Byrd v. Imperial Palace of Mississippi

807 So. 2d 433, 2001 WL 1554024
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 6, 2001
Docket2000-CA-00767-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 807 So. 2d 433 (Byrd v. Imperial Palace of Mississippi) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Byrd v. Imperial Palace of Mississippi, 807 So. 2d 433, 2001 WL 1554024 (Mich. 2001).

Opinion

807 So.2d 433 (2001)

Tracey BYRD
v.
IMPERIAL PALACE OF MISSISSIPPI and Christine Saucier.

No. 2000-CA-00767-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

December 6, 2001.
Rehearing Denied February 21, 2002.

Robert O. Homes, Jr., Gulfport, Attorney for Appellant.

Timothy W. Lindsay, Britt R. Singletary, Jackson, Attorneys for Appellees.

EN BANC.

SMITH, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. This matter arises from an employment dispute between Tracey Byrd (Byrd) and her employer, Imperial Palace of Mississippi (Imperial). Byrd was either terminated from or voluntarily left this position. She later filed suit against Imperial and her supervisor (collectively Imperial) regarding her leaving her employment. The trial court granted Imperial's summary judgment motion. Aggrieved, Byrd appeals to this Court. We find no reversible error and therefore affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. Tracey Byrd ("Byrd") initially applied for employment with Imperial Palace of Mississippi (Imperial) on August 17, 1997. In April of 1998, Imperial hired Byrd. Her supervisor was defendant Christine Saucier ("Saucier"). At the time of her hiring, Imperial provided Byrd with an employee handbook that stated:

*434 This handbook is not and should not be construed as a contract for employment, as you have the right to terminate the employment relationship at the Imperial Palace of Mississippi for any reason, with or without cause. Therefore, the Imperial Palace of Mississippi reserves the same right.
* * *
All employees of the Imperial Palace of Mississippi are at-will employees ... This Employee Handbook is not an express or implied contract of employment, but rather an overview of working rules and benefits at our company.

The handbook also contained a provision titled "Employment At Will Doctrine," which stated:

All employees of the Imperial Palace of Mississippi are at-will employees. Employment at-will simply means the traditional relationship between employer and employee, so that the relationship is for no fixed period of time and may be terminated by either party unilaterally for any reason, or for no reason, with or without cause. This Employee Handbook is not an express or implied contract of employment, but rather an overview of working rules and benefits at our company. No employee in any supervisory capacity has the authority to enter into any type of contract of employment, or make any agreement or promise of continued employment with any employee, or in any way modify the at-will relationship. Your status as an employee at-will shall continue even after your completion of your introductory period.

In August of 1998, Byrd's employment at Imperial ended. Byrd alleges that she was terminated because of personal problems that developed between herself and Saucier, after she refused to do Saucier's personal errands. In her deposition, Saucier alleged that Byrd informed her that she quit her position. Byrd contends that she filed a timely grievance regarding her termination, in accordance with the employee handbook, but Imperial refused to grant her a hearing. Byrd subsequently filed a suit against Imperial and Saucier.

¶ 3. After discovery, Imperial moved for summary judgment alleging that Byrd quit her position or, alternatively, her claim of wrongful discharge failed under Mississippi law in view of Byrd's at-will status and her lack of an enforceable contract. The trial court granted Imperial summary judgment. Byrd filed a timely notice of appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 4. In reviewing orders of summary judgment, this Court proceeds de novo. Cities of Oxford v. Northeast Miss. Elec. Power Ass'n, 704 So.2d 59, 64 (Miss. 1997). If the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions, together with affidavits, show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, this Court will not reverse. M.R.C. P. 56.

ANALYSIS

¶ 5. Byrd raises several issues in her brief to this Court,[1] however we find that *435 the issues may be summarized into a single discussion of whether the trial court erred in granting Imperial's motion for summary judgment.

WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN FINDING THAT THERE WAS NO ISSUE OF MATERIAL FACT AND GRANTING IMPERIAL PALACE SUMMARY JUDGMENT.

¶ 6. At issue is a section in Imperial's handbook entitled Grievances, which states that:

When the complaint involves a written warning, supplemental evaluation, suspension, or termination and an equitable settlement is not reached in the first two steps, the employee may file a written request for a Personnel Review Board Hearing to the Personnel Department within ten (10) calendar days of the event if it is a non-termination offense and within five (5) calendar days following a termination....

¶ 7. Byrd begins her argument by discussing the seminal case of Bobbitt v. The Orchard, Ltd., 603 So.2d 356 (Miss.1992). Byrd contends that Bobbitt held, despite the disclaimer language and despite existence of the employment at-will doctrine, that an employer is still required to abide by its own employee handbooks or manuals. The Orchard application, similar to the Imperial handbook, Byrd argues, contained a disclaimer in its employment application as follows:

I understand that ... my employment and compensation may be terminated with or without notice at any time, at the option of either The Orchard or myself.... I understand that no representative, employee or resident of the Orchard has authority to enter into an agreement with me for employment for any specified period of time, or to make any agreement with me contrary to the foregoing.

Bobbitt, 603 So.2d at 357. Therefore, Byrd surmises, the at-will employment doctrine and the existence of disclaimer language confirming only that the employment was terminable at-will do not relieve Imperial of the duty to exercise such at-will termination in accordance with the rules and procedures specified in its own employee handbook.

¶ 8. In Bobbitt, the plaintiff was employed by The Orchard, a retirement complex, which provided her with an employee manual that outlined The Orchard's conduct and discipline procedures. Id. The manual provided a list of major and minor offenses and the disciplinary actions for the offenses. Id. at 358. Bobbitt was terminated from her position for an infraction that was in contradiction to the manual. Id. After Bobbitt filed suit, The Orchard moved for summary judgment on the basis that the contract was terminable at-will. Id. at 356. The trial court granted The Orchard's motion. Id. at 360.

¶ 9. This Court stated that the issue presented in Bobbitt case was:

[W]hen an employer furnishes its employees a detailed manual stating its rules of employment, and setting forth procedures that will be followed in event of infraction of its rules of employment, can it completely ignore the manual in discharging an employee for an infraction clearly conferred by the manual? *436 Id. The Court held that the provision in the manual did not create a right to employment for any definite period of time, but it did create an obligation on the part of The Orchard to follow its provisions in reprimanding, suspending, or discharging an employee for infractions covered in the manual. Id. at 361.

¶ 10.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
807 So. 2d 433, 2001 WL 1554024, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/byrd-v-imperial-palace-of-mississippi-miss-2001.