Robinson v. Nielsen TV Ratings, No. 3:2010cv00009 - Document 24 (E.D. Va. 2010)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM AND OPINION. Signed by District Judge James R. Spencer on 10/289/10. (Copy mailed to pro se plaintiff)(jtho, )
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for relief under Title V)) for unlawful harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, the Court dismisses the Title V)) claims against the Defendants. 5 B. Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing The Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants violated an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by attributing her termination to a violation of company policy. Virginia does not recognize this alleged breach as a tort in the employment context. E.g., Devnew v. Brown & Brown, Inc., F. Supp. d , E.D. Va. A>Virginia law is decidedly straightforward on this matter: the Commonwealth does not recognize a cause of action for breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in employment contracts, and in at will employment contracts in particular.=@ ; see also Greene v. Nat=l Head Start Ass=n, Inc., No. : CV , U.S. Dist. LEX)S at * Court dismisses this claim against the Defendants. E.D. Va. . Accordingly, the C. Wrongful Termination The Commonwealth of Virginia identifies wrongful termination in violation of public policy as a Alimited exception to the general principles of at will employment that are firmly entrenched within Virginia jurisprudence.@ Storey v. Patient First Corp., d , E.D. Va. Va. ; see also Bowman v. State Bank of Keysville, F. Supp. S.E. d , . To state a claim for wrongful termination in Virginia, a plaintiff must Aidentify a Virginia statute that the employer defendant violated by terminating the plaintiff.@ Storey, F. Supp. d at . The Plaintiff fails to identify such a statute. Furthermore, although the Virginia Supreme Court has not addressed this issue, it is unlikely that an individual can be liable for wrongful termination, because this would broaden the limited exception to at will employment that the Virginia Supreme Court first 6 recognized in Bowman. VanBuren v. Virginia Highlands Orthopaedic Spine Center, LLC, No. : CV , U.S. Dist. LEX)S at * W.D. Va. . Accordingly, the Court dismisses the wrongful termination claim against the Defendants. D. Public Policy Violation The Plaintiff asserts that the Defendants violated public policy by terminating her employment after she made racial harassment allegations. Since she neither cites any public policy nor offers any rationale for this claim, the Court dismisses it. IV. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS the Defendants= Motion to Dismiss. Let the Clerk send a copy of this Memorandum to the Plaintiff and to all counsel of record. An appropriate order will issue. )t is SO ORDERED. ENTERED this th day of October /s/ James R. Spencer Chief United States District Judge . 7
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