J. RANDAL HALL, District Judge.
On June 23, 2009, Plaintiff Jon Stringfield ("Plaintiff") filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Richmond County, Georgia, alleging that Defendant IAP World Services, Inc. ("Defendant" or "IAP") committed libel and slander against him. (Doc. no. 1.) Defendant removed the action to this Court and subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment (doc. no. 21) and a motion to strike the affidavit of J. Patrick Arthur (doc. no. 51), which are both presently pending before the Court. The time for filing materials in opposition to these motions has passed, and the motions are now ripe for consideration.
IAP is an international corporation that provides general support services for military installations. In early 2007, IAP was the prime contractor at Fort Gordon, Georgia ("Fort Gordon"). (Stringfield Dep. at 41.) As the prime contractor, IAP served two major functions on base: public works and logistical support. (Id. at 41-42.) IAP's public works function included, inter alia, the maintenance of buildings, the heating and cooling systems ("HVAC"), and the sewage treatment facility. (Id.; Fulbright Dep. at 9 & 14.) In terms of logistical support, IAP's services included oversight of supply operations, vehicle maintenance, and transportation. (Stringfield Dep. at 41-42; Fulbright Dep. at 9 & 14.)
In August of 2007, IAP hired Plaintiff to serve as its operations manager at Fort Gordon. (Stringfield Dep. at 39 & 49.) Shortly after IAP hired Plaintiff, AKIMA, a native-Alaskan corporation that also provides support services for military installations, secured a cost-plus base operations contract.
When AKIMA emerged as the prime contractor at Fort Gordon, nothing changed with regard to Plaintiff's position as IAP operations manager. (Stringfield Dep. at 39.) He continued working for and reporting to Rick Underwood ("Underwood"), who remained the on-site project manager for IAP. (Id. at 50.) AKIMA, however, brought in its own, separate on-site project manager, John Fulbright, to oversee the entire Fort Gordon contract. (Fulbright Dep. at 9.)
Employees of IAP and AKIMA worked regularly with the individuals within the Department of the Army who were responsible for overseeing and coordinating the various activities covered by AKIMA's contract. These individuals included John Ramey ("Ramey"), the Director of Public Works at Fort Gordon. (Ramey Dep. at 9.) Ramey's responsibilities included the maintenance and repair of the post's real property assets. (Id.) He supervised various employees, including Glenn Stubblefield ("Stubblefield") and J. Patrick Arthur ("Arthur"). (Id. at 35.) Arthur served as the Facilities Manager at Fort Gordon and was a "first responder" who had direct contact with contractors when an emergency occurred on post. (Id.) He reported directly to Stubblefield, the Operations Maintenance Division Chief. (Id.)
On or around June 14, 2008, an HVAC problem developed on-post at Building 24402, causing room temperatures to rise to nearly ninety degrees. (Id. at 30-35.) Stubblefield informed Ramey of this problem, and Ramey received authorization to direct the contractors to purchase freestanding air conditioning units; Stubblefield then relayed the message to Underwood who passed it along to Plaintiff. (Id.; Stringfield Dep. at 142.)
Plaintiff contacted Scott Pearson of A Chuck's Heating and Air Conditioning, an organization on the approved vendor list for the Fort Gordon project, who he referred to Underwood, the IAP employee with the authority to purchase the airconditioners. (Stringfield Dep. at 145; Fulbright Dep. at 32.) Underwood purchased the air conditioners, and they were promptly placed on-post at Fort Gordon.
On October 9, 2008, law enforcement officials arrested Michael Waters, IAP's supervisor of the heating and cooling plant and an individual who reported directly to Plaintiff, for solicitation and acceptance of a "kickback" while employed on-post with IAP. (Stringfield Dep. at 50 & 57; Doc. no. 57 at 85.) A month later, on November 19, 2008, the Procurement Fraud Branch of the Department of the Army sent IAP a show cause letter threatening the sanction of debarment from future contracts with agencies of the executive branch of the United States Government. (Doc. no. 47, Ex. 1 at 2.)
IAP then began an investigation into the entire Fort Gordon procurement process. (Stringfield Dep. at 109.) During the
In the letter terminating his employment, IAP stated the following:
(Id.)
According to Plaintiff, during the course of his termination, five different IAP employees reviewed this letter, including: Ruth Tomlin, a secretary in the Human Resources Department; Rick Underwood, the Fort Gordon project manager and Plaintiff's direct supervisor; Mark Gow, Human Resources Director; David Toops, Vice-President of Army Operations; and Jacquelin Humphries, the Human Resources Manager.
Plaintiff's slander claims arise, in part, from his pursuit of employment after his termination from IAP. Not long after Plaintiff's termination, Fulbright posted a project coordinator position for AKIMA. (Fulbright Dep. at 46.) Plaintiff applied for this position, but was informed by Fulbright that AKIMA could not hire Plaintiff due to his previous termination by IAP. (Id. at 47.) Plaintiff contends Fulbright said that his bosses had been told by individuals at IAP that Plaintiff could not be trusted.
The other basis for Plaintiff's slander claims arises from communications allegedly made to Arthur, the Facilities Manager at Fort Gordon and an employee of the Department of the Army. (Doc. no. 48, Ex. 1 at 1.) Plaintiff has submitted an affidavit from Arthur in which Arthur states that, a short time after Plaintiff's termination, Chuck Dominey, a man who represented himself as an officer and agent of IAP, relayed to him the facts that formed the basis of Plaintiff's termination. (Id.)
Defendant filed its motion for summary judgment on April 9, 2010. (Doc. no. 21.) In its motion, Defendant argues that Plaintiff's claims against it fail because, among other things, the statements identified as the basis of his claims: (1) were true; (2) were not "published;" (3) were not authorized by IAP; (4) were merely statements of opinion; and/or (5) were subject to a qualified privilege that Plaintiff cannot overcome. (Id.) Defendant has also filed a motion to strike Arthur's affidavit (doc. no. 51), but the Court does not reach the merits of this motion in light of the fact that judgment as a matter of law is warranted regardless of whether Arthur's affidavit is considered.
The Court should grant summary judgment only if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Facts are "material" if they could affect the outcome of the suit under the governing substantive law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The Court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986), and must draw "all justifiable inferences in [its] favor," United States v. Four Parcels of Real Prop. in Greene and Tuscaloosa Cntys., 941 F.2d 1428, 1437 (11th Cir.1991) (en banc) (internal punctuation and citations omitted).
The moving party has the initial burden of showing the Court, by reference to materials
If — and only if — the movant carries its initial burden, the non-movant may avoid summary judgment only by "demonstrat[ing] that there is indeed a material issue of fact that precludes summary judgment." Id. When the non-movant bears the burden of proof at trial, the non-movant must tailor its response to the method by which the movant carried its initial burden. If the movant presents evidence affirmatively negating a material fact, the non-movant "must respond with evidence sufficient to withstand a directed verdict motion at trial on the material fact sought to be negated." Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1116. If the movant shows an absence of evidence on a material fact, the non-movant must either show that the record contains evidence that was "overlooked or ignored" by the movant or "come forward with additional evidence sufficient to withstand a directed verdict motion at trial based on the alleged evidentiary deficiency." Id. at 1116-17. The non-movant cannot carry its burden by relying on the pleadings or by repeating conclusory allegations contained in the complaint. See Morris v. Ross, 663 F.2d 1032, 1033-34 (11th Cir.1981). Rather, the non-movant must respond with affidavits or as otherwise provided by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.
Defendant argues in its motion for summary judgment that, with regard to Plaintiff's libel claims, "no defamation can be made when the alleged statement [sic] are made to employees of the company for which Plaintiff works who are authorized to receive the information, such as Human Resource personnel and Plaintiff's supervisors." (Doc. no. 21 at 10.) Plaintiff has provided no response in opposition to Defendant's motion as to these particular claims.
Plaintiff made clear during his deposition that the only individuals who viewed his termination letter — that he knew of — were IAP employees who had good reason to receive the information as a result of their positions within the company. Most of these employees worked in the human resources department or held positions of authority within the organization, and all identified employees had a direct, business-related connection to Plaintiff's termination.
Not only has Plaintiff failed to respond to Defendant's arguments regarding all claims that may exist as a result of the disclosure of Plaintiff's termination letter to IAP employees-drawing into question whether he intends to continue pursuing these claims — but there is also no evidence of any legally sufficient publication, which is required under Georgia law. The evidence before the Court, even when considered in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, overwhelmingly supports Defendant's contention that the disclosures to IAP employees were warranted in light of the individuals' positions and job descriptions; Plaintiff neither points to nor provides any evidence to the contrary. Accordingly, Defendant's motion for summary judgment as to Plaintiff's libel claims, based upon the statements made to IAP employees, is hereby
Plaintiff also contends that IAP orally "published false unprivileged statements
Georgia courts have expressly stated on numerous occasions that respondeat superior does not apply in slander cases. See Desmond v. Troncalli Mitsubishi, 243 Ga.App. 71, 75, 532 S.E.2d 463 (2000) ("`[T]he doctrine of respondeat superior does not apply in slander cases, and a corporation is not liable for the slanderous utterances of an agent acting within the scope of his employment, unless it affirmatively appears that the agent was expressly directed or authorized to slander the plaintiff.'" (quoted source omitted)); see also Smith v. Trust Co. Bank, 215 Ga.App. 413, 416, 450 S.E.2d 866 (1994) (same); Gerald v. Ameron Auto. Ctrs., 145 Ga.App. 200, 201, 243 S.E.2d 565 (1978) ("Georgia's law has stubbornly clung to the notion that a corporation must expressly authorize its agent's slander, or it will have no liability."). The Georgia Court of Appeals has stated the following with regard to claims of corporate slander:
Ray v. Am. Legion Auxiliary, 224 Ga.App. 565, 566, 481 S.E.2d 266 (1997) (quoted source omitted).
As to the issue of corporate slander, Plaintiff only provides argument in support of a single claim and cites no legal authority in support thereof.
Georgia authority appears to be in direct conflict with Plaintiff's position. As set forth above, Georgia courts have expressly held that a corporation shall not be liable for slander committed by "an officer, even though he be acting honestly for the benefit
For example, in Anderson v. Hous. Auth. of Atlanta, 171 Ga.App. 841, 841, 321 S.E.2d 378 (1984), an employee of the central maintenance facilities of the Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta accused the organization of slander based upon statements released to the media by its acting executive director. Despite the director's position within the organization and evidence that the housing authority frequently spoke by and through this individual, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's decision to issue a directed verdict in favor of the defendant housing authority. Id. at 843, 321 S.E.2d 378. In support thereof, the court stated that "there [was] no evidence of express authorization by the housing authority for the statements" which were the subject of the litigation. Id.
Accordingly, Dominey's position in and of itself is insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether IAP expressly authorized or directed any employee to make statements to a third party regarding the basis of Plaintiff's termination. Furthermore, the Court is unable to find, and Plaintiff has not identified, any other evidence indicating that IAP authorized or directed any of its employees to disclose the contents of Plaintiff's termination letter to any third party. Accordingly, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is
Based upon the foregoing, Defendant IAP World Services, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment (doc. no. 21) is hereby