BROOK DORE, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. ARNOLD WORLDWIDE, INC., et al., Defendants and Respondents. , 39 Cal. 4th 384

Summary

The employee signed an employment letter containing an at-will provision and defining "at will" as the right to terminate the employment "at any time." In reversing the decision for the employee, the California Supreme Court disagreed with the argument that the verbal formulation "at any time" in the termination clause of an employment contract was per se ambiguous merely because it did not expressly speak to whether cause was required. Rather, such a formulation ordinarily entailed the notion of "with or without cause." Further, the letter at issue was unambiguous, despite its failure to state whether cause was required. The letter plainly stated that employment "at will," at term that, when used in an employment contract, normally conveyed an intent that employment could be ended by either party at any time without cause. Thus, no triable issues of fact existed as to breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The employer was also entitled ...