Swanson v. American Manufacturing Company

511 S.W.2d 561, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2498
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 28, 1974
Docket17516
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 511 S.W.2d 561 (Swanson v. American Manufacturing Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Swanson v. American Manufacturing Company, 511 S.W.2d 561, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2498 (Tex. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinions

OPINION

LANGDON, Justice.

This appeal is from a summary judgment in a suit filed by the plaintiff, David Swanson, appellant, against the defendants, American Manufacturing Company of Texas, the appellee, and A. B. Martin, an insurance adjuster for Pacific Indemnity Company, the workmen’s compensation carrier for American Manufacturing Company.

The cause of action is based upon Article 8307c, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St., Sec. 1, which provides that, “No person may discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because the employee has in good faith filed a claim, [562]*562hired a lawyer to represent him in a claim, instituted, or caused to be instituted, in good faith, any proceeding under the Texas Workmen’s Compensation Act, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding.” Section 2 of the Act provides for reasonable damages and reinstatement for an employee discharged in violation of the Act and places the burden of proof upon the employee.

The plaintiff, David Swanson, the appellant herein, will be referred to as Swanson. The defendant, American Manufacturing Company of Texas, the appellee herein, will be referred to as AMCOT and the defendant, A. B. Martin, as Martin. The latter was severed from the cause of action on Swanson’s motion after AMCOT’s motion for summary judgment was granted.

Thereafter Swanson brought this appeal asserting that the trial court erred in granting the summary judgment for AM-COT because there were material issues of fact to be presented to a jury and that he was entitled to have a jury determine whether or not he was discharged for exercising his rights under the Texas Workmen’s Compensation Laws.

We affirm.

Swanson’s cause of action against AM-COT alleged that he was discharged by AMCOT because he filed a workmen’s compensation claim while employed by AMCOT or because he had filed such a claim prior to his employment by AMCOT. AMCOT by way of answer stated it fired Swanson because he made at least four false statements in his application for employment and it was because of this that he was fired and not for any other reason.

The following facts are undisputed. Swanson filed his application for employment with AMCOT on September 20, 1972, and was employed by AMCOT from September 21, 1972, to May 18, 1973. Swanson was injured on March 23, 1973. He received medical treatment at the expense of AMCOT, was off work several days and returned for full time work on April 30, 1973, and worked full time until May 18, 1973, at which time he was discharged. (There is some confusion in the record as to whether he returned for full time work on April 23 or April 30, however, we believe the latter date to be more accurate because of a reference to his return to work about the first of May.)

The application for employment with AMCOT filled out by Swanson and filed by him with AMCOT on September 20, 1972, contained forms designated as (1) application for employment; (2) interview form; (3) “To Each Employee”; (4) your health or physical condition; and (S) report of physical examination.

It is undisputed that the following questions contained in the application and the various forms were answered by Swanson as indicated below and that each of such answers were false.

(1) “Have you ever had any mental or chronic diseases or have you ever filed a claim or made settlement of any kind for injury covered by workman’s compensation insurance or otherwise?” Answer: “None.”

(2) “Have you ever filed a claim or made settlement of any kind for any injury covered by Workman’s Compensation, insurance or otherwise?” Answer: “No.”

(3) “Have you received Workmen’s Compensation for any injuries?” Answer: “No.”

(4) “Have you ever had an accident?” Answer: “No.”

The application and the forms above described contained the various recitations set forth below and underneath each such recitation appeared a signature which Swanson in each instance admitted was his.

(A) “I understand that any false and misleading information made in connection with this application will result in revoca[563]*563tion of same and/or dismissal from employment, and agree to hold the American Manufacturing Company of Texas and persons named herein blameless should such information result in revocation of application or dismissal.”

(B) “I certify that I have answered all questions to the best of my ability and understand that falsification will be considered cause for dismissal.”

(C) “I also understand that any violation of these or any other Company rules can be grounds for disciplinary action or my dismissal.”

(D) “I am aware that any false statement on the above shall be sufficient cause for rejection or dismissal.”

On or about May 18, 1973, AMCOT re-cieved information, apparently from Martin who was handling Swanson’s March 23, 1973, claim, to the effect that in June or August of 1971 Swanson had made a workmen’s compensation claim while employed by Uvalde Construction Co., in Dallas, Texas.

Upon learning of the previous claim filed in 1971, AMCOT confronted Swanson with the information on May 18, 1973, and at such time Swanson admitted that he had deliberately misrepresented the facts when he filled out his application for employment with AMCOT. At the time of the conference with Swanson, on May 18, 1973, Harry Graham, AMCOT’s personnel director, terminated Swanson’s employment and advised Swanson that he was terminated because he had made false statements in the application which was the basis of his employment with AMCOT. This was the only reason assigned for termination of the employment. (At the time Graham discharged Swanson he was not aware of the March 23, 1973, workmen’s compensation claim made by Swanson.)

Swanson, by way of explaining his conduct in making the false and misleading answers, states that prior to the time he worked for AMCOT that he did have an on-the-job injury in 1971 while working for Uvalde Construction Company and filed a workmen’s compensation claim which was settled by a compromise settlement.

In Paragraph 2 of Swanson’s reply he asserts that he lied in his employment records because, “ . . .he had reason to believe and did believe that if he indicated in any of these blanks that he had had a prior workman’s compensation claim that he would be discriminated against by American Manufacturing Company of Texas and would not be employed.” Neither Swanson’s reply nor the controverting affidavit filed herein sets forth any facts, however meager, on which he could rely to support a “reasonable” belief that discrimination was contemplated by AMCOT. Applications of other AMCOT employees appear in the record reflecting they were employed although they truthfully answered the questions concerning prior claims for workmen’s compensation which had been filed by them prior to employment by AM-COT and that others retained their jobs after having filed claims during their employment with AMCOT.

In both Paragraph 4 of plaintiff’s reply and plaintiff’s controverting affidavit appears the assertion that plaintiff was fired because of his workmen’s compensation claim, and not because he lied.

It is undisputed in the record that at the time Graham, the personnel director, terminated Swanson’s employment that Graham was not aware of the workmen’s compensation claim of March 23, 1973, then pending.

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Swanson v. American Manufacturing Company
511 S.W.2d 561 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)

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Bluebook (online)
511 S.W.2d 561, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2498, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/swanson-v-american-manufacturing-company-texapp-1974.