Court Opinion

ID: 9770273
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 15:57:00.719151+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:37:19.838396
License: Public Domain

KOEHLER, Justice,
concurring.
While I agree generally with the majority’s overruling of Points of Error Nos. Five through Seven dealing with the awarding of damages for the period from the date of Appellee’s discharge (May 10, 1988) to date of trial rather than from date of discharge to the termination date of the contract (March 1, 1989), as contended by Appellant, I would differ as to the reasoning employed to reach those results. The cases of Fenno v. Jac*838obe,1 Thames v. Rotary Engineering Co.,2 and Houston Ice & Brewing Co. v. Nicolini 3 all involved situations where the employees continued to work past the expiration dates of their employment contracts for the same employers and with the same duties. Because he was terminated almost ten months before the expiration date of the contract, this is a completely different situation. Is an employee in Appellee’s shoes entitled to what amounts to a presumption that Appellant, the wrongful termination aside, would have continued Appellee in its employ past the contract’s termination date? I think not.
The burden was or should have been on the Appellee to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he would have continued in Appellant’s employ past the March 1, 1989 expiration date. Appellant’s (Defendant’s) Requested Instruction Nos. 4 and 5, beside the fact that the error of the court, if any, in refusing to give them was not properly preserved, do not address the issue. In the much cited case of Dixie Glass Co. v. Pollak, 341 S.W.2d 530 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston 1960), writ refd n.r.e., 162 Tex. 440, 347 S.W.2d 596 (Tex.1961), the appellee was employed by appellant under a written contract for a five-year period with the employee’s option to renew the contract for three additional five-year terms, the options to be exercised six months prior to the expiration of each term. In overruling the appellant’s contention that appellee could only recover damages from the date of his wrongful termination to the expiration of the first term because he had never exercised his options, the court said:
We think the fact there were options in the contract in favor of appellee is one element to be considered by the jury in determining damages, that is, the jury could consider the probability of the exercise of the options in determining the length of the term.
Id. Although there are some obvious differences between Dixie Glass and the ease under consideration (Jaeger had no option to renew for one), I would hold that there was a presumption that the employment contract terminated on its expiration date and only those employees who were still working for Appellant past that date would be entitled to the same wages and benefits but that the jury could consider evidence that Appellee if he had not been wrongfully terminated would have continued working for Appellant past the contract expiration date.

. 657 S.W.2d 844 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1983, writ ref'd n.r.e.).

. 315 S.W.2d 589 (Tex.Civ.App.—El Paso 1958, writ refd n.r.e.).

.96 S.W. 84 (Tex.Civ.App.—1906, error refd).