Court Opinion

ID: 9469761
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:48:27.17068+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:41:33.147835
License: Public Domain

ROSS, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur in the court’s opinion, but write separately to express my concern with the fact that the plaintiff Becker in this case received his master’s degree in January 1977 and accepted positions in Chicago, Illinois and Vancouver, Washington before applying for reemployment with Social Services in Kansas City in October 1977. Because Becker originally advised Social Services that he was seeking a leave from his job to complete a master’s degree which he expected to obtain by December 1976, the appellant’s contention that this was the time for the performance of the contract has some appeal. Nevertheless, the correspondence from Social Services, which may be viewed as constituting the offer for a unilateral contract, indicates that Social Services would rehire Becker at the time he desired to return. Despite the fact that it would have been quite simple for Social Services to specify a particular time for acceptance of its offer to rehire Becker, such a reference is notably absent from any of its correspondence. Therefore, I am compelled to conclude that the offer for a unilateral contract in this case did not fix a specific time for performance.
As noted in this court’s opinion, the rule in Missouri appears to be that “when no time is fixed by the offer for an acceptance, the offer expires upon the expiration of a reasonable time.” Coffman Industries, Inc. v. Gorman-Taber Co., 521 S.W.2d 763, 771 (Mo.Ct.App.1975). See also Artcraft Cabinet, Inc. v. Watajo, Inc., 540 S.W.2d 918, 925 (Mo.Ct.App.1976). What is a reasonable time depends upon the circumstances in each case and may constitute a question of law or fact depending upon those circumstances. See Magee v. Mercantile-Commerce Bank & Trust Co., 343 Mo. 1022, 124 S.W.2d 1121, 1124 (1939). See also Coffman Industries, Inc. v. Gorman-Taber Co., supra, 521 S.W.2d at 771.
*770Although the circumstances in this case present a close question as to whether or not the nine months delay between the time Becker obtained his master’s degree and the time he sought reemployment with Social Services is per se unreasonable, I believe that the district court could have properly concluded that a question of fact for the jury was presented as to the reasonableness of the time.1 Remembering that under the strict standards governing appellate review of motions for directed verdicts and judgments notwithstanding the verdict the evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and such motion should only be granted if reasonable men could not differ as to the conclusions to be drawn from the evidence, see, e.g., Farner v. Paccar, 562 F.2d 518, 522 (8th Cir. 1977), I reluctantly conclude that the jury could have found that Becker’s application was made within a reasonable time.

. The jury was instructed by the trial court in Instruction No. 7 that it must consider whether Becker’s application for reemployment was made within a reasonable time.