On April 10, Gordon & Rees Atlanta partner Chad A. Shultz won a case at the Colorado Court of Appeals affirming summary judgment in favor of his client, a long-term care facility.
The plaintiff was the business office manager responsible for submitting billings for Medicaid reimbursements. In January 2010, she identified a number of claims that she believed were uncollectible under regulatory guidelines (stale claims). However, her superiors thought the claims could be submitted to Colorado Medicaid for payment. When the plaintiff learned that the claims had been submitted, she gave her employer an ultimatum: Withdraw the claims immediately or accept her resignation. The employer accepted her resignation and she filed a wrongful termination and constructive discharge suit.
After extensive discovery, the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. The plaintiff appealed.
The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the district court ruling holding that, as a matter of law, the plaintiff did not have a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy because the evidence was undisputed that she resigned of her own volition and was not terminated. The court further concluded that the plaintiff’s constructive discharge claim failed, as a matter of law, because there was no evidence the plaintiff suffered intolerable working conditions.