Blinn v. Beatrice Community Hospital & Health Center, Inc.

Supreme Court of Nebraska · 2006 · Contracts

Contractssummary judgmentRule 15(b)implied consentat-will employmentoral contractdefinitenessunilateral contract

Facts

Blinn was an at-will employee of Beatrice when he received an offer from a Kansas hospital that he understood would last until retirement. He asked Beatrice's administrator and board chairman for assurances before deciding whether to stay, and he testified that the administrator said, "we've got at least five more years of work to do," while the board chairman said Blinn could stay until he retired. Blinn declined the Kansas opportunity and remained at Beatrice. About six months later, Beatrice asked for his resignation and terminated his employment.

Issue

Did the Court of Appeals err in treating Blinn's pleadings as amended by implied consent under Rule 15(b) based on evidence that he could stay until retirement? And, on the claims actually pleaded, did the summary judgment record create genuine issues of material fact on breach of oral contract and promissory estoppel?

Rule

Under Rule 15(b), an unpleaded issue is treated as if pleaded only when the parties recognized that the new issue entered the case; implied consent is not established when the evidence was also relevant to pleaded issues, unless the evidence was directed solely to the unpleaded issue so the opposing party should have recognized a new issue was being injected. To modify at-will employment by oral promise, the employer must manifest a clear intent to make a definite offer of employment other than at will and to be bound by it. In Nebraska, promissory estoppel does not require contractual definiteness; it requires only a promise that should reasonably and foreseeably induce action or forbearance, such that injustice can be avoided only by enforcement.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Omaha, Lena Ortiz sued Prairie Summit Logistics for breach of an oral employment contract alleging she had been promised "three more years" of work. At summary judgment, her deposition also recounted that the company president told her she "would have a job here as long as you want until retirement," and Prairie Summit did not object because the testimony also bore on why she turned down another position.

Should a court treat Lena's complaint as amended by implied consent to add a separate contract theory of employment until retirement?

Explanation. Implied consent under Rule 15(b) turns on whether the parties recognized that a new, unpleaded issue entered the case. When evidence is also relevant to pleaded issues, such as promissory estoppel or reliance, the opponent's failure to object does not by itself show recognition of a new issue. The majority specifically rejected automatic amendment on overlapping evidence and did not decide that Rule 15(b) can never apply at summary judgment.