ML022540419
| ML022540419 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Diablo Canyon  |
| Issue date: | 08/30/2002 |
| From: | Kane D Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin, Pacific Gas & Electric Co |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, US Federal Judiciary, Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of California |
| References | |
| 01-30923 DM, 94-07420640 | |
| Download: ML022540419 (12) | |
Text
JEFFREY L. SCHAFFER (No. 91404)
ETHAN P. SCHULMAN (No. 112466)
DEBORAH A. KANE (No. 184326)
HOWARD, RICE, NEMEROVSKI, CANADY, FALK & RABKIN A Professional Corporation Three Embarcadero Center, 7th Floor San Francisco, California 94111-4024 Telephone:
415/434-1600 Facsimile:
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15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 In re PACIFIC GAS and ELECTRIC COMPANY, a California corporation, Debtor.
Federal I.D. No. 94-0742640 Case No. 01-30923 DM Chapter 11 Case MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND
- AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM FOR FEASIBILITY PURPOSES (SAMUEL ANDERSON, CLAIM NO. 178)
Date:
Time:
Place:
Judge:
October 2, 2002 1:30 p.m.
235 Pine Street, 22nd Floor San Francisco, California Hon. Dennis Montali MPA ISO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM NO. 178 0 Attorneys for Debtor and Debtor in Possession PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION 510-9 27 28 0
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I TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
Page 3
INTRODUCTION AND
SUMMARY
OF CLAIM 1
4 STATEMENT OF FACTS 1
5 ARGUMENT 2
6 I.
PG&E WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES RECOVERED BY ANDERSON BECAUSE ITS VENDOR 7
CORESTAFF HAS AGREED TO FULLY INDEMNIFY AND DEFEND PG&E IN THE ANDERSON LITIGATION.
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II.
ANDERSON CANNOT SUSTAIN A CLAIM FOR WRONGFUL 9
TERMINATION AGAINST PG&E BECAUSE HE WAS NOT A PG&E EMPLOYEE.
3 10 III.
PG&E IS NOT LIABLE FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT 11 BECAUSE THE CONDUCT COMPLAINED OF BY ANDERSON IS NOT ACTIONABLE SEXUAL HARASSMENT, 12 AND EVEN IF IT WAS, ANDERSON FAILED TO EXHAUST HIS ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.
4 HOWARD1 D13 A.
Anderson Failed to Exhaust His Administrative Remedies.
5 14 SB.
PG&E Cannot Be Liable Under FEHA Because Its 15 Employees Did Not Sexually Harass Anderson.
5 16 C.
The Conduct Complained Of Was Not Actionable Sexual Harassment.
6 17 IV.
PG&E IS NOT LIABLE ON ANY OF ANDERSON'S TORT 18 CLAIMS.
6 19 A.
Anderson Has Not Set Forth Sufficient Facts To Support A Cause Of Action For Intentional Infliction Of Emotional 20 Distress.
7 21 B.
Anderson Cannot Support His Claim For Negligence.
7 22 C.
Anderson Cannot Sustain His Claim For Fraud And Concealment Against PG&E.
8 23 CONCLUSION 8
24 25 26 27 28 MPA ISO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM NO. 178
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Cases Abrahamson v. NME Hosps., Inc., 195 Cal. App. 3d 1325 (1987)
Alcorn v. Anbro Eng'g, Inc., 2 Cal. 3d 493 (1970)
Brooks v. City of San Mateo, 229 F.3d 917 (9th Cir. 2000)
Commodore Home Systems, Inc. v. Superior Court, 32 Cal. 3d 211 (1982)
Doe v. Capital Cities, 50 Cal. App. 4th 1038 (1996)
Evan F. v. Hughson United Methodist Church, 8 Cal. App. 4th 828 (1992)
Fisher v. San Pedro Peninsula Hosp., 214 Cal. App. 3d 590 (1989)
Harris v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 14 Cal. App. 4th 70 (1993)
Lazar v. Superior Court, 12 Cal. 4th 631 (1996)
Martin v. Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., 29 Cal. App. 4th 1718 (1994)
McGough v. University of San Francisco, 214 Cal. App. 3d 1577 (1989)
Premier Wine & Spirits v. E. & J. Gallo Winery, 846 F.2d 537 (9th Cir.
1988)
Robinson v. Ladd Furniture, Inc., 872 F. Supp. 248 (M.D.N.C. 1994)
Shoemaker v. Myers, 52 Cal. 3d 1 (1990)
Sistare-Meyer v. YMCA, 58 Cal. App. 4th 10 (1997)
Trujillo v. North County Transit Dist., 63 Cal. App. 4th 280 (1998)
Statutes 11 U.S.C. §502(b)(1)
Cal. Gov't Code
§§12900 et seM
§12935
§ 12940
§129400)(1)
§ 12960 Cal. Admin. Code §7287 (now codified at Cal. Code Regs. tit. 2, §7287)
MPA ISO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM NO. 178
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15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 INTRODUCTION AND
SUMMARY
OF CLAIM Samuel Anderson (Anderson) alleges in his Proof of Claim (the "Claim") that Pacific Gas & Electric Company ("PG&E" or the "Debtor") owes him $10 million, purportedly for "wrongful termination." Anderson's Claim is meritless, however, for the simple reason that he was never an employee of PG&E, and therefore cannot state a claim for wrongful termination.
Attached to the Claim is a copy of Anderson's First Amended Complaint in a lawsuit he filed against PG&E and his actual employer, Corestaff Services, Inc.
("Corestaff'), in which he alleges a myriad of tort and statutory claims. To the extent the Claim is premised on the lawsuit, it is meritless. Anderson's lawsuit is based primarily on allegations of wrongful termination and sexual harassment against Corestaff, and allegations that Corestaff "defrauded" PG&E through abuse of PG&E's minority vendor program. His claims against PG&E are that PG&E, the asserted victim of the alleged fraud, failed to investigate the alleged fraud and his claims for alleged sexual harassment against his Corestaff supervisors.
Anderson's allegations are meritless and subject to numerous defenses as a matter of law. Even if PG&E were held liable under any of Anderson's cockeyed theories, Corestaff has agreed to fully indemnify and defend PG&E, without reservation. This claim, therefore, may, safely be valued at zero for feasibility purposes.
STATEMENT OF FACTS Anderson filed the Claim on June 8, 2001. The basis for the Claim is "wrongful termination," and the amount claimed is $10 million. Declaration of Deborah S. Shefler
("Shefler Decl.") ¶2 & Ex. A.
Prior to filing the Claim, and before PG&E filed its petition for bankruptcy protection on April 6, 2001, Anderson filed suit against Corestaff, three Corestaff employees and PG&E. In his First Amended Complaint, filed in San Francisco Superior Court on April 26, 1999, Anderson alleged that he was an employee of Corestaff, not PG&E. Shefler Decl.
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¶3 & Ex. B ¶1. He then went on to allege that Corestaff wrongfully terminated him for complaining that Corestaff was defrauding PG&E. He also claimed that Corestaff personnel sexually harassed him by showing him an offensive picture, and discriminated against him on the basis of his gender. Id. Ex. B ¶1O(e)-(f). Corestaff was a PG&E vendor, hired to coordinate and administer PG&E's minority vendor program. Id. Ex. B ¶1.1 Anderson was a Corestaff employee, performing work solely for Corestaff. Id. Ex. B ¶¶1, 9.
Anderson's complaint includes four causes of action against PG&E: (1) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (2) fraud and concealment; 3) negligent supervision and negligence per se; and (4) violation of California Administrative Code Section 7287. Id. Ex. B. The gist of Anderson's claims against PG&E are that PG&E did not adequately investigate his charges that Corestaff was defrauding PG&E, and that PG&E failed to take action when he allegedly informed it that he was offended by a picture shown to him by his Corestaff supervisor. Id.
ARGUMENT The Claim is meritless for three reasons. First, even if Anderson were to recover against PG&E in his lawsuit (which he will not), PG&E would not be required to pay any such damage award because Corestaff has agreed to fully indemnify and defend PG&E, without reservation. Second, Anderson was not an employee of PG&E, so PG&E could never be liable to him for wrongful termination. Finally, as we explain in more detail below, Anderson's causes of action against PG&E are fatally flawed and subject to dismissal as a matter of law on several grounds. For all of these reasons, the Claim should be valued at zero.
'Anderson alleges that Corestaff was in charge of coordinating the minority vendor program, but that is not the case. Corestaff was hired to coordinate and administer PG&E's staff augmentation program, and was required to meet certain expectations regarding subcontracting with minority vendors.
PG&E coordinates its minority vendor program internally.
MPA ISO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM N 1
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2 PG&E WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES RECOVERED BY ANDERSON BECAUSE ITS VENDOR 3
CORESTAFF HAS AGREED TO FULLY INDEMNIFY AND DEFEND PG&E IN THE ANDERSON LITIGATION.
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As we describe in detail below, Anderson's claims against PG&E are frivolous.
6 Even so, PG&E would not be required to pay any damages, in the unlikely event they were 7
ever awarded to Anderson, because its co-defendant Corestaff has agreed to fully indemnify 8
and defend PG&E, without reservation, in the litigation brought by Anderson. Shefler Decl.
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¶4 & Ex. C. For this reason alone, it is appropriate for the Court to value Anderson's claim 10 at zero for feasibility purposes.
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" 12 II.
13 ANDERSON CANNOT SUSTAIN A CLAIM FOR WRONGFUL K
TERMINATION AGAINST PG&E BECAUSE HE WAS NOT A "Acr 14 PG&E EMPLOYEE.
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a.-15 The Claim alleges only that Anderson seeks $10 million from PG&E for 16 "wrongful termination." Anderson's civil complaint, however, does not appear to contain 17 any allegation that PG&E is liable for wrongful termination of his employment, and the 18 Claim fails to state any basis to establish such a claim against PG&E in any amount. See 11 19 U.S.C. §502(b)(1) (providing for disallowance of claims that are unenforceable under any 20 agreement or applicable law). That is because in order to state a claim for wrongful 21 termination a plaintiff must have had an employment relationship with the defendant. See, 22 e.g., Sistare-Meyer v. YMCA, 58 Cal. App. 4th 10, 14 (1997) (independent contractors 23 cannot assert claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy);,Harris v. Atlantic 24 Richfield Co., 14 Cal. App. 4th 70, 73-77 (1993) (tort action for wrongful discharge in 25 violation of public policy does not exist outside the employment relationship); Abrahamson 26
- v. NME Hosps., Inc., 195 Cal. App. 3d 1325, 1329-30 (1987) (independent contractor could 27 not maintain cause of action for wrongful termination in violation of public policy); Premier 28 Wine & Spirits v. E. & J. Gallo Winery, 846 F.2d 537, 540 (9th Cir. 1988) (same) (applying MPA ISO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM N v
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14 SIKK 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 California law); Robinson v. Ladd Furniture, Inc., 872 F. Supp. 248, 252-53 (M.D.N.C.
1994) (claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy "is only recognized in the employee/employer context") (applying California law).
In his complaint filed with the San Francisco Superior Court Anderson admits that he was an employee of Corestaff, not PG&E. Shefler Decl. ¶3 & Ex. B ¶1. Since he was not an employee of PG&E, he cannot state a claim for wrongful termination.
III.
PG&E IS NOT LIABLE FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT BECAUSE THE CONDUCT COMPLAINED OF BY ANDERSON IS NOT ACTIONABLE SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND EVEN IF IT WAS, ANDERSON FAILED TO EXHAUST HIS ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.
Anderson appears to allege in his lawsuit that PG&E sexually harassed him, in violation of California Administrative Code Section 7287.2 As a threshold matter, it should be noted that Anderson's claim under Section 7287 is tantamount to a claim for sexual harassment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, set forth in California Government Code Section 12900 et se.. ("FEHA"). Section 7287, which is now known as California Code of Regulation Section 7287, is an implementing regulation of FEHA (Cal.
Gov't Code §12935), and does not, and cannot, provide separate grounds for liability from its implementing statute.
Anderson cannot state a claim against PG&E for three reasons (1) he has failed to exhaust his administrative remedies; (2) PG&E's employees did not harass Anderson; and (3) the conduct Anderson complains about is not actionable sexual harassment.
2This allegation appears in Anderson's ninth cause of action. He does not allege in his seventh cause of action, however, that PG&E harassed him in violation of California Government Code Section 12940, nor does he allege any specific conduct by any PG&E employee that constituted harassment.
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Anderson Failed to Exhaust His Administrative Remedies.
Before a plaintiff can bring a complaint for alleged violations of FEHA, he or she must first file a charge with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one year of the alleged discriminatory or harassing conduct. Cal. Gov't Code
§12960. Exhaustion of remedies under FEHA is a jurisdictional prerequisite to filing suit.
Commodore Home Systems, Inc. v. Superior Court, 32 Cal. 3d 211, 214 (1982); Martin v.
Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., 29 Cal. App. 4th 1718, 1724 (1994).
Here, the events complained of by Anderson occurred in late 1998, and perhaps in early 1999. Shefler Decl. ¶3 & Ex. B ¶9. Anderson alleges in his complaint that he filed an administrative charge against Corestaff and his Corestaff supervisor, but nowhere does he allege having brought such a charge against PG&E. Id. Ex. B ¶39. As such, he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies and aniy harassment charge against PG&E is barred.
B.
PG&E Cannot Be Liable Under FEHA Because Its Employees Did Not Sexually Harass Anderson.
By its express terms, FEHA only provides for liability for an employer whose employee harasses another employee or applicant or independent contractor. Cal. Gov't Code §129400)(1).3 The person Anderson accuses of the allegedly harassing conduct, Julia Dougherty, was his Corestaff supervisor. Shefler Decl. ¶3 & Ex. B ¶¶3, 10(e). She was admittedly not an employee of PG&E. Under the plain terms of the statute, PG&E cannot be liable for sexual harassment under FEHA for the actions of Corestaff personnel.
3Section 129406)(1) provides that it is an unlawful employment practice:
For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation, to harass an employee, an applicant, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract....
(Cal. Gov't Code §129400)(1) (emphasis added))
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The Conduct Complained Of Was Not Actionable Sexual Harassment.
Even if there was some theory of liability against PG&E Anderson could articulate (which there is not), the conduct he complains of is not actionable sexual harassment. For sexual harassment to be actionable under FEHA, it must be severe and pervasive. Fisher v. San Pedro Peninsula Hosp., 214 Cal. App. 3d 590, 610 (1989)
("[H]arassment cannot be occasional, isolated, sporadic, or trivial[;] rather the plaintiff must show a concerted pattern of harassment of a repeated, routine or a generalized nature")
(citations omitted). Here, Anderson complains only that his Corestaff supervisor showed him an objectionable picture. As a matter of law, that conduct is insufficient to support a claim for sexual harassment.
The only sexually harassing conduct Anderson complains of is two emails containing pornographic photos, sent by his Corestaff supervisor, back in December 1998.
Shefler Decl. ¶3 & Ex. B ¶10(e). Such minimal conduct does not meet the severe and pervasive standard. See, e.g., Brooks v. City of San Mateo, 229 F.3d 917, 926 (9th Cir.
2000) (single incident of "highly offensive" touching that lasted a matter of minutes, with no injury to plaintiff or impairment of her.ability to perform her job, did not create a hostile work environment).
Finally, to the extent Anderson claims PG&E failed to prevent the harassment, his claim fail's. There is no liability for failure to prevent harassment when no actionable harassment occurred. Trujillo v. North County Transit Dist., 63 Cal. App. 4th 280, 288-289 (1998).
IV.
PG&E IS NOT LIABLE ON ANY OF ANDERSON'S TORT CLAIMS.
Anderson has also brought three tort causes of action against PG&E, all stemming from PG&E's alleged failure to adequately investigate his charges that Corestaff was defrauding PG&E. None of the causes of action can be sustained.
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Anderson Has Not Set Forth Sufficient Facts To Support A Cause Of Action For Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress.
In order to state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff must show that the defendant engaged in conduct "so extreme as to exceed all bounds of that usually tolerated in a civilized community." McGough v. University of San Francisco, 214 Cal. App. 3d 1577, 1587 (1989) (citations omitted). Insults, indignities, threats or annoyances are not extreme and outrageous behavior. Alcorn v. Anbro Eng'g, Inc., 2 Cal.
3d 493, 499 n.5 (1970). Discipline and criticism in the workplace are not outrageous if they are a normal part of the employment relationship. Shoemaker v. Myers, 52 Cal. 3d 1, 25 (1990).
Here, Anderson alleges only that two PG&E employees "treated plaintiff harshly, with hostility, ignored him and would not exchange pleasantries in the workplace." Shefler Decl. ¶3 & Ex. B ¶13(n) (emphasis added). Such trivial allegations simply are insufficient to support a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
B.
Anderson Cannot Support His Claim For Negligence.
The elements of a negligence cause of action are "(a) a legal duty to use due care; (b) a breach of such legal duty; [and] (c) the breach as the proximate or legal cause of the resulting injury." Evan F. v. Hughson United Methodist Church, 8 Cal. App. 4th 828, 834 (1992). In order to make out a claim for negligent supervision, a plaintiff must show that the employer knew or should have known that the employee or contractor would cause the specific harm that occurred. Doe v. Capital Cities, 50 Cal. App. 4th 1038, 1054-55 (1996)
(employer could not have known that studio employee would drug and sexually assault plaintiff, even if employer knew about employee's use of his position to gain sexual favors).
Here, Anderson claims that PG&E fiegligently failed to supervise Corestaff, and failed to investigate Anderson's claims that Corestaff was stealing from PG&E and abusing the minority vendor system. How Anderson could have been harmed by such conduct is a mystery, since PG&E, not Anderson, was the alleged victim of Corestaff s purported MPA ISO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM N 1
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-15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 wrongdoing. As for his claims that PG&E failed to investigate his allegations of sexual harassment, Anderson has not alleged any facts to show that PG&E knew or should have known that his Corestaff supervisor would show him the offensive picture. PG&E could not have predicted that behavior, and therefore could not have stopped it before it occurred.
Furthermore, Anderson does not allege that his -supervisor, or anyone else, continued to engage in any sexually harassing conduct following his alleged complaint to PG&E, and therefore he cannot show that he was harmed by any alleged failure by PG&E to take action to stop the alleged harassment.
C.
Anderson Cannot Sustain His Claim For Fraud And Concealment Against PG&E.
Fraud requires proof of (a) a misrepresentation; (b) knowledge of the falsity of the misrepresentation; (c) intent to defraud (i.e., intent to induce reliance); (d) justifiable reliance; and (e) resulting damage. Lazar v. Superior Court, 12 Cal. 4th 631, 638 (1996).
Anderson cannot show justifiable reliance, causation or damage resulting from any of the alleged fraudulent actions of PG&E.
In his complaint, Anderson alleges that a PG&E employee "defrauded" him by promising to investigate his complaints against Corestaff. He claims that had PG&E (and presumably the other named defendants) not defrauded him, he would not have left his prior employment months before to take his job with Corestaff. Shefler Decl. ¶3 & Ex. B ¶24.
The alleged fraudulent actions by PG&E, however, occurred, if at all, long after Anderson had quit his previous job and joined Corestaff. Obviously, any after the fact promise of action by PG&E could not have induced him to work for Corestaff, and Anderson could not have justifiably relied on any action by PG&E to his detriment. Anderson's damages, if any, arise from Corestaff's termination of his employment, an action in which PG&E had no involvement.
CONCLUSION As described above, Anderson's claims are vulnerable to several defenses as a MPA ISO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM N 1
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15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 matter of law. -Even in the unlikely event PG&E were to be found liable, it will not have to pay on any judgment because Corestaff has agreed to indemnify PG&E without reservation.
Therefore, it is appropriate for the Court to value the Anderson claim at zero for feasibility purposes.
DATED: Augustj 2002.
Respectfully, JEFFREY L. SCHAFFER ETHAN P. SCHULMAN DEBORAH A. KANE HOWARD, RICE, NEMEROVSKI, CANADY, FALK & RABKIN A Pro essional Corporation DEBBRA H A KANE/
Attorneys for Debtor and Debtor in Possession PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY WD 083002/F-1419968/Y7/1012569/vi MPA ISO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR VALUATION OF CLAIM N