Vogel v. E.D. Bullard Co.

949 F. Supp. 2d 699, 35 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1606, 2013 WL 2476574, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80254
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Kentucky
DecidedJune 7, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 5:12-cv-11-JMH
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 949 F. Supp. 2d 699 (Vogel v. E.D. Bullard Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vogel v. E.D. Bullard Co., 949 F. Supp. 2d 699, 35 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1606, 2013 WL 2476574, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80254 (E.D. Ky. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

JOSEPH M. HOOD, Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the Court upon the Motion for Summary Judgment of Defendant E.D. Bullard Company (“Bullard”) [DE 71], in which Bullard asks the Court to determine whether, among other things and as a matter of law, it ever promised Plaintiff James D. Vogel (“Vogel”) a rose garden and, even if it did, whether that was an enforceable promise. Vogel has filed a Response [DE 72] stating his objections to the Motion, and Bullard has filed a Reply [DE 75] in further support of its Motion. Having considered the matter carefully in light of the undisputed facts and the relevant law, the Court concludes that, as a matter of law, the claims stated in Plaintiffs Amended Complaint [DE 60] are without merit and shall be dismissed.

I. Background

Defendant Bullard is a maker of fire and safety equipment, which markets and sells its products on an international level. Plaintiff Vogel was contacted in September 2010 by an executive recruiter, retained by Bullard in an effort to recruit Vogel to leave his employment of eleven years and become an employee of Bullard. The recruiter interviewed Vogel in Minnesota, where he resided and worked, in October 2010. After several follow-up communications with the recruiter, Bullard invited Vogel to interview with personnel in Kentucky in November and December 2010. At that time, Bullard provided him a job description for the position for which Vogel was being recruited — Vice President of Marketing and Sales. The job description set forth the specifics of the position, including “tak[ing] the lead in managing, training and motivating approximately forty marketing and sales professionals and support staff around the world,” and stated that Bullard was a “team-oriented environment” where work was “fun,” and where there were “great colleagues to work with.” An organizational chart was also provided to Vogel which depicted that all of Bullard’s marketing, sales, and customer service functions reported to the Vice President of Marketing and Sales and that the position would oversee marketing, sales, and customer service functions on a global level.

During the recruiting process, Bullard touted the lucrative financial opportunity presented to Vogel, including short-term and long-term incentive compensation that was available after employment for the requisite time, as well as the authority and autonomy that he would have as the global head of Bullard’s Marketing and Sales activities; the substantial time, support, and guidance he would receive in order to learn the company’s organization, processes, strategies, and staff during Chief Executive Officer Richard Miller’s (“Miller”) two-year transition into retirement; and the supportive and positive atmosphere and culture which existed at Bullard. President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Pasch (“Pasch”) represented to Vogel that he would be “debt free in a few years” of employment because of the compensation that would come his way if he joined the company. During the recruiting process, Miller and Pasch explained to Vogel that it would take six to twelve months for him “to get to know the business” and that he would use that time to absorb the business, products, and culture, before making appropriate marketing and sales changes.” [702]*702Miller promised Vogel that his “main focus [would] be to offer support and guidance to the new Vice President of Marketing and Sales during” the two year period prior to his retirement.

Vogel interviewed with Miller, Pasch, and Linda Huesing, Bullard’s Director of Human Resources during his first round of interviews, in November 2010. Huesing told Vogel that Deborah Kenny, the past prior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, had left because she was not a “good fit” and that she had left based on a “mutual agreement.” In response to Vogel’s inquiries about the culture, atmosphere, and environment at Bullard, Huesing noted that it was a “roll-up your sleeves” place, that employees at all levels interacted with the senior management, and that it was a non-union environment.

On December 29, 2010, Bullard invited Vogel to Lexington to interview with its owner and the Chairman of the Board, Edward “Jed” Bullard. In that interview, Vogel was informed that he would spend the first six to twelve months of his employment assessing the organization, processes, strategies, and staff issues at Bullard to determine what was needed at the company and who would be reporting to him at the conclusion of that year. Pasch has testified that Bullard represented to Plaintiff that the “global” duties of the Vice President of Marketing and Sales would include international responsibility “over time,” that he would reach responsibility for “worldwide” sales and marketing through “steps.”

On December 30 and 31, 2010, Pasch and Vogel engaged in telephone conversations, while Vogel was at his Minnesota residence, to discuss the terms of Vogel’s prospective Employment with Bullard. Pasch and Vogel exchanged emails which included revised offers of employment to confirm the “principal elements” of the offer to Vogel. Vogel received and accepted his final offer of employment while he was in Minnesota.

In their offer of employment, memorialized in a later dated December 30, 2010, Bullard represented that he would receive a bi-weekly salary of $7,602.31, annualized to $200,000.00. He would participate in the Short Term and Long Term Management Incentive Programs as set forth in a memorandum describing those benefits.1 Vogel offered to pay for a number of relocation expenses, including “temporary living expenses up to $2,400 per month for up to six months or the end of September if needed.” There was also a “[s]igning bonus of $20,000 (taxable as ordinary income, payable 30 days after your start date ... and subject to full repayment to the Company should you voluntarily terminate your employment within two years of yours tart date.” Other elements of the offer included “[f]our weeks of paid vacation plus eleven paid holidays (includes three personal ‘holidays’ of your choosing).” Bullard also promised him a performance and salary review within a year from his employment date, among other things. Plaintiff concedes that he did not raise the issue of whether his employment [703]*703was at-will or for a term in his pre-employment negotiations.

In an email sent after Vogel agreed to join Bullard, Miller wrote that he would “join with Eric [Pasch] to support you in every way I can and in any way you need.” He further indicated that he and Pasch would “do all we can to help make the transition as smooth as possible.” Id. Bullard further encouraged him to accept the offer, writing that it saw “only positive outcomes should you honor us by joining the Company” that, while “[t]here [would] be plenty of hard work ... this hard work will be conducted in a supportive and positive environment with colleagues who have a passion for what they do and even have a little fun along the way!”

Vogel accepted the offer and came to work at Bullard. Once there, he received Bullard’s Employee Handbook, which Vogel acknowledged that he received on January 19, 2011, stating, among other things, that “[v]acation is accrued weekly.” Also, about a month after Vogel commenced his employment at Bullard, he was presented with a document entitled “Agreement” and was asked to sign it before receiving the $20,000 signing bonus. He did so.

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Related

James Vogel v. E.D. Bullard Company
597 F. App'x 817 (Sixth Circuit, 2014)

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Bluebook (online)
949 F. Supp. 2d 699, 35 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 1606, 2013 WL 2476574, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vogel-v-ed-bullard-co-kyed-2013.