Johnson v. AT & T TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

713 F. Supp. 885, 5 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 303, 133 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2657, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5942, 1989 WL 56494
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. North Carolina
DecidedFebruary 14, 1989
DocketCiv. C-88-582-WS
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 713 F. Supp. 885 (Johnson v. AT & T TECHNOLOGIES, INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. AT & T TECHNOLOGIES, INC., 713 F. Supp. 885, 5 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 303, 133 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2657, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5942, 1989 WL 56494 (M.D.N.C. 1989).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BULLOCK, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on Plaintiffs motion to remand this action to the General Court of Justice, Superior Court Division, Forsyth County, North Carolina, from which Defendants removed this action on June 3, 1988. Defendants based their petition for removal on the allegation that one or more of the claims set forth in Plaintiff's complaint are preempted by Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185. Plaintiff, however, contends that her pleading reveals no federal cause of action and that her motion should thus be granted. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff’s motion will be denied in part and granted in part.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

In July of 1975, Plaintiff commenced her employment with Defendant AT & T Technologies, Inc. (hereinafter “AT & T”) at its Lexington Road facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At all times pertinent to this action, Plaintiff was covered by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between AT & T and the Communication Workers of America. Defendant McCoy was at all times relevant to this complaint a nonsupervisory co-worker of Plaintiff, while Mr. W.H. Jeffers, Jr., supervised both the Plaintiff and Mr. McCoy. Mr. Mike Duehring served as the equal employment opportunity coordinator at AT & T’s Lexington Road facility during the time period relevant to Plaintiff’s complaint.

Plaintiff alleges that beginning in or about February of 1987 Defendant McCoy sexually harassed her at the Lexington Road facility. According to Plaintiff, such alleged harassment included physical contact and sexually suggestive remarks.

Plaintiff also contends that on at least five separate occasions between June and November of 1987 she complained to Mr. Jeffers regarding the alleged harassment by Defendant McCoy. Plaintiff states that, after she did not receive a satisfactory response from Jeffers, she approached Mr. Duehring concerning the harassment. According to the allegations in Plaintiff’s complaint, Mr. Duehring also failed to take any action against McCoy.

Based on these alleged incidents, Plaintiff asserts four causes of action against Defendants, the first two against Defendant McCoy individually and the latter two against AT & T: first, intentional infliction of emotional distress predicated on McCoy’s alleged sexual harassment of Plaintiff; second, assault and battery, also predicated on the alleged sexual harassment; third, intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery based upon AT & T’s treatment of Plaintiff’s complaints against McCoy; and, finally, negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of an employee, based on AT & T’s treatment of McCoy in light of Plaintiff’s complaints against him. On June 3, 1988, Defendants filed a petition for removal of Plaintiff’s suit to this court, contending that at least one, if not all, of Plaintiff’s causes of action is governed by the collective bargaining agreement in force at AT & T and is thus preempted under Section 301. On August 4, 1988, Plaintiff filed a motion to remand this action to state court, which motion is now before this court for consideration.

DISCUSSION

Three questions may potentially be addressed in resolving Plaintiff’s motion: first, whether any of her claims are *887 preempted by Section 301; second, assuming that at least one, but not all, of her claims is preempted, whether this court has jurisdiction over those claims which remain state causes of action; and third, assuming this court has no jurisdiction over at least one of Plaintiffs state law claims, whether her motion should be granted in whole or only in part. With regard to the preemption issue, both the Supreme Court and various circuit courts have considered under what circumstances state law causes of action are preempted by Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act. While the guidelines set forth in these decisions are not always easy to apply, the prevailing standard requires courts to look at whether the state tort claim is “inextricably intertwined” with the consideration of the terms of the labor contract. Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck, 471 U.S. 202, 213, 105 S.Ct. 1904, 1912, 85 L.Ed.2d 206 (1985). If the state tort law attempts to define the meaning of the contractual relationship, then the state tort law is preempted. Id. Conversely, if the right involved is a “non-negotiable state-law” right independent of any right established by the contract, then it is not preempted. Id.; accord Miller v. AT & T Network Systems, 850 F.2d 543, 546-48 (9th Cir.1988). It is in light of this standard that Plaintiffs four causes of action will be considered.

In her first cause of action, Plaintiff alleges a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress based upon alleged sexual harassment by Defendant McCoy. While North Carolina does not have a statute making such harassment illegal, N.C. Gen.Stat. § 143-422.2 declares it the policy of the state that such harassment be eradicated. Furthermore, in Hogan v. Forsyth Country Club Co., 79 N.C.App. 483, 340 S.E.2d 116, rev. denied, 317 N.C. 334, 346 S.E.2d 140, 141 (1986), the North Carolina Court of Appeals determined that an individual could sue her employer for intentional infliction of emotional distress based upon sexual harassment in the workplace.

Defendants correctly point out that in the majority of cases addressing the issue of whether intentional infliction of emotional distress is preempted by Section 301, preemption has been found to exist. See, e.g., Miller v. AT & T Network Systems, 850 F.2d 543 (9th Cir.1988) (claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress held preempted because reasonableness of defendant’s conduct must be judged in light of what the collective bargaining agreement permits); Newberry v. Pacific Racing Ass’n, 854 F.2d 1142 (9th Cir.1988) (intentional infliction of emotional distress claim based upon discharge held preempted by Section 301); Willis v. Reynolds Metals Co., 840 F.2d 254 (4th Cir.1988) (plaintiffs claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress based on her supervisor’s investigation of plaintiff’s suspected role in harassing another employee held to be preempted under Section 301). While Defendants concede that had Plaintiff brought this action under Title YII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., her claim would not have been preempted under the Supreme Court’s decision in Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co.,

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Bluebook (online)
713 F. Supp. 885, 5 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 303, 133 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2657, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5942, 1989 WL 56494, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-at-t-technologies-inc-ncmd-1989.