Rel: June 21, 2024
Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter.
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA OCTOBER TERM, 2023-2024
_________________________
SC-2024-0235 _________________________
Kourtney Vaughn
v.
Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC
Appeal from Mobile Circuit Court (CV-19-903290)
SELLERS, Justice.
AFFIRMED. NO OPINION.
See Rule 53(a)(1) and (a)(2)(A), Ala. R. App. P. SC-2024-0235
Shaw, Wise, Bryan, Mendheim, Stewart, Mitchell, and Cook, JJ.,
concur.
Parker, C.J., dissents, with opinion.
2 SC-2024-0235
PARKER, Chief Justice (dissenting).
I respectfully dissent from the Court's affirmance in this
retaliatory-discharge case brought under the Alabama Workers'
Compensation Act ("the Act"), § 25-5-1 et seq., Ala. Code 1975. In my
opinion, Kourtney Vaughn, the appellant, persuasively argues that the
requirement in our precedent that an employee bringing a retaliatory-
discharge action show an "on-the-job injury" is dicta. Furthermore, it
appears to me that this requirement comes not from the retaliatory-
discharge statute but from persuasive precedent from foreign
jurisdictions. By affirming the decision of the trial court, the Court fails
to correct a significant error in statutory interpretation.
According to the facts before us, Vaughn, an employee of
Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC ("OTK"), was hospitalized for
debilitating migraines. While she was in the hospital, OTK informed her
that she was running out of protected leave. On October 25, 2019,
Vaughn spoke to the human-resources personnel of OTK and asked about
filing for workers' compensation benefits. On October 28, Vaughn
returned to work. Two days later, OTK fired her.
3 SC-2024-0235
On December 16, 2019, Vaughn filed a complaint in the Mobile
Circuit Court for workers' compensation benefits. On September 12,
2022, Vaughn filed an amended complaint alleging retaliatory discharge
under § 25-5-11.1, Ala. Code 1975, a part of the Act.
After a bench trial, the trial court found in its "Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law" that Vaughn's migraines were not caused by
cumulative trauma. In the same document, the trial court found that, if
there had been proof of an on-the-job injury, the court would have entered
judgment in Vaughn's favor. The trial court found OTK's witnesses'
testimony "concerning Vaughn's termination [to be] inconsistent,
incredible and actionable as retaliation." However, because there was no
finding of an "on-the-job injury," the trial court ruled against Vaughn.
Vaughn appealed to this Court.
Section 25-5-11.1, Ala. Code 1975, provides:
"No employee shall be terminated by an employer solely because the employee has instituted or maintained any action against the employer to recover workers' compensation benefits under [the Act] or solely because the employee has filed a written notice of violation of a safety rule pursuant to subdivision (c)(4) of Section 25-5-11."
4 SC-2024-0235
There is no requirement of an "on-the-job injury" in the statute's text.
This Court has held that workers' compensation statutes "should be
liberally construed in favor of the employee in order to advance and
effectuate their beneficent purposes." Culbreth v. Woodham Plumbing
Co., 599 So. 2d 1120, 1123 (Ala. 1992).
In 2000, this Court purported to apply what it called a "new rule"
for establishing a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge:
"[U]nder the new rule expressed in Bleier [v. Wellington Sears Co., 757 So. 2d 1163, 1171 (Ala. 2000)], a trial court, in deciding whether to enter a summary judgment against the employee in a retaliatory-discharge case, should view all evidence in the light most favorable to the employee and ask whether the employee has shown: (1) an employment relationship; (2) an on-the-job injury; (3) notice to the employer of the on-the-job injury; and (4) subsequent termination of employment."
Dunn v. Comcast Corp., 781 So. 2d 940, 943 (Ala. 2000) (emphasis added).
Upon closer inspection, however, those elements were unnecessary to
decide the case in Dunn. In Dunn this Court held that a plaintiff was not
required to show, as part of his prima facie case, that he was "willing and
able" to work. Id. Although Dunn purports to be applying a "new rule
expressed" in Bleier v. Wellington Sears Co., 757 So. 2d 1163 (Ala. 2000),
id.," those elements appear to be drawn from the Wyoming Supreme
5 SC-2024-0235
Court, which was itself adopting a test from Oklahoma Supreme Court
precedent. See Bleier, 757 So. 2d at 1171 (quoting Cardwell v. American
Linen Supply, 843 P.2d 596, 599-600 (Wyo. 1992), quoting in turn
Buckner v. General Motors Corp., 760 P.2d 803, 806-07 (Okla. 1988)). In
fact, Bleier, for its part, did not purport to establish a new test but,
rather, relied on decisions from foreign jurisdictions as persuasive
precedent to show why there should be no "willing and able" requirement
in the prima facie case. Id. at 1172. Because the "on-the-job injury"
requirement was not necessary to the disposition of the case, I believe
that it was dicta and therefore not binding. See Ex parte Williams, 838
So. 2d 1028, 1031 (Ala. 2002) ("obiter dictum is, by definition, not
essential to the judgment of the court which states the dictum").
Before the Court unnecessarily imported the four elements from a
decision from a foreign jurisdiction in Bleier and Dunn, the Court had
simply held that "an employee may establish a prima facie case of
retaliatory discharge by proving that he was 'terminated' because he
sought to recover worker's compensation benefits." Twilley v. Daubert
Coated Prods., Inc., 536 So. 2d 1364, 1369 (Ala. 1988); see also Coastal
6 SC-2024-0235
Lumber Co. v. Johnson, 669 So. 2d 803, 809 (Ala. 1995); Culbreth, 599
So. 2d at 1122.
Although this Court occasionally had made reference to a prima
facie case being established when an employee provided proof that he
"had filed a workers' compensation claim for a work-related injury" and
that the injury had "prevented him from working for a period of time,"
[see, e.g., Graham v. Shoals Distrib., Inc., 630 So. 2d 417, 418 (Ala. 1993),]
those cases merely held that a prima facie case may be proven by showing
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Rel: June 21, 2024
Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter.
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA OCTOBER TERM, 2023-2024
_________________________
SC-2024-0235 _________________________
Kourtney Vaughn
v.
Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC
Appeal from Mobile Circuit Court (CV-19-903290)
SELLERS, Justice.
AFFIRMED. NO OPINION.
See Rule 53(a)(1) and (a)(2)(A), Ala. R. App. P. SC-2024-0235
Shaw, Wise, Bryan, Mendheim, Stewart, Mitchell, and Cook, JJ.,
concur.
Parker, C.J., dissents, with opinion.
2 SC-2024-0235
PARKER, Chief Justice (dissenting).
I respectfully dissent from the Court's affirmance in this
retaliatory-discharge case brought under the Alabama Workers'
Compensation Act ("the Act"), § 25-5-1 et seq., Ala. Code 1975. In my
opinion, Kourtney Vaughn, the appellant, persuasively argues that the
requirement in our precedent that an employee bringing a retaliatory-
discharge action show an "on-the-job injury" is dicta. Furthermore, it
appears to me that this requirement comes not from the retaliatory-
discharge statute but from persuasive precedent from foreign
jurisdictions. By affirming the decision of the trial court, the Court fails
to correct a significant error in statutory interpretation.
According to the facts before us, Vaughn, an employee of
Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC ("OTK"), was hospitalized for
debilitating migraines. While she was in the hospital, OTK informed her
that she was running out of protected leave. On October 25, 2019,
Vaughn spoke to the human-resources personnel of OTK and asked about
filing for workers' compensation benefits. On October 28, Vaughn
returned to work. Two days later, OTK fired her.
3 SC-2024-0235
On December 16, 2019, Vaughn filed a complaint in the Mobile
Circuit Court for workers' compensation benefits. On September 12,
2022, Vaughn filed an amended complaint alleging retaliatory discharge
under § 25-5-11.1, Ala. Code 1975, a part of the Act.
After a bench trial, the trial court found in its "Findings of Fact and
Conclusions of Law" that Vaughn's migraines were not caused by
cumulative trauma. In the same document, the trial court found that, if
there had been proof of an on-the-job injury, the court would have entered
judgment in Vaughn's favor. The trial court found OTK's witnesses'
testimony "concerning Vaughn's termination [to be] inconsistent,
incredible and actionable as retaliation." However, because there was no
finding of an "on-the-job injury," the trial court ruled against Vaughn.
Vaughn appealed to this Court.
Section 25-5-11.1, Ala. Code 1975, provides:
"No employee shall be terminated by an employer solely because the employee has instituted or maintained any action against the employer to recover workers' compensation benefits under [the Act] or solely because the employee has filed a written notice of violation of a safety rule pursuant to subdivision (c)(4) of Section 25-5-11."
4 SC-2024-0235
There is no requirement of an "on-the-job injury" in the statute's text.
This Court has held that workers' compensation statutes "should be
liberally construed in favor of the employee in order to advance and
effectuate their beneficent purposes." Culbreth v. Woodham Plumbing
Co., 599 So. 2d 1120, 1123 (Ala. 1992).
In 2000, this Court purported to apply what it called a "new rule"
for establishing a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge:
"[U]nder the new rule expressed in Bleier [v. Wellington Sears Co., 757 So. 2d 1163, 1171 (Ala. 2000)], a trial court, in deciding whether to enter a summary judgment against the employee in a retaliatory-discharge case, should view all evidence in the light most favorable to the employee and ask whether the employee has shown: (1) an employment relationship; (2) an on-the-job injury; (3) notice to the employer of the on-the-job injury; and (4) subsequent termination of employment."
Dunn v. Comcast Corp., 781 So. 2d 940, 943 (Ala. 2000) (emphasis added).
Upon closer inspection, however, those elements were unnecessary to
decide the case in Dunn. In Dunn this Court held that a plaintiff was not
required to show, as part of his prima facie case, that he was "willing and
able" to work. Id. Although Dunn purports to be applying a "new rule
expressed" in Bleier v. Wellington Sears Co., 757 So. 2d 1163 (Ala. 2000),
id.," those elements appear to be drawn from the Wyoming Supreme
5 SC-2024-0235
Court, which was itself adopting a test from Oklahoma Supreme Court
precedent. See Bleier, 757 So. 2d at 1171 (quoting Cardwell v. American
Linen Supply, 843 P.2d 596, 599-600 (Wyo. 1992), quoting in turn
Buckner v. General Motors Corp., 760 P.2d 803, 806-07 (Okla. 1988)). In
fact, Bleier, for its part, did not purport to establish a new test but,
rather, relied on decisions from foreign jurisdictions as persuasive
precedent to show why there should be no "willing and able" requirement
in the prima facie case. Id. at 1172. Because the "on-the-job injury"
requirement was not necessary to the disposition of the case, I believe
that it was dicta and therefore not binding. See Ex parte Williams, 838
So. 2d 1028, 1031 (Ala. 2002) ("obiter dictum is, by definition, not
essential to the judgment of the court which states the dictum").
Before the Court unnecessarily imported the four elements from a
decision from a foreign jurisdiction in Bleier and Dunn, the Court had
simply held that "an employee may establish a prima facie case of
retaliatory discharge by proving that he was 'terminated' because he
sought to recover worker's compensation benefits." Twilley v. Daubert
Coated Prods., Inc., 536 So. 2d 1364, 1369 (Ala. 1988); see also Coastal
6 SC-2024-0235
Lumber Co. v. Johnson, 669 So. 2d 803, 809 (Ala. 1995); Culbreth, 599
So. 2d at 1122.
Although this Court occasionally had made reference to a prima
facie case being established when an employee provided proof that he
"had filed a workers' compensation claim for a work-related injury" and
that the injury had "prevented him from working for a period of time,"
[see, e.g., Graham v. Shoals Distrib., Inc., 630 So. 2d 417, 418 (Ala. 1993),]
those cases merely held that a prima facie case may be proven by showing
an injury, an attempt to claim workers' compensation benefits, and
subsequent termination. Indeed, those cases reaffirmed the Twilley
standard. Id. Even after Dunn, this Court has never decided a case that
turned on the "on-the-job injury" requirement. See, e.g., Ex parte Isbell,
153 So. 3d 8, 22 (Ala. 2013) (holding that the lower court incorrectly
applied and interpreted the causation element); Falls v. JVC Am., Inc., 7
So. 3d 986, 990 (Ala. 2008) (expressly holding that "[w]e will not elaborate
on the second and third prongs of the [four-part] test, because resolution
of those issues is not necessary to the resolution of this case"); Blue Circle
Cement Inc. v. Phillips, 989 So. 2d 1025, 1039 (Ala. 2007) (holding that it
is necessary to show that termination is "solely because" of a workers'
7 SC-2024-0235
compensation claim); Tyson Foods, Inc. v. McCollum, 881 So. 2d 976, 983
(Ala. 2003) (holding that there is "no substantial evidence indicating that
[the employer's] termination of [the employee] had anything to do with
[the employee's] having received workers' compensation benefits ….");
Alabama Power Co. v. Aldridge, 854 So. 2d 554, 569-70 (Ala. 2002)
(holding that there is a sole-causation requirement); Dunn, 781 So. 2d. at
943 (holding that a plaintiff did not need to show as part of his prima
facie case that he is "willing and able" to return to work); Bleier, 757 So.
2d at 1171 (holding that there is no "willing and able" requirement).
Because the "on-the-job injury" requirement has never been essential to
the disposition of a retaliatory-discharge case under the Act, I believe
that it continues to be dicta. See Williams, 838 So. 2d at 1031.
The Court of Civil Appeals, accurately interpreting the text of § 25-
5-11.1 in Cleckler v. A & C Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc., 820 So. 2d
830, 836 (Ala. Civ. App. 2001), held that a retaliatory-discharge claim
should not be dismissed because of a finding that "that [the plaintiff's]
injuries did not arise out of and in the course of his employment." The
Court of Civil Appeals held that, under the text of the statute and the
Twilley rule, there was "no requirement that an employee be successful
8 SC-2024-0235
in his claim for workers' compensation benefits." Id. Although this Court
is not bound by the decisions of the Court of Civil Appeals, I believe that
Cleckler interprets § 25-5-11.1 better than Dunn and its progeny.
Elements (1), (3), and (4) of the Dunn test, together, could be
interpreted as merely a restatement of the Twilley rule and are thus
logically derivable from the statutory text. However, as interpreted by
the trial court, the "on-the-job injury" requirement places a burden on the
plaintiff that cannot be derived from the text of § 25-5-11.1. The trial
court's confusion, in turn, was caused by our judicially created rule that
cannot be found in or logically deduced from the statute. The unfortunate
side effect of this judicially created rule is the denial of otherwise
meritorious claims.
As I have previously noted, " 'the courts are not at liberty … to read
into [a statute] and interpolate words which do not appear in the
language enacted by the Legislature.' " Ex parte E.R.G., 73 So. 3d 634,
649 (Ala. 2011) (quoting McCall v. Automatic Voting Mach. Corp., 236
Ala. 10, 13, 180 So. 695, 697 (1938)) (emphasis omitted). If the
Legislature wishes to create a new element of a retaliatory-discharge
claim, it is free to amend the statute.
9 SC-2024-0235
For these reasons, I believe that the trial court's interpretation of §
25-5-11.1 is incorrect. Because our precedents have created confusion,
this Court should issue an opinion that clarifies and corrects this error.
Therefore, I respectfully dissent.