Cuevas v. SkyWest Airlines

17 F. Supp. 3d 956, 37 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1320, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19129, 2014 WL 595938
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedFebruary 14, 2014
DocketNo. C 12-05916 CRB
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 17 F. Supp. 3d 956 (Cuevas v. SkyWest Airlines) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cuevas v. SkyWest Airlines, 17 F. Supp. 3d 956, 37 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1320, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19129, 2014 WL 595938 (N.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

CHARLES R. BREYER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

In this wrongful termination suit, Defendant SkyWest Airlines moves the Court for summary judgment, or in the alternative, summary adjudication of Plaintiff’s claims. See generally Mot. (dkt. 73). Because no reasonable jury could find that Defendant terminated Plaintiff in retaliation for making safety complaints, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion as to [959]*959Plaintiffs retaliatory termination claims (second and third causes of action). Because Plaintiff was an at-will employee and had no employment contract, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion as to Plaintiffs breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and breach of contract of continued employment claims (fourth and fifth causes of action). Because the record is devoid of evidence showing that Defendant was negligent in hiring or supervising the employees who terminated Plaintiff, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion as to Plaintiffs negligent supervision claim (sixth cause of action). Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment in whole.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Juan Cuevas (“Cuevas”) worked as a ramp agent for Defendant SkyWest Airlines (“SkyWest”) at San Francisco International Airport (“SFO”) from November 7, 2006 until December 27, 2011. Compl. (dkt. 1) ¶ 7; Cuevas Decl. (dkt. 96) ¶ 2. As a ramp agent, Cuevas was responsible for “loading and unloading baggage, pushing and parking aircraft, loading and unloading commodities for consumption by passengers, and servicing aircraft.” Cue-vas Decl. ¶ 3. Juan De La Cruz (“De La Cruz”) became SkyWest’s Hub Director at SFO in November 2010. Id. ¶ 9; De La Cruz Decl. ¶ 1. As Hub Director, Juan De La Cruz was in charge of SkyWest’s SFO customer service and ramp operations. Cuevas Decl. ¶ 9. Cuevas, a ramp agent, and his direct supervisors, the ramp/shift managers, reported upstream to De La Cruz. De La Cruz claimed to have had an “open door policy” when he began at SFO, encouraging employees to come directly to him with work-related concerns. Cuevas Decl. ¶ 9. After the events described below, on December 27, 2011, De La Cruz terminated Cuevas for insubordination. Id. ¶ 21; Compl. ¶ 14.

A. The Traffic Admonishment

The story leading to Cuevas’s termination begins on July 26, 2010. During his shift that day, Cuevas received a $50.00 citation for failing to stop at a stop sign while driving a baggage cart, also known as a “tug.” Cuevas Decl. ¶ 5. Cuevas failed to stop because the tug he was driving had faulty brakes. Id. Cuevas had noticed during a pre-shift inspection that the tug’s brakes were “somewhat weak,” but did not believe the tug was unsafe at the time. Id. ¶ 4. After receiving the citation, Cuevas “red tagged” the tug, indicating it was unsafe and in need of repair, and placed the tug out of service. Id. ¶ 5.

Cuevas took the citation to his then-supervisor, Tony Booker (“Booker”), and explained the incident and the faulty brakes. Id. ¶ 6. Booker told Cuevas that he would “take care of’ the citation if, after a SkyWest mechanic inspected the tug, it proved that the brakes were defective. Id. Cuevas prepared an incident report at Booker’s request, id., though the parties have been unable to locate the report since.1 SkyWest Ground Equipment Maintenance inspected the tug and found that the brakes were faulty; Booker again told Cuevas that he would “take care of’ the citation, and that Cuevas had no further responsibilities with respect to the incident. Cuevas Decl. ¶ 7. As far as Cuevas was concerned, the citation issue had been resolved. See id. ¶¶ 7-8.

[960]*960B. Safety Complaints

Cuevas became concerned about the safety of SkyWest’s ground equipment during late Summer 2011. Cuevas Decl. ¶ 10. In August 2011, Cuevas began taking pictures with his camera phone of damaged and unsafe SkyWest ground equipment, and he discussed the pictures and safety issues with coworkers. Id. ¶¶ 10-11; see id. Ex. A.

Cuevas took advantage of De La Cruz’s “open door policy” to share his concerns regarding workplace safety. Cuevas Decl. ¶¶ 9-10. Cuevas recalls having “several conversations” with De La Cruz about unsafe SkyWest ground equipment. Id. ¶ 10. Cuevas estimates that these conversations took place between August and October 2011, which coincides with when Cuevas took pictures of equipment.2 Cuevas Decl. ¶10.

In addition to sharing pictures and safety issues with De La Cruz, Cuevas also shared his concerns with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during an informational meeting in the summer of 2011. Id. ¶ 12. Cuevas, feeling that his concerns remained unresolved, called Sky-West’s corporate hotline and lodged a “Safety Concern Report” on October 25, 2011. Id. ¶ 13. De La Cruz maintains that he knew nothing about any of these complaints, including the formal safety report and the meeting with Homeland Security, until after commencement of this litigation. De La Cruz Decl. ¶¶ 11-12.

On November 15, 2011, Cuevas received a telephone call from Michael Eisenstat (“Eisenstat”), Manager of Safety Investigation for SkyWest, and the two discussed Cuevas’s October Safety Concern Report. Cuevas Decl. ¶ 16. Cuevas’s identity as the complainant remained confidential in accordance with SkyWest policy. See Ei-senstat Decl. (dkt. 73-4) ¶ 6. After the call, Cuevas e-mailed nine photographs to Eisenstat depicting unsafe SkyWest equipment. Cuevas Decl. ¶ 16. No one at Sky-West followed up with Cuevas about the photographs.3 Id.

C. Suspensions and Termination

In November 2011, well over a year after Cuevas’s July 26, 2010 traffic citation, Cuevas reported to work to find that SFO had deactivated his security badge for failure to pay the $50.00 fine. Id. ¶ 14. Cue-vas missed three days of work without pay, during which he took a required class and an exam, and paid the $50.00 fine; after-wards, SFO reactivated his security badge. Id. Cuevas felt that he should not have been responsible for the fine, especially given his interactions with Booker in 2010. See id. ¶¶ 14-15. Cuevas explained the issue to De La Cruz’s administrative assistant, Shannan Johnson. Id. ¶ 15. De La Cruz then decided to investigate the July 2010 incident in order to determine if Cue-vas might be eligible for reimbursement from SkyWest. See id. ¶ 17; De La Cruz Decl. Ex. E.

[961]*961Following his investigation, De La Cruz decided that SkyWest would not reimburse Cuevas for the $50.00 fine. Cuevas Decl. ¶ 17; De La Cruz Decl. Ex. E. Cuevas’s supervisor, Miguel Diaz (“Diaz”), informed Cuevas of the decision on December 12, 2011, and Cuevas requested a meeting with De La Cruz. See Opp’n (dkt. 95) at 12; Cole Decl. (dkt. 97) Ex. B at 212-14.

On December 13, 2011, Cuevas, De La Cruz, and Diaz met to discuss De La Cruz’s decision to deny reimbursement. Cuevas Decl. ¶ 17; De La Cruz Decl. Ex. E. De La Cruz explained that he found the tug had not been serviced for faulty brakes.4 Cuevas Decl. ¶ 17; De La Cruz Decl. Ex. E. Cuevas told De La Cruz that the decision was unfair, and also that Sky-West’s ground equipment continued to have “serious problems.” Cuevas Decl. ¶ 17.

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17 F. Supp. 3d 956, 37 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1320, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19129, 2014 WL 595938, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cuevas-v-skywest-airlines-cand-2014.