Court Opinion

ID: 9722479
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 09:35:29.113897+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:36.058952
License: Public Domain

FRIEDLANDER, Judge,
dissenting.
I believe Trinity’s motion for summary judgment should have been granted, and therefore respectfully dissent from affirming its denial.
The law in this case is straightforward and uncontroversial. In a nutshell, Indiana recognizes two basic forms of employment, i.e., employment for a definite or ascertainable term, and employment at-*1231will. Orr v. Westminster Village North, Inc., 689 N.E.2d 712 (Ind. 1997). “ ‘If there is an employment contract for a definite term, and the employer has not reserved the right to terminate the employment before the conclusion of the contract, the employer generally may not terminate the employment relationship before the end of the specified term except for cause or by mutual agreement.’ ” Id. at 717 (quoting Orr v. Westminster Village North, Inc., 689 N.E.2d 712, 717 (Ind. 1997)). If, however, “there is no definite or ascertainable term of employment, then the employment is at-will, and is presumptively terminable at any time, with or without cause, by either party.” Id. Put more simply, except for exceptions clearly not applicable here, an at-will employee may be discharged by the employer at any time for any reason. Tony v. Elkhart County, 851 N.E.2d 1032 (Ind.Ct.App.2006). Those employed under a contract for a stated period may not be discharged unless it is consistent with the employment contract. In this case, that means that Trinity was entitled to summary judgment if Howard was an at-will employee, but was not so entitled if Howard’s employment was for a definite term. The critical question, then, is what was the term of Howard’s employment — or was there one?
The source of the answer to that question lies in a particular portion of Trinity’s by-laws that were incorporated into Howard’s employment contract. The passage in question states, “The pastor is called for life and removable only by death.” Op. at 1228. Howard claims, and the Majority agrees, that this created a contract for a definite term — and that term is as long as Howard is alive. Trinity counters that Griffin v. Elkhart Gen. Hosp., Inc., 585 N.E.2d 723 (Ind.Ct.App.1992), supports the opposite result, i.e., that the stated term is too indefinite to take this case outside of the at-will employment doctrine. I agree with Trinity.
I note in particular a case cited with approval in Griffin that reached this conclusion based on language similar to that before us in this case, i.e., Aberman v. Malden Mills Indus., Inc., 414 N.W.2d 769 (Minn.Ct.App.1987) “ ‘[permanent employment’, ‘life employment’, and ‘as long as the employee chooses’ indicate an at-will contract; general statements as to job security create nothing more than at-will employment”. Griffin v. Elkhart Gen. Hosp., Inc., 585 N.E.2d at 726 (internal quotations unattributed). I cannot subscribe to the rationale adopted by the Majority to distinguish Griffin. In my view, a contract provides a definite term only if it states a specific period of time or identifies a date certain that the contract term expires. Consistent with Griffin, references to future, uncertain events and indefinite time periods are too vague to constitute the required definiteness. I can find no meaningful distinction between a promise of “permanent employment,” “life employment,” and “as long as the employee chooses,” — all of which the Griffin court rejected as stating no definite term, and the language in the instant case that called for “employment for life and removable only by death.” In fact, I find Griffin squarely on point and dispositive of this controversy.
I would reverse the trial court and remand with instructions to grant Trinity’s motion for summary judgment.