Opinion ID: 852692
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Claims for Breach of Contract

Text: Trail contends that the trial court erred in dismissing his claim for breach of the contract that expired by its own terms on December 31, 2001. The Court of Appeals rejected his argument, concluding that Trail’s complaint did not provide any facts or legal authority “capable of supporting a breach of contract action against the Club.” Trail, 811 N.E.2d at 839, vacated. It observed that after the expiration of Trail’s contract, he became “an at-will employee subject to termination at any time with or without cause.” Id. at 837. The Court of Appeals concluded that Trail had not alleged any facts that would demonstrate any oral arrangement promising job 4 security. Id. at 837-39. We summarily affirm the Court of Appeals’ holding on this point. Ind. App. Rule 58(A). Consequently, like the Court of Appeals, we will assess Trail’s other claims in light of his position as an employee at will. Employment at will is an American doctrine, one that freed both employer and employee from the strictures of the English common law. English law presumed that employment contracts of unspecified duration were to last for a year. This presumption imposed reciprocal legal duties: the duty to provide employment for a year, and the duty to perform service for a year. It thus ensured, as William Story explained, that “both master and servant may have the benefit of all the seasons.” 2 With few exceptions, the modern American doctrine permits both employers and employees to terminate an employment relationship for any reason and on a timetable of their choosing, without being responsible financially to the other. See, e.g, Jarboe v. Landmark Cmty. Newspapers of Indiana, Inc., 644 N.E.2d 118, 121 (Ind. 1994); Bochnowski v. People Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n, 571 N.E.2d 282, 284 (Ind. 1991). But see, McClanahan v. Remington Freight Lines, Inc., 517 N.E.2d 390, 392-94 (Ind. 1988)(employee at will may recover for wrongful discharge if fired for refusing to perform illegal act).