Payne v. Northwest Corp.
911 F. Supp. 1299
In the United States District Court for the District of Montana
Case Number CV 95-035-BLG-RWA
Before Magistrate Judge Anderson
Decided on November 29, 1995

Relevancy of the case: Validity of employment termination after recording calls and indulging in insubordinate behaviour

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Federal Wiretapping Act, 18 USC §§ 2510-2520
• The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 56(c))

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The plaintiff is a white male who was 44 years old with a disability whom the defendants terminated. The plaintiff recorded the voicemail left at Northwest Bank Billings and the telephonic conversations with customers.
• The defendant company terminated the plaintiff for inappropriate behaviour, including recording a conversation without consent.

Prominent Arguments by the Counsels

• The plaintiff’s counsel argued his termination was due to age discrimination because his supervisors testified he performed satisfactorily. The recording had no criminal or tortious intent. Furthermore, he believed his superior violated company policy by helping write a review about him.
• The defendant’s counsel argued that the decision to terminate the plaintiff was based on his insubordinate behaviour. This was detrimental to his employer’s interests, disruptive at work, and against the directives of his superiors. Moreover, the plaintiff did not have the consent of other parties, so recordings of conversations violated the right to privacy.

Opinion of the Bench

• Neither discrimination nor retribution were the driving factors behind the plaintiff’s termination. There is virtually no evidence to support this or from which a jury could infer.

Final Decision

• The court accepted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment.