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Northeast Health Management9/7/2001
AFFIRMING
Northeast Health Management, Inc., and McLean County General Hospital, Inc., have appealed from a judgment entered on December 2, 1999, by the McLean Circuit Court which followed a jury verdict which awarded Kimberly Cotton and Pamela Howell compensatory and punitive damages for wrongful termination and constructive discharge. The hospital raises several arguments on appeal: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that the conditions created by the hospital, through administrator Mynette Dennis, created intolerable employment conditions; (2) the jury's verdict that the hospital wrongfully discharged Cotton and Howell as a result of Dennis' request that they commit perjury was not supported by the evidence and was clearly erroneous; (3) the jury's finding that Howell was discharged as a result of her refusal to alter business records was clearly erroneous and based solely upon supposition and speculation because Howell failed to produce any evidence to support that such a request was in violation of a legislative enactment; (4) punitive damages were not warranted because the hospital did not act with malice or gross negligence towards Cotton and Howell; (5) the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury with regard to punitive damages; (6) the introduction of testimony of Kathleen Haley for the purpose of impeaching Dennis was improper; and (7) the trial court abused its discretion by allowing improper character evidence to be heard. Having concluded that no reversible error occurred, we affirm.
From November 1988, until November 1996, Northeast Health Management, Inc. and McLean County General Hospital, Inc., operated the McLean County General Hospital. Cotton and Howell were employees at this hospital which had a small staff. Cotton was employed as the activities director and handled general office duties. Howell was employed as the business office clerk. Dennis was employed as the hospital administrator between 1988 and 1996 and she was primarily responsible for the day-to-day operations of the hospital and had significant input on all decisions relating to hospital personnel. She had the ability to both hire and fire employees and could change employees' job duties and assignments. Prior to March 1995, Cotton and Howell had a very good working relationship with Dennis. However, in March 1995, Dennis was charged with shoplifting a bottle of suntan lotion from a local tanning salon.
In April 1995, Dennis and her daughter, along with some of her daughter's friends, decided to take a vacation in the Bahamas. Dennis invited both Cotton and Howell to go on the trip. According to Dennis, the vacation package would cost less per person if additional people went. Howell went on the trip, but Cotton did not go because she had previously made plans for another vacation at the same time.
Shortly after returning from the Bahamas, Dennis called Cotton and Howell into her office for two meetings during which she discussed the events that led to her shoplifting charge. Cotton and Howell claim that Dennis told them to be seated and she provided them pen and paper and asked them to take notes. The notes, which were introduced at trial, included additions in Dennis' handwriting which she acknowledged. Cotton and Howell claim that Dennis wanted them to testify that they overheard a conversation over the speaker phone between Dennis and an employee at the tanning salon. At the second meeting, both Cotton and Howell told Dennis that they could not testify falsely, and they claim Dennis responded harshly, "Fine!"
It is from this point that Cotton and Howell allege that their working relationship with Dennis turned cold and bitter. C
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