Court Opinion

ID: 9461619
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 22:19:30.754316+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:37:10.318826
License: Public Domain

KALODNER, Circuit Judge
(concurring).
I agree with Judge Rosenn’s conclusion that the record fails to negate the existence of privilege and thus requires reversal of the judgment entered by the district court in favor of the plaintiff *1078and remand with directions to enter judgment in favor of the defendant.
I would reverse the district court’s judgment with directions to enter judgment in favor of the defendant for this further independent reason:
The plaintiff breached his contract with the defendant when he wrote the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance policy without the defendant’s prior approval and this constitutes an illegal bargain unenforceable as to its fruits.1
Section 576 of the Restatement of Contracts, captioned “Bargain Requiring Breach of a Contract With a Third Person” provides:
“A bargain, the making or performance of which involves breach of a contract with a third person, is illegal.”
Comment a of Section 576 states:
“Since breach of contract is a legal wrong, a bargain that requires for its performance breach of a contract with another, is opposed to public policy.”
Paragraph 4 of the Comment’s “Illustrations” fits the instant situation like a glove. It says:
“A bargains with B to serve as B’s agent during a term of three years and not to engage as agent for any other principal during that time. During that term A makes a contract to serve as C’s agent. This contract is illegal since the making of it involves a breach of the former contract.”
Here, as Judge Rosenn points out, plaintiff’s contract with the defendant provided in Article VIII that plaintiff undertook not to submit a policy “to any other company . . . unless authorized” by the defendant, and the plaintiff breached this contractual provision.
Pennsylvania’s Parole Evidence Rule made unavailable to the plaintiff the contention that it was the “custom” of insurance brokers to disregard contractual exclusivity provisions. Universal Film Exchanges, Inc. v. Viking Theatre Corporation, 400 Pa. 27, 161 A.2d 610 (1960). It was there held:
“The law is well settled that where, as here, the terms of a contract are clear and unambiguous, evidence of a custom to the contrary is inadmissible to vary those terms.” 400 Pa. at 41, 161 A.2d at 619. (emphasis supplied).
In the instant case the terms of Article VIII are “clear and unambiguous” in every respect.

. Suburban Gas Company v. Wagner, 155 Pa. Super. 52, 54, 37 A.2d 23, 24 (1944).