Combs v. City Electric Supply Co.

Outcome

Excerpt

1. Employer and Employee — wrongful discharge — reporting misconduct to management — evidence sufficient The trial court erred by granting defendants' motion for directed verdict on a claim for the wrongful discharge of an at-will employee where the claim was based upon a retaliatory termination after plaintiff reported to management that the company was withholding negative account balance statements from customers, transferring the monies to a separate account, and continuing to invoice customers in violation of N.C.G.S. § 14-100 (obtaining property by false pretenses). 2. Employer and Employee — tortious interference with contract — termination — wrongful purpose — evidence sufficient The trial court erred by granting defendants' motion for directed verdict on a claim for tortious interference with a contract by defendant Smith where plaintiff reported misconduct Page 76 within the company to Smith and was later terminated. Plaintiff forecasted more than a scintilla of evidence that he was terminated for a wrongful purpose. 3. Appeal and Error — preservation of issues — argument not raised Plaintiff was deemed to have abandoned an argument on appeal that a corporation ratified the acts of a supervisor in a wrongful termination suit. Plaintiff did not raise the issue in his brief, cite authority, or point to evidence in the record. 4. Unfair Trade Practices — employment dispute — not an un-fair or deceptive trade practice The trial court did not err by granting defendants' motion for a directed verdict on plaintiffs claim for unfair and deceptive trade practices after an alleged retaliatory firing. The case involved a simple employment dispute and did not fall with