Wadden v. Village of Woodridge

549 N.E.2d 1280, 193 Ill. App. 3d 231, 140 Ill. Dec. 408, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 40
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 16, 1990
Docket2-89-0157
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 549 N.E.2d 1280 (Wadden v. Village of Woodridge) 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
Wadden v. Village of Woodridge, 549 N.E.2d 1280, 193 Ill. App. 3d 231, 140 Ill. Dec. 408, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 40 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE WOODWARD

delivered the Opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, William Wadden (Wadden), filed a three-count complaint against the defendant, Village of Woodridge (Woodridge). Pursuant to a motion by Woodridge, count II of the complaint was dismissed. Thereupon, Woodridge filed a motion for summary judgment as to counts I and III of the complaint. Wadden filed an answer to the motion for summary judgment, to which defendant then filed a reply. Wadden then filed a motion to strike Woodridge’s reply. The motion to strike was denied, and the trial court granted Woodridge’s motion for summary judgment. Wadden appeals, raising the following issues: whether the trial court erred in granting the motion for summary judgment; and whether the trial court erred for failing to grant Wad-den’s motion to strike Woodridge’s reply to Wadden’s answer to the motion for summary judgment.

The pertinent facts as revealed by the pleadings are largely undisputed and are as follows.

In February 1985, Wadden was advised by Leonard Berg, the director of golf course services for the Village of Woodridge, that Wood-ridge was hiring him for the position of golf professional. In addition to the annual base salary of $33,000 that the position paid, Berg orally agreed to pay Wadden 5% of the annual net profits of Woodridge’s golf pro shop. Wadden was also given a copy of its employee manual. Later, Wadden received a revised copy of the employee manual which provided, inter alia, that any employee who completes six months of probationary service automatically becomes a permanent employee and, as such, is entitled to a due-process hearing prior to being demoted or terminated for cause. The employee manual also provided that an employee may be laid off when there is a shortage of work or funds or when a position is abolished.

On March 3, 1987, Joseph G. Fennell, the acting administrator for the Village of Woodridge, notified Wadden by letter that the position of full-time golf professional was being abolished and that he would be laid off effective May 1,1987.

Subsequently, Wadden learned that on March 19, 1987, Woodridge had advertised in the local paper seeking to fill the position of support-service supervisor. Through his attorney, Wadden sent his application for the position of support-services supervisor to Woodridge. The letter also stated that Wadden believed that the general responsibilities and required knowledge and skills of his position of golf professional were identical to the position of support-service supervisor. Further, Wadden advised in the letter that if he was not appointed to the support-services supervisor position, he would deem the elimination of his position as an improper discharge without cause, in violation of Woodridge’s employment and grievance procedures.

After receiving Wadden’s letter and application, Woodridge stopped advertising for the position of support-services supervisor and did not fill the position. The position of golf professional (seasonal, part time) was filled by Scott Pless, Woodridge’s former assistant golf professional, a position eliminated at the same time as Wadden’s.

On April 30, 1987, Woodridge advertised seeking to fill the position of administrative assistant to the director of golf course services. Wad-den did not submit another application for this position. In July 1987, Woodridge filled this position with someone other than Wadden.

On August 21, 1987, Wadden filed a three-count complaint against Woodridge. Count I alleged that because the position of administrative assistant was the same in substance as that of golf professional, Wood-ridge had breached the contractual provisions of its employee manual by discharging Wadden without a due process hearing before the village administrator. Count II alleged that Woodridge had not acted in good faith in dealing with Wadden. Count III alleged that Woodridge had breached the oral agreement to pay Wadden his bonus of 5% of the net profit of the golf pro shop. Count II was later dismissed and is not part of the appeal before this court.

On or about April 8, 1988, Wadden served interrogatories on Woodridge, seeking, inter alia, appropriation ordinances covering the years 1985 to current date which had been passed and approved. On or about June 3, 1988, Woodridge served its answer to interrogatories on Wadden. On or about October 26, 1988, Woodridge filed its motion for summary judgment. In response to Wadden’s answer to the motion for summary judgment, Woodridge filed a reply memorandum and affidavit which contained budget summaries and two Woodridge ordinances as exhibits. Wadden filed a motion to strike Woodridge’s reply to the answer to the motion for summary judgment.

On December 27, 1988, a hearing was held on Wadden’s motion to strike. Wadden argued that Woodridge committed a substantial breach of discovery rules by failing to supply the ordinances requested by Wadden’s interrogatories. In response, Woodridge admitted that the budget summaries, which were exhibits to the appropriation ordinances, were not furnished to Wadden and should have been furnished. The other ordinances were transfer ordinances which were not requested by Wadden. Counsel for Woodridge denied that failure to supply the documents was willful or intentional. Counsel for Woodridge suggested that in addition to supplying Wadden with the missing documents, he would not object to Wadden being given time to respond, or Woodridge would withdraw that portion of its motion for summary judgment with respect to count III that argued there was no appropriation for a percentage of the profits. Counsel for Wadden responded that Wadden was not seeking sanctions under Supreme Court Rule 201(k) (107 Ill. 2d R. 201(k)) but rather under section 2 — 611 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 110, par. 2 — 611). The trial court denied the motion to strike and refused to impose sanctions on Woodridge. Wadden elected to proceed with the hearing on the agreed basis that Woodridge would withdraw its nonappropriation argument with respect to count III of the complaint.

On January 19, 1989, the trial court granted Woodridge’s summary judgment as to counts I and III, the remaining counts of the complaint. Wadden now brings this appeal.

Wadden contends, first, that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment as to count I of his complaint. Specifically, Wadden argues that since the “new” position of administrative assistant to the director of golf course services was the same as that of golf professional, there exists a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Woodridge actually abolished Wadden’s position. If, in fact, the position was not abolished, then under the provisions of the employee manual, Wadden is entitled to a hearing before the village administrator before he can be discharged.

In order to resolve this issue, we must examine the qualifications necessary for each of these jobs. The qualifications for golf professional (the position held by Wadden), included graduation from high school or equivalent, two years of college preferred, and five years’ experience as a golf professional or assistant golf professional, and currently holding a class A membership or junior membership in the PGA of America.

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Bluebook (online)
549 N.E.2d 1280, 193 Ill. App. 3d 231, 140 Ill. Dec. 408, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 40, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wadden-v-village-of-woodridge-illappct-1990.