Koller v. Pontiac Osteopathic Hosp.,
No. 229630 (Mich. Ct. App. May 21, 2002)

The Court of Appeals of Michigan affirmed a trial court's decision to grant a hospital's motion for summary judgment in a suit brought by a nurse asserting claims under the state's Whistleblower's Protection Act. The Act protects persons discharged who were about to report a violation or suspected violation of a state law, but the person must show a connection between the reporting and the dismissal. The nurse alleged that harassment by doctors amounted to constructive discharge following her objections to the doctors' abusive patient treatment. The court held that, despite repeated threats by the nurse to report the incidents to an outside agency, too much time had passed between the threats and her resignation, and the evidence did not "clearly and convincingly" show that she was on the verge of reporting the patient abuse to the state at the time she was forced to resign.