Sterling v. Upjohn Healthcare Services, Inc., 88-277
| Citation | 299 Ark. 278,772 S.W.2d 329 |
| Decision Date | 26 June 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-277,88-277 |
| Parties | , 4 IER Cases 920 Robert STERLING, Appellant, v. UPJOHN HEALTHCARE SERVICES, INC. and Steve Warren, Appellees. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Arkansas |
Perroni, Rauls & Looney, P.A. by Stanley D. Rauls, Little Rock, for appellant.
Friday, Eldredge & Clark by James W. Moore and Michael S. Moore, Little Rock, for appellees.
This is an appeal from a summary judgment order in favor of the appellees, dismissing the appellant's claim for the tort of outrage, or intentional infliction of emotional distress. A separate count for slanderremains to be decided, but the trial court entered an appropriate order under ARCP Rule 54(b), allowing the appellant to appeal on this separate issue. We affirm the trial court's order granting summary judgment on the count for the tort of outrage.
The proof submitted with a summary judgment motion must be viewed most favorably to the party resisting the motion, Leigh Winham, Inc. v. Reynolds Ins. Agency, 279 Ark. 317, 651 S.W.2d 74 (1983); so we construe the facts most favorably to the appellant in this case, Robert Sterling. The facts, so viewed, are as follows. Sterling was hired as an administrator for Upjohn Healthcare Services, Inc. on June 16, 1984. He supervised employees in the Little Rock office of Upjohn, and he, in turn, was supervised by Steve Warren who was with the company's regional office in Kansas City. Warren took a dislike to Sterling, and from about August 1, 1984, until December 1985 made various attempts to undermine Sterling's authority with his employees and to have him fired. Warren falsely told other Upjohn employees that Sterling was always drunk, falsely accused Sterling of making untrue statements on his job application, delayed the processing of Sterling's expense vouchers, as well as those of other employees who would blame Sterling for the delay, asked employees under Sterling's supervision to watch Sterling and report back to him periodically, instructed Sterling not to communicate with other employees and to route all questions to him, and finally, cursed Sterling, becoming violent when discussing him with other employees.
Sterling contends that Warren's conduct made it impossible for him to perform his duties as administrator. He resigned his position on December 7, 1985, but the company refused to accept the resignation and fired him on December 11, 1985. Sterling was denied unemployment benefits because Upjohn reported that he was fired for failing to follow a direct management order, spending work time on personal business ventures, and for gross misconduct.
Sterling filed suit...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Kentucky Fried Chicken Nat. Management Co. v. Weathersby
...... because an employer must be given a certain amount of latitude in dealing with employees." Sterling v. Upjohn Health Care Services, Inc., 299 Ark. 278, 772 S.W.2d 329, 330 (1989) (citations omitted). See also Ingram v. Perelli Cable Corp., 295 Ark. 154, 747 S.W.2d 103, 105 (1988) (citin......
-
Faulkner v. Arkansas Children's Hosp.
...12(b)(6), even though the plaintiff's boss had actually been physically violent toward him. Likewise, in Sterling v. Upjohn Healthcare Serv., Inc., 299 Ark. 278, 772 S.W.2d 329 (1989), this court upheld the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the defendant, despite the plaintiff's em......
-
Poindexter v. Armstrong, Civil No. 93-2028.
...open the doors of the courts to every slight insult or indignity one must endure in life. Likewise, in Sterling v. Upjohn Healthcare Services, Inc., 299 Ark. 278, 772 S.W.2d 329 (1989), we held that where an employee's supervisor had taken a dislike to him and made various attempts to under......
-
Faulkner v. Ar Childrens Hospital
...12(b)(6), even though the plaintiff's boss had actually been physically violent toward him. Likewise, in Sterling v. Upjohn Healthcare Serv., Inc., 299 Ark. 278, 772 S.W.2d 329 (1989), this court upheld the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the defendant, despite the plaintiff's em......
-
Related State Torts
...ordinary employment dispute and into the realm of extreme and outrageous conduct. See also Sterling v. Upjohn Healthcare Services, Inc. , 299 Ark. 278, 280, 772 S.W.2d 329, 330 (Ark. 1989) (“We have taken a strict view of claims for outrage in employment situations. This is because an emplo......