Walsh V. Consolidated Freightways Inc‪.‬

This is a tort action in which plaintiff's complaint alleged two separate causes of action. The first alleges that plaintiff was wrongfully discharged from his employment by the defendant and seeks compensatory damages for lost wages and mental anguish, as well as punitive damages. In his second cause of action, plaintiff seeks additional compensatory and punitive damages for defamation and for interference with his contractual relationship with a subsequent employer. The trial court granted defendant's motion for a judgment of involuntary nonsuit with respect to plaintiff's second cause of action, but submitted his first cause of action to the jury and entered a judgment for the plaintiff on the jury's verdict. Defendant appeals from that judgment, and plaintiff cross appeals from the nonsuit of his second cause of action. Because the respective issues raised by the appeal and the cross-appeal are distinct and relate to different facts, we will discuss the appeal and the cross-appeal separately.