Barmettler v. Reno Air Inc.4/16/1998
Appeal from summary judgment. Second Judicial District Court, Washoe County; Steven R. Kosach, Judge.
Affirmed.
Reno Air employed appellant Andrew Barmettler ("Barmettler") from July 1992 to February 1993. In November of 1992, after informing his supervisors that he was suffering from an alcohol problem, Barmettler admitted himself into a residential treatment facility. Reno Air had previously adopted a written drug and alcohol policy which expressly stated that it would retain, in strict confidence, an employee 's participation in any chemical dependency program. This policy was distributed to all employees.
Barmettler alleges that his supervisor discussed the situation with a number of Reno Air employees and that, after returning to work, he was "jeered" by a number of these co-workers. This allegedly caused him to contemplate suicide and seek additional psychotherapy. Thereafter, Barmettler was terminated.
Reno Air claims to have terminated Barmettler for circulating rumors that two Reno Air employees were having an illicit affair. Barmettler maintains that Reno Air terminated his employment in retaliation for his complaints in connection with his supervisor's violations of Reno Air's confidentiality policy.
Barmettler filed a complaint against Reno Air on April 24, 1994, alleging nine claims for relief: (1) breach of contract; (2) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; (3) negligence; (4) fraudulent misrepresentation; (5) negligent misrepresentation; (6) lost wages; (7) wrongful termination; (8) intentional infliction of emotional distress; and (9) negligent infliction of emotional distress. The case was assigned to an arbitrator on October 18, 1994.
On March 10, 1995, the district court granted summary judgment as to the following five claims for relief: breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, lost wages, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and wrongful termination.
The remaining four claims were arbitrated on June 5, 1995 (negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation and intentional infliction of emotional distress). Following a ruling in favor of Reno Air by the arbitrator, Barmettler filed a "Request for Trial De Novo. " Reno Air then filed a motion for summary judgment as to the four arbitrated claims for relief.
In its November 20, 1995 order, the district court granted summary judgment on all four of the remaining claims. On December 22, 1995, the district court reduced its March 10 and November 20, 1995 orders to final judgment in favor of Reno Air. On January 31, 1996, the district court entered a separate order granting attorney's fees in the amount of $3,000.00 pursuant to Nevada Arbitration Rule ("NAR") 20(a). Barmettler appeals the summary judgment rulings in appeal No. 27849, and the award of attorney's fees in appeal No. 28100.
Summary judgment is only appropriate when, after a review of the record viewed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there remain no issues of material fact. Butler v. Bogdanovich, 101 Nev. 449, 451, 705 P.2d 662, 663 (1985) . "In determining whether summary judgment is proper, the nonmoving party is entitled to have the evidence and all reasonable inferences accepted as true." Wiltsie v. Baby Grand Corp. , 105 Nev. 291, 292, 774 P.2d 432, 433 (1989) However, the nonmoving party "'is not entitled to build a case on the gossamer threads of whimsy, speculation, and conjecture."' Collins v. Union Fed. Savings &, Loan, 99 Nev. 284, 302, 662 P.2d 610, 621 (1983) (quoting Hahn v. Sargent, 523 F. 2d 461, 469 (1st Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 904 (1976)
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