SHERRY SANFORD V RESIDENT ADVANCEMENT INC
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
SHERRY SANFORD,
UNPUBLISHED
August 9, 2002
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 231955
Genesee Circuit Court
LC No. 99-066475-NO
RESIDENT ADVANCEMENT INC.,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: Talbot, P.J., and Cooper and D. P. Ryan*, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Plaintiff appeals as of right from the circuit court’s order dismissing her complaint
against defendant. We affirm. This appeal is being decided without oral argument pursuant to
MCR 7.214(E).
Plaintiff sued defendant for violation of the Whistleblower’s Protection Act [WPA],
MCL 15.361 et seq., alleging that defendant fired her in retaliation for reporting abuse at her
workplace and participating in the subsequent investigation. Defendant moved for summary
disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(10), arguing that there was no evidence of a causal
connection between plaintiff’s protected activity and her discharge. The circuit court agreed
with defendant and granted summary disposition.
The evidence before the circuit court did not indicate that plaintiff was fired for reporting
her coworker’s misconduct or for cooperating in the subsequent investigation. Rather, the
evidence established that defendant fired plaintiff based on her own neglect for failing to report
earlier incidents of abuse. While plaintiff’s neglect was revealed in the investigation, the WPA
does not grant plaintiff immunity from the consequences of her own neglect or misconduct.
Plaintiff cannot raise the WPA as a “shield” against legitimate discharge for her own
misconduct. Shallal v Catholic Social Services, 455 Mich 604, 622; 566 NW2d 571 (1997).
Affirmed.
/s/ Michael J. Talbot
/s/ Jessica R. Cooper
/s/ Daniel P. Ryan
* Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment.
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