Opinion ID: 448870
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Meaning of Clause 4

Text: 8 As a general matter, the objective of contract interpretation is to give effect to the expressed intentions of the parties. E.g., Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co. v. Wesolowski, 33 N.Y.2d 169, 171-72, 350 N.Y.S.2d 895, 898, 305 N.E.2d 907, 910 (1973); Mallad Construction Corp. v. County Federal Savings & Loan Association, 32 N.Y.2d 285, 291, 344 N.Y.S.2d 925, 930, 298 N.E.2d 96, 101 (1973); Airco Alloys Division, Airco, Inc. v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., 76 A.D.2d 68, 77, 430 N.Y.S.2d 179, 184 (4th Dep't 1980); 4 S. Williston, Williston on Contracts Sec. 600 (3d ed. 1961). Where the language of the contract is unambiguous, and reasonable persons could not differ as to its meaning, the question of interpretation is one of law to be answered by the court. West, Weir & Bartel, Inc. v. Mary Carter Paint Co., 25 N.Y.2d 535, 540, 307 N.Y.S.2d 449, 452, 255 N.E.2d 709, 712 (1969); Bethlehem Steel Co. v. Turner Construction Co., 2 N.Y.2d 456, 459, 161 N.Y.S.2d 90, 92, 141 N.E.2d 590, 592 (1957); Heller & Henretig, Inc. v. 3620-168th Street, Inc., 302 N.Y. 326, 330, 98 N.E.2d 458, 459 (1951); 3 A. Corbin, Corbin on Contracts Sec. 554, at 222 (1960). However, [w]here contractual language is susceptible of at least two fairly reasonable interpretations, this presents a triable issue of fact, and summary judgment [is] improper. Heyman v. Commerce & Industry Insurance Co., 524 F.2d 1317, 1320 (2d Cir.1975) (quoting Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Giesow, 412 F.2d 468, 471 (2d Cir.1969)); see M. O'Neil Supply Co. v. Petroleum Heat & Power Co., 280 N.Y. 50, 56, 19 N.E.2d 676, 679 (1939); Holgerson v. Swan Lake Poultry Co., 30 A.D.2d 591, 592, 290 N.Y.S.2d 21, 23 (3d Dep't 1968). Since an interpretation that gives a reasonable and effective meaning to all the terms of a contract is generally preferred to one that leaves a part unreasonable or of no effect, Corhill Corp. v. S.D. Plants, Inc., 9 N.Y.2d 595, 599, 217 N.Y.S.2d 1, 3, 176 N.E.2d 37, 39 (1961); Rentways, Inc. v. O'Neil Milk & Cream Co., 308 N.Y. 342, 347, 126 N.E.2d 271, 273 (1955); Restatement (Second) of Contracts Sec. 203(a) (1981), we are persuaded that there are at least two fairly reasonable interpretations of Clause 4 and that summary judgment was therefore improper. 9 The district court held that the phrase for any other reason in Clause 4 meant that the contract was terminable at will by the employer. Such a reading gives literal effect to the words of that phrase and is therefore not unreasonable. Yet if this had been the intent of the parties, there would have been no reason to include in Clause 4 a listing of any specific grounds for termination. If the parties had intended that the Agreement be terminable at will, Clause 4, rather than mentioning unforseen [sic ] condition, circumstance, war, epidemic, governmental restriction, administrative decision[, or] Act of God, could have begun simply If for any reason the Camp should find it advisable to terminate this agreement [etc.].... The latter reading is essentially the one advanced by Lincoln and adopted by the district court; yet it renders entirely superfluous the seven bases for termination specifically described in Clause 4 as actually drafted. We cannot conclude that making meaningless the seven specifications was clearly and unambiguously the intent of the parties. 10 Rothenberg's contention that the any other reason phrase of Clause 4 should be read in accordance with the principle of ejusdem generis as any other similar reason is thus not an unreasonable argument. Though this principle is not in and of itself a rule of interpretation, but merely an aid to interpretation when the intention is not otherwise apparent[, and i]t never controls when it clearly appears from the instrument that no such limitation was intended, Brooklyn City Railroad Co. v. Kings County Trust, 214 A.D. 506, 511, 212 N.Y.S. 343, 347 (2d Dep't 1925), aff'd, 242 N.Y. 531, 152 N.E. 414 (1926) (per curiam), its use here would not be inappropriate since it is hardly clear that the parties intended the general phrase to be so all-encompassing as to render the seven specified grounds for termination mere surplusage. See Kama Rippa Music, Inc. v. Schekeryk, 510 F.2d 837 (2d Cir.1975), in which we affirmed, principally on other grounds, the district court's narrow construction of the phrase or for any similar or dissimilar reason that followed a list of force majeure events similar to the seven items listed in Clause 4. There we noted that ejusdem generis might properly have been applied to constru[e] this final and most generic term in [the] series in light of the more specific terms preceding it. Id. at 841 n. 5. 11 Thus, there is more than one reasonable interpretation of Clause 4, and we conclude that there are fact questions, to be determined by a jury, as to whether the parties intended that a Clause 4 termination could be effected at will or only for a force majeure type reason. Rothenberg, in support of his position on the motions for summary judgment, submitted his affidavit stating that prior to entering into the Agreement he had advised the Camp's President, Harold Loren, that he would leave his prior employment and work for the Camp only if guaranteed employment for at least one year and that the possibility of the Camp's terminating his employment prior to the end of the year was never discussed. The Camp, in contrast, submitted Loren's affidavit which suggested that all of the terms of the Agreement--and in particular Clause 4 which was modified by hand--had been negotiated. There are circumstances that could give credence to each position. In support of the Camp's position, there is the fact that Clause 4's provision for notice and a payment to be deemed severance pay was written in by hand at the foot of the Agreement. It is difficult to believe that Rothenberg signed the Agreement, just below this insertion, without being aware of the possible breadth of Clause 4. On the other hand, it is also difficult to believe that Rothenberg, knowing that camping is a seasonal activity, would have granted the Camp the power to terminate his one-year contract early without cause when the bulk of his services would have been performed within the first four months of that year. 12 The record thus raised substantial questions as to the intent of the parties. Although a jury might reach the conclusion that the parties intended the for any other reason phrase to give Lincoln license to terminate for any reason whatever, rather than just for a reason of the type already specified, that conclusion was not a proper one for the court to reach as a matter of law.