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or OPINION
PER CURIAM:
Plaintiff-appellant Brian Hugen appeals from the district court's
summary judgment dismissal of his state law slander claim against
defendants-appellees New England Retail Express ("NER") and
David Jones. Finding no error in the district court's opinion, we
affirm.
NER entered into a contract with Haynes Furniture, Inc., whereby
NER agreed to deliver furniture sold by Haynes to various customers.
NER employed several independent contractors, including Hugen, to
perform the actual delivery services for Haynes. These independent
contractors in turn employed "helpers" to assist them. David Jones
was the NER employee charged with supervising the independent
contractors and their helpers.
The district court concluded that Jones' statements met
the requirements for the privilege because all of the participants at the
meetings at which Jones spoke -- Jones, the independent contractors
and their helpers -- had a common pecuniary interest in preventing
theft from Haynes and other NER customers.
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