Opinion ID: 454709
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the contract was terminable at will?

Text: 29 Under Illinois law, contracting parties may terminate at will if their contract contains no specific term of duration. Mann v. Ben Tire Distributors, Ltd., 89 Ill.App.3d 695, 44 Ill.Dec. 869, 870, 411 N.E.2d 1235, 1236 (1980). When no termination date is specified in a contract, courts must look to surrounding circumstances to discover the intention of the parties. Adkisson v. Ozment, 55 Ill.App.3d 108, 112, 12 Ill.Dec. 790, 793, 370 N.E.2d 594, 597 (1977). [A] contract may be construed to continue until the happening of a specific event, if that appears to have been the intention of the parties. Ricke v. Ricke, 83 Ill.App.3d 1115, 1120, 39 Ill.Dec. 598, 603, 405 N.E.2d 351, 356 (1980). If a contract is terminable upon the occurrence of some event, neither party may terminate at will. Consolidated Laboratories, Inc. v. Shandon Scientific Co., 413 F.2d 208, 212 (7th Cir.1969). 30 Paragraph 17 of the agreement between FCT and Heinold provides that [e]ither party may unilaterally terminate this Agreement for a breach of any of the paragraphs of this Agreement. 591 F.Supp. at 816. This paragraph sets forth a specific event upon which the contract may be terminated: breach. The circumstances and nature of the agreement indicate the parties' intent to create a relationship terminable for breach, rather than terminable at will. Several other contracts executed between Heinold and FCT's principals, prior to termination of the contract at issue in this case, include specific at will termination clauses. Heinold and FCT could have included an at will clause in this contract. Instead, the parties provided for termination upon breach. This court may fairly imply from the nature of the contract that the parties did not intend the contract to be terminable at will. Because the contract was not terminable at will, FCT may maintain an action against Heinold for breach of contract if Heinold's termination did not comport with the terms of the agreement. 31