Crews v. Buckman Laboratories International, Inc.
Tennessee Supreme Court
78 S.W.3d 852 (2002)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Julia Crews (plaintiff) was a deputy in-house counsel in the legal department of Buckman Laboratories International, Inc. (Buckman) (defendant). Crews discovered that Buckman’s general counsel was not licensed to practice law in Tennessee. Crews reported her concerns to company officials and the Board of Law Examiners. Crews’s employment was terminated. Crews sued Buckman for retaliatory discharge in violation of public policy. The court granted Buckman’s motion to dismiss the complaint. The intermediate appellate court affirmed. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted Crews leave to appeal to decide whether in-house counsel may assert a common-law cause of action for retaliatory discharge when counsel is discharged in retaliation for reporting incidents of unauthorized practice of law.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Barker, J.)
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