Discharged employee's claim is dismissed in reliance upon admittedly-defective affidavit
Judge Christopher Murray was the presiding judge on a Court of Appeals' panel that dismissed Gerald Norton's wrongful discharge case. Judge Murray votes, in virtually every case, against individuals who sue claiming employment injuries, bodily injury or civil rights violations. In Norton's case, Judge Murray's panel held that an admittedly defective, conclusory Affidavit filed by the employer was adequate to dismiss Norton's employment case, because Norton did not file a responsive affidavit.
The Court of Appeals opinion pointed out that the employer's affidavit merely parroted the conclusory pleadings already filed by the employer and did not support the conclusions with admissible factual information. Nevertheless, it upheld the dismissal of Norton's claim (after HE SOUGHT summary disposition because of the employer's failure to support its charge of misconduct) because Norton did not respond to the defective affidavit filed by the employer.