Trujillo v. Nora, 26,542.

• Citation: 2002 NMSC 4,41 P.3d 333,131 N.M. 594
• Decision Date: 06 December 2001
• Docket Number: No. 26,542.,26,542.
• Parties: Frank TRUJILLO and Lorraine Trujillo, Plaintiffs-Appellees and Cross-Appellants, v. NORTHERN RIO ARRIBA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC., Defendant-Appellant and Cross-Appellee.
• Court: Supreme Court of New Mexico

41 P.3d 333

131 N.M. 594

2002 NMSC 4

Frank TRUJILLO and Lorraine Trujillo, Plaintiffs-Appellees and Cross-Appellants, v. NORTHERN RIO ARRIBA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC., Defendant-Appellant and Cross-Appellee.

No. 26,542.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

December 6, 2001.

Rehearing Denied February 21, 2002.

Herrera, Long and Pound, P.A., Judith C. Herrera, Mark E. Komer, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellant.

Linda G. Hemphill, Annie-Laurie Coogan, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellees.

OPINION

FRANCHINI, Justice.

{1} Northern Rio Arriba Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NORA) appeals from a jury verdict granting damages to Frank and Lorraine Trujillo. Frank Trujillo had pursued a discrimination claim against NORA under the New Mexico Human Rights Act, NMSA 1978, §§ 28-1-1 to -15 (1969, as amended through 1993, prior to 1995, 2000, & 2001 amendments), alleging that NORA discriminated against him because of a medical condition when they fired him. See NMSA 1978, § 28-1-7(A) (1987, prior to 1995 & 2001 amendments). Plaintiffs subsequently filed a complaint in the district court for a trial de novo under NMSA 1978, § 28-1-13(A) (1987), and alleged additional claims, including Mrs. Trujillo's claim for loss of consortium. After a five-day trial, the jury returned a verdict favorable to Mr. and Mrs. Trujillo on all claims, finding that the firing of Mr. Trujillo violated the Human Rights Act and public policy, breached an implied contract of employment, intentionally inflicted severe emotional distress on Mr. Trujillo, and caused a loss of consortium for his wife. The trial court subsequently awarded attorney's fees and costs to the Trujillo attorneys. NORA filed an appeal directly to this Court under Section 28-1-13(C) of the Human Rights Act, arguing that the trial court erred in submitting the Trujillos' claims to the jury. Plaintiffs filed a cross-appeal seeking an increase in the amount of attorney's fees and various costs. We reverse the judgment in favor of Plaintiffs, thereby rendering the cross-appeal moot.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

{2} NORA is a cooperative nonprofit corporation with approximately fifteen employees. In 1995, Mr. Trujillo was employed by NORA in the billing department as a computer operator and billing clerk and had been with the cooperative for thirteen years. In the fall of 1994, after the cooperative had been cautioned by the certified public accounting firm that performed its annual audit about various irregularities, NORA began an internal audit to identify where the record-keeping and collection problems were occurring. On February 8, 1995, the three employees in the billing department, including Mr. Trujillo, attended a seminar designed to address billing errors and revenue losses that had been identified by the audit. At the seminar, which was intended to last several days, the employees were asked to report any billing problems they might know about that had not yet been uncovered by the audit. The following morning, Mr. Trujillo felt fatigued and told his co-workers that he had been dizzy and disoriented while driving to work. He left work early and did not come in the following day, which was Friday, but rather went to see a doctor. The following Monday, when Mr. Trujillo told the general manager of the symptoms he was experiencing, NORA placed him on sick leave to recuperate. {3} Relying on the symptoms Mr. Trujillo reported to her, the doctor's working hypothesis was that they might represent a "transient ischemic attack like syndrome." Concerned that the episode might be a precursor to a stroke,¹ she referred Mr. Trujillo to several specialists for diagnostic testing. Mr. Trujillo underwent a cerebrovascular evaluation on February 24, 1995, with "unremarkable" results. The results of a treadmill test and an EKG fell within normal limits. On March 3, 1995, he had both an EEG and MRI of the brain; those tests did not reveal any problems.

{4} Based on these test results, Mr. Trujillo was cleared by his doctor to return to work on a part-time basis on March 7, 1995. Upon receiving the work release, NORA's general manager tried to contact the doctor by telephone and also sent a letter by facsimile asking for more information about the part-time work restriction. He received no response from the doctor. When Mr. Trujillo returned to work on March 13, 1995, he had been on sick leave for approximately a month. Upon return, he met with the general manager to discuss further concerns about Mr. Trujillo's job performance and additional problems with his work that had been discovered during his absence. The additional problems included delays in billing and inaccurate records which had resulted in lost and delayed revenues of thousands of dollars. With regard to the work release, the general manager stated that he was hesitant about having Mr. Trujillo work part-time hours and that he wanted him working full time. Following their discussion, the general manager placed Mr. Trujillo on administrative leave with pay.

{5} The following week, NORA sent Mr. Trujillo a letter advising him that his employment with NORA would be terminated as of March 20, 1995. The letter also described NORA's loss of confidence in Mr. Trujillo based on the shortcomings in his job performance. Under NORA's appeal process, Mr. Trujillo requested the Board of Directors to reinstate him. After his appeal was denied, he filed a claim under the Human Rights Act and then pursued a trial in District Court from which this appeal ensues.

II. DISCUSSION

{6} NORA argues on appeal that it was error for the trial court to have submitted to the jury the claims related to the Human Rights Act, discharge due to medical condition and failure to accommodate. NORA also contends that it was error to submit the additional claims of retaliatory discharge, breach of implied contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium, and punitive damages. In the proceedings below, NORA had filed a motion for summary judgment and motions for directed verdict at the close of the Trujillos' case and before submission to the jury in which they argued that the evidence presented was legally insufficient to sustain the Trujillo's claims. Over NORA's objection, the trial court instructed the jury on all claims.

{7} We treat NORA's argument as challenging the sufficiency of the evidence upon which the jury based its verdict. See Gonzales v. N.M. Dep't of Health, 2000-NMSC-029, ¶ 18, 129 N.M. 586, 11 P.3d 550

. If the verdict below is supported by substantial evidence, which we have defined as "such relevant evidence that a reasonable mind would find adequate to support a conclusion," we will affirm the result. See Landavazo v. Sanchez, 111 N.M. 137, 138, 802 P.2d 1283, 1284 (1990). In assessing whether the evidence is sufficient as a matter of law to justify the jury's verdict, we review all evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and resolve all conflicts in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. Smith v. FDC Corp., 109 N.M. 514, 519, 787 P.2d 433, 438 (1990).

A. Claims under the Human Rights Act.

{8} Mr. Trujillo claimed that NORA discriminated against him in violation of the Human Rights Act when it fired him because of a medical condition. Under the Human Rights Act, an employer is prohibited from discharging "any person otherwise qualified because of ... medical condition." Section 28-1-7(A). In interpreting our state Human Rights Act, we have previously indicated that it is appropriate to rely upon federal adjudication for guidance in analyzing a claim under the Act, with the following reservation:

Our reliance on the methodology developed in the federal courts, however, should not be interpreted as an indication that we have adopted federal law as our own. Our analysis of this claim is based on New Mexico statute and our interpretation of our legislature's intent, and, by this opinion, we are not binding New Mexico law to interpretations made by the federal courts of the federal statute.

Smith, 109 N.M. at 517, 787 P.2d at 436; see Kitchell v. Pub. Serv. Co., 1998-NMSC-051, ¶¶ 5-8, 126 N.M. 525, 972 P.2d 344 (relying on federal authority to aid in the interpretation of the phrase "otherwise qualified" in relation to a claim of discrimination based on medical condition). For this claim, the closest federal counterpart would be the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (1994) (ADA), a federal statute prohibiting discrimination against persons with a disability. The Tenth Circuit has stated that in order to maintain a disability discrimination claim under the ADA, a plaintiff must demonstrate "(1) that he [or she] is a disabled person within the meaning of the ADA; (2) that he [or she] is qualified ...; and (3) that the employer terminated him [or her] because of the disability." White v. York Int'l Corp., 45 F.3d 357, 360-61 (10th Cir.1995). See generally 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). Although the New Mexico statute uses the terms "medical condition" or "handicap" rather than the ADA term "disability," we believe in the context of this case that the terms can be viewed as interchangeable.

1. Medical Condition.

{9} NORA argues that Mr. Trujillo did not present sufficient evidence of a medical condition to support a claim under the terms of the Human Rights Act. The applicable regulations of the New Mexico Human Rights Division define a medical condition as "any medical condition as defined by an appropriate medical authority through documentation, or by direct witness of a clearly visible disablement." Rules & Regulations, N.M. Dep't of Labor, Human Rights Division, I(A)(26) (Nov. 11, 1988) (superceded 1998).

{10} NORA's objections to the jury verdict are twofold. First, they argue that the symptoms reported by Mr. Trujillo in February and March were insufficient to establish that he had a medical condition. Second, they contend that the medical evidence presented by the psychiatrist...