Gary Sawyer, Doug Kempf, Peter Barnaba, Sr., Geoff Rorrev, Tim Gregory v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company

Two questions certified to us by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ask whether, under Texas law, at-will employees and employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement can sue their corporate employer for fraudulently inducing them to move to a wholly owned subsidiary. 1 We conclude that while an employee can sue an employer for fraud in some situations, in the context in which the certified questions arise, the answer to both is no.

I

The factual background, which we take from the Fifth Circuit’s opinion, may be summarized as follows. 2

In February 2002, E.I. Du…