When Jeffrey Jackson's wife, Marie, launched a romance with her supervisor, then, a month after that ended, launched a sexual affair with a colleague, Jackson did what any American who knows a lawyer would do.
He sued.And he lost.
The Utah Supreme Court this week ruled that employers can't be held legally liable for employees' romances and affairs even when those affairs are conducted during business hours with other em-ploy-ees.
Jackson sued Novell Inc. and Univel, the two companies Marie Jackson worked for during her liaisons. Jackson accused the corporations of alienating his wife's affections. He said the companies had a legal duty to him to better supervise their employees.
But the high court held that an employer can only be held liable for the harmful acts of an employee if the acts were within the scope of the employee's work.
In the case of Grover P. Righter, Marie Jackson's supervisor, the court concluded, "Mr. Righter was not hired to perform acts of a sexual nature on, or make romantic overtures toward, an employee under his supervision."
On the contrary. Righter's overtures were an abandonment of the supervisory functions he was hired to perform, the justices concluded.
Even though Righter took Marie Jackson to various hotels with him on business trips or during the business day, his company was not liable for that behavior because it did not benefit from the conduct.
The court concluded that an employee's conduct is not within the scope of his employment when his motivation is personal, even though some business transaction may also occur.
"Mr. Righter admits that his motives were entirely personal and were in no way directed at the accomplishment of Novell's or Univel's interests. Thus, although Mr. Righter used business activities as a forum for pursuing his romantic relationship with Mrs. Jackson, his acts were clearly an abandoment of employment and outside the scope of his employment," the court ruled.
The Jacksons were married in 1987. In 1988, Marie Jackson began working at Novell. Righter was her supervisor. Over three years, he promoted her twice, authorized her to record unworked overtime hours as an unofficial raise, gave her substantial bonuses and lavished gifts on her from his personal fund, according to the ruling.
Besides their trips, "the two spent much time together in Mr. Righter's office during working hours discussing personal matters, hugging and kissing," the ruling says.
Marie Jackson ended the relationship in 1991. "That same month, Mrs. Jackson began a relationship with defendant Clay Wilkes," another Novell employee, the ruling says.
That same year, Righter, Wilkes and Marie Jackson left Novell and began working for Univel. Marie Jackson continued her affair with Wilkes, and the Jacksons later divorced, the ruling says.
The court upheld a lower court's decision in favor of Novell and Univel before trial.
Employers can't police the activities of employees to protect their spouses, the justices concluded. In fact, woe to the employer who tries, they warned.
"Indeed, absent some indication of harassment or intimidation, an employer who attempted, merely upon the basis of its knowledge of a romantic relationship, to police the personal conduct of its employees may expose itself to liability for interfering with private relationships," Associate Chief Justice Daniel Stewart wrote in the opinion.