Merrill v. Crothall-American, Inc.

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• explaining that there is “a heavy presumption that a contract for employment, unless otherwise expressly stated, is at-will in nature, with duration indefinite”
• stating that parties implicitly concede the non-existence of factual disputes upon their filing of cross motions for summary judgment, citing Fiduciary Trust Co. v. Fiduciary Trust Co., Del.Supr., 445 A.2d 927 (1982)
• endorsing the view that the employer’s conduct must be deceitful or fraudulent to constitute a breach of the implied covenant of good faith
• denying dismissal of an implied covenant claim where the employer allegedly induced the employee to accept a position under the false pretense of indefinite employment while secretly intending to replace him
• explaining “[t]he role of a trial court when faced with a motion for summary judgment is to identify disputed factual issues whose resolution is necessary to decide the case, but not to decide such issues.”
• finding an implied breach of a covenant where an employee was allowed to believe a job was for an indefinite term but subsequently produced evidence from which a rational jury could infer that his employer intended to replace him as soon as possible

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).