benefits under this chapter or solely because the employee has filed a written notice of violation of a safety rule pursuant to subdivision (c)(4) of Section 25-5-11."

This section was enacted to offset the harsh effects of the employment-at-will doctrine. Morgan v. Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Ctr., 624 So.2d 560 (Ala.1993). As remedial legislation, this section is construed liberally to effect its purposes. Twilley v. Daubert Coated Prods., Inc., 536 So.2d 1364 (Ala.1988). For the beneficent goals of the workers' compensation chapter to be realized, the employee must be able to claim compensation for work-related injuries without being subject to reprisal. McClain v. Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 578 So.2d 1299 (Ala.1991).

An employee can establish a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge by proving that she or he was terminated for seeking workers' compensation benefits. That would be an impermissible reason for discharging an employee. The burden would then shift to the defendant employer to come forward with evidence that the employee was terminated for a legitimate reason; upon the employer's presentation of that evidence, the plaintiff would have to prove that the employer's reason was a pretext for an otherwise impermissible termination. Twilley v. Daubert Coated Prods., Inc., 536 So.2d 1364 (Ala.1988). The plaintiff does not have to "prove" that the employer's stated reason is not the true reason unless the defendant's evidence would be sufficient, in the absence of more evidence from the plaintiff, to require a directed verdict. Culbreth v. Woodham Plumbing Co., 599 So.2d 1120, 1122 (Ala.1992).

The defendant argues that, in the first place, it did not terminate Pate. It asserts that Pate remains on its payroll as an "inactive" employee on long-term disability. The evidence suggests a constructive termination, however, because, although he presented evidence that he was willing and able to work, he was not allowed to return to work following a back injury. Twilley, 536 So.2d 1364, 1365 (Ala.1988). See also National Security Insurance Co. v. Donaldson, 664 So.2d 871 (Ala.1995). Pate also presented substantial evidence of the elements of a retaliatory discharge. The evidence indicates that Pate was employed by Motion in June 1988 and that he worked both as an order picker and as a material handler before incurring an on-the-job back injury on July 18, 1989; that he was considered a hard worker, was well liked by his supervisors, and had demonstrated a willingness to learn as many jobs as he could in the warehouse so that he would be a more valuable employee; and that he had a good record of attendance and had used only a few days of his paid sick leave at the time of his injury.

Pate had worked at Motion's warehouse over one year when he was injured after lifting in succession two boxes, each weighing 175 pounds. He testified that he thought he had strained his back, but he did not report the problem at the time because, he said, he did not want to take off work and he thought the pain would go away. He did not recover as he had expected, so he reported the injury after his off day; Motion sent him to Dr. Richard Doering. Pate made a claim for workers' compensation benefits and received them until April 1990.

Dr. Doering, the company doctor, made an initial diagnosis of lumbar strain. This diagnosis was modified after Pate was given an epidural block at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, under the care of physicians other than Dr. Doering. Dr. Doering stated in his deposition that he believed Pate had an alcohol problem. His final diagnosis included peripheral neuropathy, which involves nerve damage in the extremities that can occur in persons who have abused alcohol. He based this conclusion on treatment at St. Vincent's Hospital administered by other doctors for Pate. As part of his back injury treatment, Pate was given an epidural block at St. Vincent's. Dr. Doering's testimony is conflicting as to the sequence of events, but apparently Pate suffered a seizure after, rather than before, the epidural block was administered. Pate was referred to an internist, who, according to Dr. Doering, determined that this was an alcohol withdrawal seizure. Dr. Doering stated that Pate had had no prior history of seizures. Dr. Doering then stated that radicular symptoms, which were not present in Pate according to Dr. Doering's initial diagnosis, were "felt to be secondary to alcohol." Dr. Doering admitted, when questioned by Pate's counsel, that he had no special training on the effects alcoholism would have on someone with Pate's injury and that he had done no tests himself on Pate for determining the validity of his conclusion that some of Pate's symptoms were related to alcohol abuse.

Pate's testimony was that the only injury he had ever suffered was an injury to his knee while serving with the military forces in Vietnam. He testified that he had had no problems with his back before the injury at Motion in July 1989. Pate stated that in the past he had drunk "too much liquor" but that he was currently sober. It was undisputed that drinking had never interfered with Pate's work at Motion. This conformed with evaluations by Motion, which were consistently positive. His first employee evaluation indicated "excellent" attendance and attitude, and all other categories were "satisfactory" or better. The evaluator noted, "Theron shows a desire to learn as much as he can and is a consistent worker." The record also shows that a second evaluation, occurring about one month before his injury, was positive in almost every category. The only less-than-satisfactory rating was a "fair" on productivity: "Theron needs to improve his line average." R.T. 44. Pate explained that at the time of that evaluation he had recently moved from the job of material handler to the job of order picker and was still adjusting to the new assignment.

Dr. Doering did not certify Pate to return to work until April 1990, because of the seriousness of Pate's injury, although Pate had continually urged Dr. Doering to allow him to return to work. The doctor recommended in his release letter that Pate refrain from any activity that required much driving, that he refrain from "prolonged standing," and that he refrain from lifting more than 15 to 20 pounds on a repetitive basis. He stated at his deposition (entered into evidence at trial) that those numbers were "kind of arbitrary," because of the difficulty of quantifying lifting restrictions. He also recommended that Pate be given a job in which he could move around a great deal of the time. Based on information indicating that Pate in his former capacity at Motion was required to lift 175 pounds on a regular basis, Dr. Doering would not certify Pate to return to his previous position.

Pate testified that he went straight from the doctor's office to Motion to resume work. He was told that he could not return to work without first talking to Joe Carmichael, warehouse distribution center manager, and that Carmichael was unavailable for a week. In the meantime, Motion received notice from Dr. Doering of Pate's release and his restrictions. When Pate was able to speak with Carmichael the...