166 Conn. App. 510
Conn. App. Ct.2016Background
- Annemarie Morrissey-Manter, a registered nurse of 32 years at Saint Francis, trimmed plastic from a transvenous pacer lead during an emergency when staff lacked an adapter; the patient then stabilized.
- Hospital disciplinary form characterized the act as tampering with a catheter/wire, noted physician concern, marked "termination" as appropriate, and plaintiff resigned in lieu of termination.
- Plaintiff sued asserting (among other claims) breach of implied employment contract, wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and spoliation of evidence; defendants moved for summary judgment on all counts.
- Defendants produced an employee handbook and policies disclaiming any contract other than at-will employment and permitting termination "with or without cause." Plaintiff relied on years of performance reviews, progressive discipline practice, merit pay, and retirement benefits to argue an implied contract.
- Trial court granted summary judgment for defendants on all counts; on appeal the court affirmed, concluding (1) no implied contract due to explicit at-will disclaimers, (2) plaintiff failed to identify or prove violation of a clearly articulated public policy, (3) covenant claim failed because no enforceable contract existed, and (4) no evidence of bad-faith spoliation of records or the pacer wire.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether an implied employment contract barred termination without cause | Morrisey-Manter argued long tenure, progressive discipline practice, performance reviews, merit pay, 401(k) matching, and verbal assurances created an implied contract | Saint Francis pointed to handbook/policies disclaiming contracts and affirming at-will status | Held for defendants — handbook disclaimers and lack of competent contradictory evidence established no genuine issue of material fact as to an implied contract |
| Whether termination violated an important public policy (wrongful discharge) | Argued termination punished her for saving a life and/or was intended to cover up employer negligence and nonreporting of an "adverse event" under Conn. Gen. Stat. §19a-127n | Defendants argued her conduct violated hospital policy (tampering with equipment) and plaintiff failed to identify a clearly articulated public policy or show defendants were negligent or that discharge sought to cover up negligence | Held for defendants — plaintiff failed to identify a clearly articulated statutory/constitutional/judicial public policy applicable here and failed to produce competent evidence creating an issue of material fact; the "saving lives" theory was deemed abandoned on appeal |
| Whether defendants breached covenant of good faith and fair dealing by discharging her in bad faith | Plaintiff contended discharge was in bad faith and inconsistent with an implied "just cause" expectation | Defendants argued no implied contract existed and thus no covenant claim survives | Held for defendants — covenant claim fails without an enforceable contract prohibiting at-will termination |
| Whether defendants spoliated evidence (destroyed/withheld medical records or pacer wire in bad faith) | Plaintiff alleged defendants discarded the altered pacer wire and omitted/document-altered portions of the chart, preventing expert inspection | Defendants produced voluminous records, said pacer wire was ordinary medical waste disposed before litigation demand, and denied intentional destruction | Held for defendants — no competent evidence of intentional/bad-faith destruction or specific missing record items; spoliation claim failed |
Key Cases Cited
- Thibodeau v. Design Group One Architects, LLC, 260 Conn. 691 (2002) (public policy exception to at-will employment is narrow)
- Sheets v. Teddy's Frosted Foods, Inc., 179 Conn. 471 (1980) (employer may not discharge at-will employee where discharge violates important public policy)
- Magnan v. Anaconda Industries, Inc., 193 Conn. 558 (1984) (implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing applies to contracts but cannot override express at-will terms)
- Gaudio v. Griffin Health Services Corp., 249 Conn. 523 (1999) (employers can avoid implied-contract claims by including clear handbook disclaimers)
- Burnham v. Karl & Gelb, P.C., 252 Conn. 153 (2000) (failure to produce competent evidence that statutory prerequisite applied defeats public-policy wrongful discharge claim)
- Rizzuto v. Davidson Ladders, Inc., 280 Conn. 225 (2006) (elements of intentional spoliation of evidence require bad-faith intent to deprive plaintiff of cause of action)
- Brusby v. Metropolitan District, 160 Conn.App. 638 (2015) (summary judgment standards; movant bears strict burden)
- Surrells v. Belinkie, 95 Conn.App. 764 (2006) (disposition of medical tissue before litigation not actionable spoliation absent evidence of intent to preserve for litigation)
- Armshaw v. Greenwich Hospital, 134 Conn.App. 134 (2012) (courts defer to medical employers' discretion to discharge employees who violate patient-safety protocols)