Girgenti v. Cali-Con, Inc.

544 A.2d 655, 15 Conn. App. 130, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 369
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJuly 12, 1988
Docket5786
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 544 A.2d 655 (Girgenti v. Cali-Con, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Girgenti v. Cali-Con, Inc., 544 A.2d 655, 15 Conn. App. 130, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 369 (Colo. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

Stoughton, J.

The defendant has appealed from a judgment for the plaintiff in a wrongful discharge action rendered after trial to the court. The plaintiff has cross appealed from the granting of the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the second count of the amended complaint.

[132]*132The defendant claims that the trial court erred (1) in denying the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, (2) in basing its conclusion on facts not pleaded, (3) in concluding that the plaintiff was terminated because he took precautions for the purpose of public safety, (4) in concluding that the plaintiff’s termination was violative of public policy, (5) in concluding that the plaintiff’s termination constituted the tort of wrongful discharge, and (6) in finding that the plaintiff’s damages amounted to $40,000. We find no error on either the appeal or cross appeal.

The trial court found the following facts and reached the following conclusions. On September 10,1983, the plaintiff was a projectionist at the defendant’s theatre and had been so employed for at least one year prior to that date. His employment was subject to a contract between the defendant and Local 350 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Operators of the United States and Canada (hereinafter referred to as the union). On that day, the plaintiff was operating the theatre alone, running the projector, selling tickets and selling merchandise at the refreshment stand. As he was selling tickets while the movie was running, he heard sounds from the projection booth which caused him to believe that there was a burglar within. The plaintiff telephoned the police and told them that someone was in the projection booth. When the police officers arrived, however, they refused to go into the theatre unless the plaintiff turned on the lights. The plaintiff called Andrew Rossetti, one of the officers of the defendant corporation, and Rossetti told the plaintiff that it was his responsibility to handle the situation. The plaintiff turned on the lights, but the police did not investigate further. Subsequently the plaintiff was fired.

The trial court found that the plaintiff had been discharged because he had complained to the defendant [133]*133and to the union that he had been forced to work in the theatre alone, and because he turned on the lights and thus caused the theatre to empty. The trial court concluded that those reasons were improper as violative of public policy. The trial court based its conclusion on General Statutes § 29-1091 and the administrative regulations promulgated thereunder, § 29-109-109.2 These regulations pertain to the safe operation of projection booths in theatres. It concluded that the plaintiff was required to work alone despite his complaints, and that he was concerned for the safety of the public and for himself when he heard a noise in the projection booth. For the reasons set forth, it found that the plaintiff was fired for taking precautions for public safety. It further found that he had been unable to secure a comparable job for approximately three years and that he had lost $40,000 in wages.

[134]*134I

The Defendant’s Appeal

The defendant’s first claim is that the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment. A full trial, however, produced a judgment against the defendant. As we have recently held, a denial of such a motion followed by a verdict against the movant is not appeal-able. Greengarden v. Kuhn, 13 Conn. App. 550, 552, 537 A.2d 1043 (1988). Accordingly, we will not review this claim.

[135]*135The defendant’s second assignment of error is that the conclusion of the trial court that the plaintiff was fired because of his complaints that he was forced to work alone and because he emptied the theatre by turning on the lights was drawn from facts which were in evidence, but were not alleged in the complaint. The allegations in a complaint serve to limit the issues to be decided upon trial and are calculated to prevent surprise to opposing parties. Lundberg v. Kovacs, 172 Conn. 229, 232, 374 A.2d 201 (1977). Facts found but not averred cannot be made the basis for a recovery. Id., 233. The defendant claims that the complaint alleged that the plaintiff was fired because he had sought aid for the protection of the public and himself in calling for the police. There was testimony, however, that he was discharged because he complained about working alone and because he emptied the theatre. The defendant contends that because these reasons were not alleged in the complaint there was a material variance between pleadings and proof.

The complaint in the present case is certainly not a model of good draftsmanship. There is no indication, however, that there was any objection to the testimony offered by the plaintiff. The appeal process should not be utilized to correct pleading deficiencies which could have been remedied in the trial court. Fuessenich v. DiNardo, 195 Conn. 144, 149, 487 A.2d 514 (1985). The failure to object to the testimony constituted a waiver of any variance between the pleadings and the proof. Samson v. Bechtel, 180 Conn. 96, 100, 429 A.2d 820 (1980). Furthermore, the amended complaint did allege that the plaintiff was required to operate the theatre without additional employees on the premises. It further alleged that he summoned the police, who directed him to turn on the lights, and that his employer also told him to turn on the lights and to do whatever was appropriate. We find that these allegations were suf[136]*136ficient to permit introduction of the testimony from which the court drew its conclusion.

The third claim raised by the defendant is that the court erred in finding that the plaintiff was terminated because he took safety precautions. It is well settled that it is the province of the trial court to pass upon the credibility of witnesses and the weight to be accorded the evidence. This court cannot find facts or draw conclusions from primary facts found, but can only review such findings to determine whether they could legally, logically and reasonably be found and whether the trial court could thereby conclude as it did. Nulman’s Appeal from Probate, 13 Conn. App. 811, 812, 537 A.2d 495 (19.88). The plaintiff testified that he had complained both to his employer and to his union that he had to work alone. The defendant concedes that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding that the plaintiff was fired for emptying the theatre. The plaintiff testified that he had called the police because he feared that there was an intruder in the projection room, and that the police refused to enter the theatre unless the plaintiff first turned on the lights. We find that it was not unreasonable for the trial court to find that the plaintiff emptied the theatre for purposes of public safety and self protection.

The defendant’s fourth claim of error is that the trial court erred in concluding that the termination of the plaintiff was violative of public policy.

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Bluebook (online)
544 A.2d 655, 15 Conn. App. 130, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/girgenti-v-cali-con-inc-connappct-1988.