Drury v. TNT Holland Motor Express, Inc.

885 F. Supp. 161, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11583, 1994 WL 799112
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedJuly 8, 1994
DocketNo. 1:93-cv-540
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 885 F. Supp. 161 (Drury v. TNT Holland Motor Express, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Drury v. TNT Holland Motor Express, Inc., 885 F. Supp. 161, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11583, 1994 WL 799112 (W.D. Mich. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT TNT HOLLAND MOTOR EXPRESS, INC.’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

MILES, Senior District Judge.

This action arises out of a brief employment relationship between plaintiff Joseph B. Drury and defendant TNT Holland Motor Express, Inc. (“TNT”). TNT fired Drury after it received an erroneous report, prepared by defendant Robert Arden & Associates, Inc. (“Arden”), that Drury had a drunken driving conviction which he did not disclose in his employment application. TNT has moved for summary judgment. Drury has opposed the motion. For the reasons to follow, the court hereby grants the motion in part and denies it in part.

FACTS

Plaintiff Joseph B. Drury is an Indiana resident. Defendant TNT is a trucking company engaged in interstate transportation of general commodity freight. The company is headquartered in Holland, Michigan and operates terminal facilities in locations throughout the Midwest, including Indianapolis, Indiana. On or about April 14, 1992, Drury, who at age 53 had extensive experience as a truck driver, applied and was hired to work as a linehaul driver for TNT. Drury left his position as a driver with Thomson Consumer Electronics, a job which he had held for over ten years, in order to go to work for TNT.

The application form which Drury completed and signed in applying to work for TNT contains the following conspicuous language immediately above the signature block:

APPLICANT MUST READ & SIGN
I certify that I have read and understood all of this employment application. It is agreed and understood that the employer or his agents may investigate the applicant’s background to ascertain any and all information of concern to applicant’s record, whether same is of record or not, and applicant releases employers and other persons named herein from all liability for any damages on account of his furnishing such infor[163]*163mation. I understand that as an applicant for a position with this company, I may be asked to demonstrate that I am capable of performing tasks which are pertinent to the job.
It is also agreed and understood that under the Pair Credit Reporting Act, Public Law 91-508, 1 have been told that this investigation may include an investigative Consumer Report, including information regarding my character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living.
I agree to furnish such additional information and complete such examinations as may be required to complete my employment file.
I also understand that misrepresentation or omission of information or facts may result in my rejection or dismissal.
If hired, I agree to abide by all the rules and policies of the employer.
This certifies that this application was completed by me, and that all entries on it and information in it are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.

Defendant’s Exhibit 2. The application form also contained the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a felony?” to which Drury answered, “No.” Drury wrote his full name at the outset of the application as “Joseph Bruce Drury,” and provided, inter alia, his birth date and driver’s license number. He signed the application “Joseph Drury.” Sometime before May 11, 1992, while Drury was still a probationary employee,1 TNT hired defendant Arden to perform a background check on him. A letter which TNT faxed to Arden to commence the background check provided Drury’s first and last names (middle name excluded), his address, social security number, date of birth, and employment history. Defendant’s Exhibit 3. As part of its investigation into Drury’s background, Arden apparently contacted the Indiana State Police to determine whether Drury had a criminal record in the state. The Indiana State Police reported to Arden that a Joseph Thomas Drury (not Joseph Bruce Drury), coincidentally having the same birth date as plaintiff, had been arrested on November 27, 1985 for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a Class D felony. They also reported that Joseph Thomas Drury had been sentenced to two years at the Westville Correctional Center on December 11, 1985, and that he had been released on probation on November 14, 1986. Defendant’s Exhibit 4.

Arden reported to TNT that “the subject” of the investigation had the above-described criminal record. Defendant’s Exhibit 5. On May 11, 1992, Terry Nyland, TNT’s director of linehaul operations, called Drury and told him that he was being terminated. When Drury asked Nyland why, Nyland merely stated, ‘We do not discuss these matters.” Nyland Dep. at p. 46. However, Drury admits that he thereafter contacted TNT’s terminal manager, Ray Bryant, who told him that he had been fired because the company had received a report that he “had been in jail for a period-of-time [sic], and was, in fact, on probation at that time.” Id. at p. 47. Within days, Drury was able to learn, as a result of his own investigation, that Arden was responsible for providing the erroneous report to TNT. Although Drury obtained a copy of his own correct police record from the Indiana State Police and presented it to TNT, they did not re-hire him for reasons which they will not give but which they allege are unrelated to the background information provided by Arden.

Drury filed this action against TNT and Arden on June 4, 1993 in Allegan County Circuit Court. In Counts I and II of the complaint, Drury asserted claims against Arden for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. and negligence, respectively. In Count III of the complaint, Drury asserted a claim against TNT for violation of the FCRA. Finally, in Count IV of the complaint, Drury asserted a claim against TNT for violation of Michigan’s ElliotWLarsen Civil Rights Act, M.C.L. [164]*164§ 2205a, on the basis that TNT had allegedly-relied on arrest records in deciding to fire him. TNT filed a notice of removal to this court on July 13, 1993, invoking the court’s federal question and diversity jurisdiction.

ANALYSIS

TNT has moved for summary judgment on both Counts III and IV of the complaint. Summary judgment is proper where “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Canderm Pharmacal, Ltd. v. Elder Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 862 F.2d 597, 601 (6th Cir.1988). In evaluating a motion for summary judgment, the court must determine “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511-12, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
885 F. Supp. 161, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11583, 1994 WL 799112, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/drury-v-tnt-holland-motor-express-inc-miwd-1994.