Burt v. Stop & Shop Companies, Inc.

403 F. Supp. 609, 16 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1692, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15066
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedNovember 28, 1975
DocketCiv. A. No. 74-5137-C
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 403 F. Supp. 609 (Burt v. Stop & Shop Companies, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burt v. Stop & Shop Companies, Inc., 403 F. Supp. 609, 16 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1692, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15066 (D. Mass. 1975).

Opinion

OPINION

CAFFREY, Chief Judge.

This is a civil action brought for alleged violation of plaintiff’s civil rights. Jurisdiction of this court is invoked under 28 U.S.C. § 1343 for causes of action alleged to have arisen under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f) (1) and pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as money damages, against defendant Stop & Shop Companies, Inc. (Stop & Shop), a Massachusetts corporation. Stop & Shop operates retail supermarkets for the sale of food and merchandise in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The matter came on for non-jury trial and after presenting the testimony of two witnesses, one of whom was the plaintiff, the plaintiff rested. Thereupon, the defendant, acting pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, moved for a dismissal on the ground that on the facts and on the law the plaintiff has shown no right to relief. With reference to this motion I find and rule as follows.

Plaintiff Clarence Burt is a black citizen of the United States and a resident of Springfield, Massachusetts. He is married and has a family consisting of three children. He began working for Stop & Shop as a part-time employee in 1952 and worked as a full-time employee of Stop & Shop from 1953 until he was involuntarily terminated on December 4, 1969.

It appears from plaintiff’s own evidence, without contradiction, that on December 2, 1969 plaintiff was a reserve store manager trainee, assigned to Stop & Shop Store No. 624 located on Park Street, Hartford, Connecticut. On the evening of December 2, plaintiff as a reserve manager trainee was the person in actual charge of that store and he was responsible for locking up the cash, locking up the store, and for security of the property contained in the store. Plaintiff locked the store to the general public at 9:00 p. m. and left the store, with two other employees, shortly after 10:00 p. m.

Under the laws of the State of Connecticut, it is illegal, at least for a grocery store, to sell beer after 8:00 p. m. [610]*610Signs to that effect are posted in all Stop & Shop stores in Connecticut that sell beer and announcements are made daily over the stores’ public address systems within an hour prior to 8:00 p. m. advising all customers that no beer purchases may be made after 8:00 p. m. Plaintiff himself frequently placed a canvas cover over the beer display in the store at 8:00 p. m. Plaintiff testified that he often made the announcements himself about the 8:00 p. m. beer sale curfew over the public address system and that he was and had been for some years familiar with the Connecticut law limiting such sales.

Mr. Burt testified that at about ten minutes to ten he decided to purchase a six-pack of beer, that just before leaving he took a six-pack from the cooler, put it in a brown paper bag and placed the paper bag near cash register #1. He testified that he took a white envelope and placed $1.35 — representing the cost of the six-pack plus 7^ for the tax — in the envelope, sealed it, wrote a note on the outside of the envelope to Harry Wheeler, the head cashier, advising Mr. Wheeler of the purchase, and left the envelope in the store’s courtesy booth. Plaintiff testified that at about the time he placed the six-pack near the cash register he observed a Stop & Shop security officer, Dennis Dee, standing outside the store. He testified that he left the store with two other employees, whereupon Mr. Dec approached him and engaged him in a conversation as to the contents of the brown paper bag. He said that Dec asked what was in the bag, that he handed the bag to Dec, who looked into the bag, examined the contents, and asked plaintiff where the cash register receipt was. Plaintiff advised Dec that he had not rung up the purchase on the cash register but had left the money in the store. Plaintiff testified that he requested Dec to reenter the store with him to find the money for the beer, but that Dec declined due to the fact that the burglar alarms had already been set for the night. He agreed to accompany Dee to a nearby Bradlee store where he remained on the street floor while Dec went to an upstairs office to make a telephone call. Plaintiff advised Dec that he was not scheduled to work on December 3. On the morning of December 3, although not scheduled to work, plaintiff drove his car past Store No. 624 at either 6:50 or 7:00 a. m., at which time he observed Dec entering the store with another employee. Plaintiff elected, upon seeing Dec, not to enter the store or make any attempt at that time to clarify the whereabouts of the envelope containing the purchase price of the beer.

At the trial, plaintiff testified that on December 2 he believed he had placed the envelope on a ledge in the courtesy booth by reaching in through a window. He conceded that he later learned that, in fact, he had placed the envelope with the money in a pouch in which he had placed a number of vendor invoices upon which he had been working that evening between 9:00 and 10:00 p. m.

Plaintiff testified that on the night of December 3 he was contacted by one John Dunn, a Stop & Shop employee, who requested that plaintiff meet him the following morning at a Howard Johnson’s in Springfield. Plaintiff, accompanied by his wife, met Dunn and a Stop & Shop supervisor of personnel, Robert Collins, at the Howard Johnson’s between 9:00 a. m. and 10:00 a. m. on December 4. Driving his own car, plaintiff followed them to what plaintiff characterized as a remote truck leasing warehouse in Hartford. There they were joined by Dec and his supervisor, a Mr. Amory. After some conversation, in which Dec gave his version of the events of December 2 and plaintiff in turn gave his version thereof, plaintiff was asked to resign, declined to do so, and was told that Stop & Shop had no recourse but to terminate him. Plaintiff then left the warehouse and returned to his home and has never gone back to Store No. 624. He testified that he was told at the meeting that the rea[611]*611son for his termination was for violation of the company purchasing policy.

During the trial,, a Stop & Shop “Standard Practices and Procedures Manual” was introduced into evidence by plaintiff (PX-3). The Manual states (on p. 36),

“The following are causes for immediate suspension and dismissal:

I. Dishonesty
a. The pilferage of money or merchandise by an employee . . .”

During cross-examination of plaintiff it was brought out that Stop & Shop has a policy relative to employee purchases which was set out in writing, and which was introduced into evidence as defendant’s exhibit A. The Company’s policy in this regard is also detailed in the Stop & Shop Manual at pages 59-60.

Plaintiff testified that he had seen such a written policy statement, and that he had in fact utilized the “assigned register” method of purchase a number of times over the years.

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Bluebook (online)
403 F. Supp. 609, 16 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1692, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15066, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burt-v-stop-shop-companies-inc-mad-1975.