In its opinion, the appellate court determined that
the officers' actions of approaching Marcie Fuerschbach,
informing her of an outstanding warrant, handcuffing her
and leading her to a point 15 feet away could be found by a
jury to constitute an unreasonable seizure.
Though Fuerschbach was aware of the practice of the
airlines to play a prank on employees successfully
completing their initial probationary periods, the court
found that, in the scenario she described, it was
reasonable that she believed she was not free to leave.
While the district court found that the officers had
a good faith belief that their actions were lawful because
they only "briefly restrain[ed] Plaintiff as part of a
prank at the request of SWA," the appellate court
disagreed, saying the actions constituted false
imprisonment.
According to the opinion, "Neither the brevity of the
seizure nor its characterization as a prank enable the
officers to prevail on summary judgment."
Finally, the court also reversed the lower court's
decision for the officers on Fuerschbach's claim of
assault and battery, finding that handcuffing her
constituted bodily contact that offended her sense of
personal dignity.
Southwest Airlines traditionally played a prank on
its employees upon their completion of an initial
probationary period.
Fuerschbach's supervisor had asked the officers to stage
the arrest and assured them she would be fine with it.
However, when they approached her at a crowded ticket
counter and told her that a background check had revealed
an outstanding arrest warrant, she became very upset and
cried.
At one point, Fuerschbach had asked the officers if
this was a joke, to which neither replied.
After being handcuffed and led to an elevator 15 feet away
from the counter, a coworker shouted congratulations and
everyone applauded.
Fuerschbach remained upset, crying all day until told to go
home.
She sought treatment for emotional distress and was
diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
She sued the company, her supervisors, the officers and the
city of Albuquerque.
A district court granted summary judgment to all parties,
and granted qualified immunity to the officers.
While the appellate court upheld the lower court's
decision that the Worker's Compensation Act provided the
exclusive remedy for claims against her employer, it
disagreed with granting immunity to the officers.
Citing a previous court decision, the appellate
court warns, "One who plays dangerous practical jokes on
others takes the risk that his victims may not appreciate
the humor of his conduct and may not take it in good
part."
The decision in Fuerschbach v. Southwest Airlines
Co. is
here
.