Mount Hope Cemetery Ass'n v. Weidenmann

Citations

• 139 Ill. 67

Syllabus

<p>1. Master and servant—wrongful discharge of servant—right of action—measure, of damages. Where the master, without good cause, discharges his servant, the latter, upon notice of his dismissal, may immediately bring his action for a breach of the contract, or he may wait until the expiration of his term of employment. If he sues before the termination of the contract by its terms, and the action is not tried until after the period of his service has expired, he will be entitled to recover for the whole time, less payments made, and such sum as he has, or might by reasonable diligence have, earned subsequent to the breach.</p> <p>2. A servant wrongfully discharged may treat the contract of hiring and service as continuing, and bring a special action against his master for breaking it by discharging him; and this remedy he may pursue whether his wages are paid up to the period of his discharge or not, or if his wages are not paid up to the time of his discharge he may treat the contract of hiring and service as rescinded, and sue his master upon a quantum meruit for the services he has actually rendered.</p> <p>3. A plaintiff, by filing the common counts, can not be said to elect to proceed upon the quantum meruit, and the discharge of the plaintiff without cause, and thereby preventing full performance on his part, will not affect his right to recover for services before that time rendered.</p> <p>4. In view of the fact that the servant may die or become incapable of performing before the expiration of the term of his employment, and the uncertainty of the wages or emoluments he may be able to earn in the future, this court adopts the rule that the plaintiff shall be limited to his actual loss at the time of the trial. A servant wrongfully discharged is not entitled, as a matter of law, to recover the full amount of the contract price, even after the expiration of the term, if he has earned other wages or received other compensation for his time and labor after the