Opinion
OP 22-0023
01-25-2022
CHARLES DANIEL SMITH, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC., Defendant and Appellee.
ORDER
In accordance with M. R. App. P. 15, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has certified to this Court the following question of law, which has arisen in that court's Cause No. 2021-35149:
Whether, in an action for wrongful discharge pursuant to Montana Code Annotated section 39-2-904, an employer may defend a termination solely for the reasons given in a discharge letter, as the court held in Galbreath v. Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc., 890 P.2d 3 82 (Mont. 1995), or whether the 1999 statutory amendments have superseded the Galbreath rule.
This Court accepts the certified question on the relevant facts set forth in the Ninth Circuit Court's certification of the question. In accordance with M. R. App. P. 15(4), we reserve any determination whether to reformulate the question pending full consideration of the issue. We will answer the question in due course following briefing.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the parties shall, in accordance with the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure, prepare, file, and serve briefs addressing the certified question set forth above, with the opening brief of the Plaintiff and Appellant to be filed within 30.days of the date of this Order. Thereafter, additional briefing shall proceed in accordance with the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure,
The Clerk is directed to provide copies of this Order to all counsel of record for the parties in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Cause No. 21-35149, and to the Clerk of Court for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.