Kovachik v. American Auto. Ass'n
| Decision Date | 07 October 1958 |
| Citation | 5 Wis.2d 188,92 N.W.2d 254 |
| Parties | John KOVACHIK, Respondent, v. AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION, a corporation, Appellant. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
Cavanagh, Mittelstaed, Sheldon, Heide & Hartley, Kenosha, for appellant.
Robert E. Newman and Lawrence S. Ruetz, Kenosha, for respondent.
We construe the contract of employment as terminable at will, without cause, on three days' written notice. Therefore its termination on such notice gave rise to no cause of action for damages, plaintiff having been paid all commissions earned by him. Accordingly, the judgment must be reversed and the complaint dismissed.
1. This court has long been committed to the proposition that a hiring at some specified amount per week, per month or per year will be construed as a contract for an indefinite hiring only, which may be terminated at the will of either party, in the absence of facts or contractual provisions showing a contrary intent. Milwaukee Corrugating Company v. Krueger, 184 Wis. 139, 144-152, 198 N.W. 394; Brooks v. National Equipment Corp., 209 Wis. 198, 200, 244 N.W. 598; Nelson v. La Crosse Trailer Corp., 254 Wis. 414, 417, 37 N.W.2d 63. The same is true, a fortiori, of a contract such as the present one, where the compensation takes the form of commissions based on money collected rather than on a specified period of time.
2. Turning to the contract, it not only contains nothing to show an intention to permit termination only for cause, but on the contrary we think it affirmatively authorizes termination at will on three days' notice. Following is the pertinent provision:
The first sentence quoted deals with two different situations, and provides (1) that the contract shall terminate immediately on breach, and also provides, separately, (2) that it may be terminated by either party on three days' written notice. If, as contended by appellant, the provision for cancellation on notice applies only in case of breach, the preceding provision for immediate cessation upon breach would be surplusage. Other things being equal, a...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Yanta v. Montgomery Ward & Co., Inc.
...provisions, an employer may discharge his employees for any reason without incurring liability therefor. Kovachik v. American Automobile Asso. (1958), 5 Wis.2d 188, 92 N.W.2d 254. See also: Klug v. Flambeau Plastics Corp. (1974), 62 Wis.2d 141, 148, 149, 214 N.W.2d 281; Goff v. Massachusett......
-
Brockmeyer v. Dun & Bradstreet
...provisions, an employer may discharge his employees for any reason without incurring liability therefor. Kovachik v. American Automobile Asso., 5 Wis.2d 188, 92 N.W.2d 254 (1958); See also : Klug v. Flambeau Plastics Corp., 62 Wis.2d 141, 148, 149, 214 N.W.2d 281 (1974); Goff v. Massachuset......
-
Uintah Basin Medical Center v. Hardy
...indefinite duration are preferable. See Borough of W. Caldwell,138 A.2d at 412-13; Farley, 227 N.W.2d at 82; Kovachik v. Am. Auto. Ass'n, 5 Wis.2d 188, 92 N.W.2d 254, 256 (1958). Because the law disfavors contracts of perpetual performance or duration, courts will interpret a contract as be......
-
Klug v. Flambeau Plastics Corp. (Flambeau Prods. Corp.)
...party.'2 Forrer v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., supra, footnote 1, at page 393, 153 N.W.2d 587, citing Kovachik v. American Automobile Asso. (1958), 5 Wis.2d 188, 190, 191, 92 N.W.2d 254, 255, which states: '. . . a hiring at some specified amount per week, per month, or per year will be construed......