Hann v. Micron
Opinion
USCA1 Opinion
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
_________________________
No. 96-1948
DAVID W. HANN,
Plaintiff, Appellant,
v.
MICRON SEPARATIONS, INC.,
Defendant, Appellee.
__________________________
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Nathaniel M. Gorton, U.S. District Judge] ___________________
__________________________
Before
Selya, Circuit Judge, _____________
Cyr, Senior Circuit Judge, ____________________
and Stahl, Circuit Judge. _____________
_________________________
William T. Murphy on brief for appellant. _________________
Edward J. Goddard and Day, Berry & Howard on brief for ___________________ _____________________
appellee.
_________________________
February 12, 1997
_________________________
Per Curiam. In the suit that underlies this appeal, Per Curiam. __________
plaintiff-appellant David W. Hann alleges that his quondam
employer, Micron Separations, Inc. (Micron), a manufacturer of
industrial filtration systems, disregarded a severance pay
obligation when it terminated him as its marketing director.
Micron moved for summary judgment on the ground that Hann's
written employment contract provided for such remuneration only
in the event of another company's acquisition of Micron (a
circumstance that had not occurred). A magistrate judge heard
arguments and wrote a carefully reasoned report recommending that
the district court grant brevis disposition in Micron's favor. ______
The magistrate concluded, after examining the relevant evidence,
that the proof, taken in the aspect most flattering to Hann's
case, proves neither a modification of the terms of his written
employment contract nor a breach of those terms. On de novo
review, the district court accepted the recommendation and
entered summary judgment for the defendant. Hann appeals.
Having determined that oral argument would not advance the
decisional process, we summarily affirm.
On whole-record review, we believe that this is a
suitable case in which to act upon our long-held belief that
"when a lower court produces a comprehensive, well-reasoned
decision, an appellate court should refrain from writing at
length to no other end than to hear its own words resonate."
Lawton v. State Mut. Life Assur. Co. of Am., 101 F.3d 218, 220 ______ __________________________________
(1st Cir. 1996); accord In re San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire ______ ________________________________________
2
Litig., 989 F.2d 36, 38 (1st Cir. 1993). Hence, we affirm the ______
judgment for substantially the reasons set forth in the opinion
below. We add only a small coda.
In his brief, Hann rehashes the evidence and invites us
to take a more expansive view of the facts than did the district
court. We decline the invitation. When summary judgment is at
stake, we, like the trial court, must scrutinize the record in
the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, "indulging all
reasonable inferences in that party's favor," Griggs-Ryan v. __________ ___________
Smith, 904 F.2d 112, 115 (1st Cir. 1990) (emphasis supplied), but _____
disregarding unsupported allegations, unreasonable inferences,
and conclusory speculation. See Smith v. F.W. Morse & Co., 76 ___ ______ _________________
F.3d 413, 428 (1st Cir. 1996); Medina-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds ____________ _____________
Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir. 1990). If no genuine issue ___________
of material fact percolates through the record, then summary
judgment is proper. So viewed, the essential purpose of summary
judgment is "to pierce the boilerplate of the pleadings" and
appraise the proof to determine whether a trial is needed. Wynne _____
v. Tufts Univ. Sch. of Med., 976 F.2d 791, 794 (1st Cir. 1992), ________________________
cert. denied, 507 U.S. 1030 (1993). Here, a trial would serve no _____ ______
useful purpose.
We will not tarry. Despite the generosity of the Rule
56 standard vis- -vis the party opposing summary judgment, that
party is not entitled to the benefit of every inference that he
can conjure up; he is only entitled to the benefit of every
reasonable inference. See National Amusements, Inc. v. Town of __________ ___ _________________________ _______
3
Dedham, 43 F.3d 731, 735 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. ______ _____ ______
2247 (1995). In this instance, we cannot draw the inference that
the appellant hawks. To the contrary, the statement of Micron's
president, Dr. John Greenwood, which the appellant cites as the
basis for his claim of an oral modification, simply will not bear
the weight that the appellant piles upon it.
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