Layne v. Builders Plumbing Supply Co.

569 N.E.2d 1104, 210 Ill. App. 3d 966, 155 Ill. Dec. 493, 6 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 669, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 461
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMarch 27, 1991
Docket2-90-0787
StatusPublished
Cited by71 cases

This text of 569 N.E.2d 1104 (Layne v. Builders Plumbing Supply Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Layne v. Builders Plumbing Supply Co., 569 N.E.2d 1104, 210 Ill. App. 3d 966, 155 Ill. Dec. 493, 6 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 669, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 461 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE UNVERZAGT

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, Sylvia Layne, brought a five-count complaint in the circuit court of Du Page County seeking damages from defendant, Builders Plumbing Supply Company, Inc., her former employer. According to the complaint, plaintiff had worked for defendant since 1982. On June 13, 1989, defendant had related to the Addison police department that plaintiff had threatened, harassed, and assaulted a coworker. Plaintiff was subsequently discharged from defendant’s employment on June 14,1989.

Count I of plaintiff’s complaint pleaded a cause of action for common-law defamation. Count II purported to state a cause of action for false-light invasion of privacy. In count III, plaintiff alleged a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress and in count IV, a claim for retaliatory discharge. Count V alleged a cause of action for self-compelled defamation, a previously unrecognized tort in Illinois.

Defendant filed motions to dismiss all counts. The court granted the motions to dismiss counts I and II, accepting defendant’s argument that the statements made to Addison police were absolutely privileged and not actionable. The court also granted defendant’s motion to dismiss count III, finding that defendant’s conduct was not so outrageous as to state a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. As to count IV, the trial court declined to expand the tort of retaliatory discharge to include the discharge of an employee about whom an employer has made false statements to police prior to the employee’s discharge. The court also dismissed count V of the complaint, refusing to recognize the tort of compelled self-defamation.

Plaintiff appeals, contending: (1) that the trial court erred in finding that an absolute privilege barred plaintiff’s claims based upon defamation and false-light invasion of privacy; (2) that the trial court erred in dismissing plaintiff’s claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress for failure to state a cause of action; (3) that the trial court erred in dismissing plaintiffs cause of action for wrongful discharge; and (4) that the trial court erred in failing to recognize a cause of action for compelled self-defamation.

In determining the propriety of an order granting a defendant’s motion to dismiss a complaint, the standard of review is whether the allegations of the complaint, when viewed most favorably to the plaintiff, are sufficient to state a cause of action upon which relief may be granted. (Smith v. County of White (1989), 191 Ill. App. 3d 569, 574.) Facts alleged in a plaintiff’s complaint will be taken as true for purposes of a motion to dismiss. (Mount Prospect State Bank v. Village of Kirkland (1984), 126 Ill. App. 3d 799, 800.) Although a motion to dismiss admits all facts well pleaded, the pleadings are to be construed strictly against the pleader. Firestone v. Fritz (1983), 119 Ill. App. 3d 685, 688.

Plaintiff first contends that the trial court erred in dismissing her claims based upon defamation (count I) and false-light invasion of privacy (count II). Due to the similarities between these torts, the trial court applied the identical legal theory in dismissing counts I and II, finding that an absolute privilege barred the claims alleged in those counts. It is plaintiff’s position that statements made to law enforcement officials are privileged, but the privilege is only conditional, or qualified, and not absolute.

Whether a defamatory statement is protected by an absolute or a qualified, or conditional, privilege is a question of law for the court. (Thomas v. Petrulis (1984), 125 Ill. App. 3d 415, 417.) Generally, the class of occasions where a defamatory statement is absolutely privileged is narrow. (Allen v. Ali (1982), 105 Ill. App. 3d 887, 890.) The privilege embraces actions required or permitted by law in the course of judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings as well as actions “necessarily preliminary” to judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings. (Parrillo, Weiss & Moss v. Cashion (1989), 181 Ill. App. 3d 920, 928; see also Starnes v. International Harvester Co. (1989), 184 Ill. App. 3d 199, 203-05.) An absolute privilege provides complete immunity from civil action, even though the statements are made with malice, as plaintiff contends here, because public policy favors the free and unhindered flow of such information. (Starnes, 184 Ill. App. 3d at 203.) In light of these principles and under the facts of the instant case, we find defendant was immune from plaintiff’s defamation and false-light invasion of privacy claims. In so finding, we rely on two cases cited by the defendant, Starnes v. International Harvester Co. (1989), 184 Ill. App. 3d 199, and Dean v. Kirkland (1939), 301 Ill. App. 495.

In Starnes, plaintiff was a State court judge who had presided over a lengthy and controversial product liability trial brought against International Harvester. International Harvester’s counsel considered plaintiff remiss in his role as presiding judge and presented allegations of impropriety to Federal law enforcement officials as well as to the State Judicial Inquiry Board. Plaintiff considered the allegations defamatory and filed suit for libel and slander. The only persons plaintiff could identify as the recipients of the allegedly defamatory statements were Federal law enforcement officials, and the trial court determined communications to these officials were absolutely privileged.

On appeal, plaintiff contended that statements to law enforcement officials should not be accorded complete immunity because immunity condoned and encouraged malicious harassment through police investigations. Plaintiff maintained that a qualified privilege provided adequate protection for reporting incidents of alleged wrongdoing to law enforcement authorities. The appellate court rejected plaintiff’s argument and affirmed the lower court. In so doing, the court first stated that whatever is said or written in a legal proceeding, which is pertinent or material to the matter in controversy, is absolutely privileged and no action for libel or slander can be maintained thereon. The court went on to state that Illinois has applied this rule to statements made prior to the commencement of trial, including communications made to prosecuting authorities concerning alleged criminal activities. Included in these communications were statements made to police alleging criminal activities. Relying on Dean v. Kirkland (1939), 301 Ill. App. 495, and other authorities, the court determined that statements made to Federal law enforcement officials should be absolutely privileged.

In Dean, plaintiff filed an action against, among others, an investigator, Jacob Manassa, retained by the Kirkland law firm. Plaintiff sought to recover damages for alleged slanderous remarks. As to Manassa, plaintiff alleged that he had slandered her when he had a conversation with a member of the Chicago police department and invited the officer to come to Kirkland’s law offices where Manassa would prove to the officer that plaintiff was a woman of bad repute and not worthy of credit or belief and that she was a blackmailer and a crook. The court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint, finding as to Manassa that the alleged false statement he made to the police officer was privileged. The court stated:

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569 N.E.2d 1104, 210 Ill. App. 3d 966, 155 Ill. Dec. 493, 6 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 669, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 461, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/layne-v-builders-plumbing-supply-co-illappct-1991.