Starkweather v. Emerson Mfg. Co.
Decision Date | 16 November 1906 |
Citation | 109 N.W. 719,132 Iowa 266 |
Parties | STARKWEATHER v. EMERSON MFG. CO. |
Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from District Court, Polk County; James A. Howe, Judge.
Action at law to recover damages for breach of a contract of employment. Trial to a jury, verdict and judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Reversed.Ryan, Ryan & Ryan, for appellant.
C. C. & C. L. Nourse, for appellee.
On or about October 1, 1900, plaintiff and defendant entered into a written contract whereby plaintiff was engaged as a traveling salesman for the term of one year, at the agreed salary of $1,100 per year, payable in equal monthly installments. Defendant was also to pay plaintiff's necessary and legitimate traveling expenses while engaged in the business upon itemized statements rendered. Plaintiff agreed not to be engaged or interested in any other business during his term of employment, and further stipulated that he would follow all of defendant's instructions whether verbal, written, or printed. The contract also contained these further provisions: The part of this quotation in italics (here underscored) was written into the contract with pen and ink, the remainder of it being in print. Plaintiff claims that defendant wrongfully discharged him, without notice, on or about December 10, 1900, and that since that time and during the period covered by the contract he has been unable to earn more than $200. He further alleges that defendant had paid his salary and traveling expenses down to the time of his discharge, and that there was still due and owing him the sum of $616.67. Defendant admitted the making of the contract, and that it had paid plaintiff his salary and traveling expenses down to December 1, 1900. It also alleged that it had advanced to plaintiff the sum of $100 over and above his salary and expenses for the time he worked, and it asked judgment for that amount against plaintiff. It also alleged that it discharged plaintiff at or about the time stated for incompetency, dissipation, misconduct, and violation of instructions, and that it is not indebted to him in any amount whatever. Plaintiff admitted the receipt of the $100 referred to in defendant's answer, but said he used it as salary and for traveling expenses. Upon these issues the case was tried to a jury, resulting in a verdict for plaintiff in the sum of $729.19. Defendant filed a motion for a new trial, and, upon the submission thereof, the trial court made the following order: “This cause coming on for hearing on the motion of defendant for a new trial, it was ordered that unless plaintiff shall, within 30 days, remit the amount allowed by the jury for the last five months of the year of employment, which amount, with interest, the court finds, after allowing credit for moneys earned during that period, to be the sum of $328.04, a new trial shall be granted on the ground that the court erred in submitting the question to the jury as to the right of plaintiff to recover for the said last five months.” Plaintiff thereupon filed a remittitur, and judgment was rendered against defendant for the sum of $348.16. Defendant thereupon appealed.
Several propositions are relied upon for a reversal, to the more important of which we shall refer. It will be noticed that defendant did not plead a discharge by reason of the unsatisfactory character of plaintiff's services, but that its alleged ground for discharge was plaintiff's incompetency, misconduct, and violation of instructions. Defendant introduced testimony to support its right to discharge, and was clearly entitled to have that matter submitted to the jury. Indeed, that was the main issue in the case. Instead of doing so, the trial court submitted the case to the jury on the theory that defendant was relying upon a discharge by reason of the unsatisfactory character of plaintiff's services after he had been in defendant's employ for the term of six months. We cannot better state the views of the trial court than to quote from its instructions the following: ...
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