{ "id": 551232, "name": "LEWIS KURTZMAN v. APPLIED ANALYTICAL INDUSTRIES, INC.", "name_abbreviation": "Kurtzman v. Applied Analytical Industries, Inc.", "decision_date": "1997-11-07", "docket_number": "No. 103PA97", "first_page": "329", "last_page": "338", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "347 N.C. 329" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C.", "id": 9292, "name": "Supreme Court of North Carolina" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "480 S.E.2d 425", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1997, "opinion_index": -1 }, { "cite": "125 N.C. App. 261", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 11866872 ], "year": 1997, "opinion_index": -1, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/125/0261-01" ] }, { "cite": "713 F. Supp. 159", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "F. Supp.", "case_ids": [ 7395811 ], "year": 1988, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "164", "parenthetical": "\"Recognition of a general exception whenever relocation or a job change is involved would emasculate the terminable-at-will rule, because many if not most hirings involve either a job change or a change of residence or both.\"" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/f-supp/713/0159-01" ] }, { "cite": "28 S.E. 137", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1897, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "137" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "121 N.C. 490", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8653417 ], "year": 1897, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "491-92" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/121/0490-01" ] }, { "cite": "139 S.E.2d 249", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1964, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "plaintiff-employee's contention that he had an agreement with defendant-employer such that plaintiff would \"have a permanent job as long as [his] work was satisfactory\" was insufficient to remove the employment contract from the terminable-at-will rule" }, { "page": "251" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "263 N.C. 216", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8568880 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1964, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "219", "parenthetical": "plaintiff-employee's contention that he had an agreement with defendant-employer such that plaintiff would \"have a permanent job as long as [his] work was satisfactory\" was insufficient to remove the employment contract from the terminable-at-will rule" }, { "page": "219" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/263/0216-01" ] }, { "cite": "25 S.E.2d 436", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1943, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "437" }, { "page": "437" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "223 N.C. 148", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8601359 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1943, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "149" }, { "page": "149" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/223/0148-01" ] }, { "cite": "182 S.E.2d 403", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1971, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "406" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "279 N.C. 254", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8566604 ], "year": 1971, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "259" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/279/0254-01" ] }, { "cite": "254 S.E.2d 918", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1979, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "297 N.C. 298", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8569168, 8569074, 8569204, 8568953, 8569117 ], "year": 1979, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/297/0298-04", "/nc/297/0298-02", "/nc/297/0298-05", "/nc/297/0298-01", "/nc/297/0298-03" ] }, { "cite": "250 S.E.2d 678", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "pin_cites": [ { "page": "682" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "39 N.C. App. 450", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8552829 ], "pin_cites": [ { "page": "454" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/39/0450-01" ] }, { "cite": "381 S.E.2d 445", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "discharging an employee for refusing to falsify driver records to show compliance with federal transportation regulations offends public policy" }, { "page": "446" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "325 N.C. 172", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2488329 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "discharging an employee for refusing to falsify driver records to show compliance with federal transportation regulations offends public policy" }, { "page": "174" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/325/0172-01" ] }, { "cite": "416 S.E.2d 166", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1992, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "discharging an employee for refusing to work for less than minimum wage violates public policy" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "331 N.C. 348", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2498595 ], "year": 1992, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "discharging an employee for refusing to work for less than minimum wage violates public policy" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/331/0348-01" ] }, { "cite": "42 U.S.C. \u00a7 12112", "category": "laws:leg_statute", "reporter": "U.S.C.", "year": 1988, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "(a)", "parenthetical": "Americans with Disabilities Act" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "29 U.S.C. \u00a7 623", "category": "laws:leg_statute", "reporter": "U.S.C.", "year": 1988, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "(a)", "parenthetical": "Age Discrimination Act" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "356 S.E.2d 357", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "359" }, { "page": "359" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "319 N.C. 627", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4738632 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "629" }, { "page": "629" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/319/0627-01" ] }, { "cite": "480 S.E.2d 685", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "687" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "345 N.C. 443", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 54084 ], "year": 1997, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "446" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/345/0443-01" ] }, { "cite": "333 S.E.2d 490", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1985, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "314 N.C. 331", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4686660, 4695653, 4695471, 4689718, 4689592 ], "year": 1985, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/314/0331-03", "/nc/314/0331-01", "/nc/314/0331-05", "/nc/314/0331-02", "/nc/314/0331-04" ] }, { "cite": "328 S.E.2d 818", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1985, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "828" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "74 N.C. App. 331", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8524570 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1985, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "345" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/74/0331-01" ] }, { "cite": "459 S.E.2d 254", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "256" }, { "page": "256" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "341 N.C. 148", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 793202 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "152" }, { "page": "152" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/341/0148-01" ] }, { "cite": "326 S.E.2d 601", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1985, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "606" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "313 N.C. 33", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4719700 ], "year": 1985, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "40" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/313/0033-01" ] }, { "cite": "231 S.E.2d 678", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1977, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "291 N.C. 666", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8558910 ], "year": 1977, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/291/0666-01" ] }, { "cite": "201 S.E.2d 897", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1974, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "284 N.C. 576", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8563409 ], "year": 1974, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/284/0576-01" ] }, { "cite": "463 S.E.2d 72", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "75", "parenthetical": "citing Dickinson v. Pake, 284 N.C. 576, 201 S.E.2d 897 (1974)" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "342 N.C. 159", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 796159 ], "year": 1995, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "164", "parenthetical": "citing Dickinson v. Pake, 284 N.C. 576, 201 S.E.2d 897 (1974)" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/342/0159-01" ] }, { "cite": "66 S.E.2d 672", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1951, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "674" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "234 N.C. 188", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8620177 ], "year": 1951, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "191" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/234/0188-01" ] }, { "cite": "28 S.E. 137", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "weight": 2, "year": 1897, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "137", "parenthetical": "emphasis added" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "121 N.C. 490", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8653417 ], "year": 1897, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/121/0490-01" ] }, { "cite": "139 S.E.2d 249", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1964, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "251" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "263 N.C. 216", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8568880 ], "year": 1964, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "219" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/263/0216-01" ] }, { "cite": "254 S.E.2d 918", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1979, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "297 N.C. 298", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8569168, 8569074, 8569204, 8568953, 8569117 ], "year": 1979, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/297/0298-04", "/nc/297/0298-02", "/nc/297/0298-05", "/nc/297/0298-01", "/nc/297/0298-03" ] }, { "cite": "250 S.E.2d 678", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "pin_cites": [ { "page": "682" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "39 N.C. App. 450", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8552829 ], "pin_cites": [ { "page": "454" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/39/0450-01" ] }, { "cite": "381 S.E.2d 445", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "446" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "325 N.C. 172", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2488329 ], "year": 1989, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "174" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/325/0172-01" ] }, { "cite": "356 S.E.2d 357", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "359" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "319 N.C. 627", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4738632 ], "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "629" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/319/0627-01" ] }, { "cite": "333 S.E.2d 490", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1985, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "314 N.C. 331", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4686660, 4695653, 4695471, 4689718, 4689592 ], "year": 1985, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc/314/0331-03", "/nc/314/0331-01", "/nc/314/0331-05", "/nc/314/0331-02", "/nc/314/0331-04" ] }, { "cite": "328 S.E.2d 818", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1985, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "828" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "74 N.C. App. 331", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8524570 ], "year": 1985, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "345" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/74/0331-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 989, "char_count": 24770, "ocr_confidence": 0.76, "pagerank": { "raw": 7.287649287176587e-07, "percentile": 0.9682931321478588 }, "sha256": "7d4c8057679528122d30ed88130de72e2a3724e2588b53a46af1a2f177dc3392", "simhash": "1:8f77daa246212e4e", "word_count": 3836 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T20:32:58.211595+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "LEWIS KURTZMAN v. APPLIED ANALYTICAL INDUSTRIES, INC." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "WHICHARD, Justice.\nPlaintiff, Lewis Kurtzman, brought suit against his former employer, Applied Analytical Industries, Inc., alleging, inter alia, breach of an employment contract. On 1 June 1995 a jury returned a verdict in plaintiffs favor and awarded him $350,000 in damages. Defendant moved to set aside the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial. The trial court denied both motions. Defendant appealed to the Court of Appeals, which unanimously affirmed the trial court except in immaterial part. This Court allowed defendant\u2019s petition for discretionary review on 5 June 1997.\nDefendant, Applied Analytical Industries, Inc., is based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and assists clients in securing FDA approval of pharmaceutical products. Plaintiff has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over twenty years and was employed as national sales manager of E.M. Separations Technology in Rhode Island immediately prior to his employment with defendant. Defendant contacted plaintiff in October 1991 and began recruiting him for a position as director of sales in Wilmington. In January 1992 defendant offered plaintiff the position, and the parties negotiated the terms of employment until plaintiff accepted defendant\u2019s offer on 6 March 1992.\nEvidence at trial tended to show that during negotiations, plaintiff inquired into the security of his proposed position with defendant. Defendant\u2019s agents attempted to assure plaintiff by statements that included the following: \u201cIf you do your job, you\u2019ll have a job\u201d; \u201cThis is a long-term growth opportunity for you\u201d; \u201cThis is a secure position\u201d; and \u201cWe\u2019re offering you a career position.\u201d Plaintiff began his employment with defendant on 30 March 1992. He immediately moved to Wilmington, and following the sale of his home in Massachusetts, his wife, and daughter joined him there. Defendant terminated plaintiff\u2019s employment on 2 November 1992.\nPlaintiff argues that the combination of the additional consideration of moving his residence and defendant\u2019s specific assurances of continued employment removed the employment relationship from the traditional at-will presumption and created an employment contract under which he could not be terminated absent cause. This asserted exception is gleaned principally from Sides v. Duke Univ., 74 N.C. App. 331, 328 S.E.2d 818, disc. rev. denied, 314 N.C. 331, 333 S.E.2d 490 (1985). Plaintiff argues that the exception is well established in North Carolina\u2019s jurisprudence and that the judgment in his favor thus should be affirmed. We disagree.\nNorth Carolina is an employment-at-will state. This Court has repeatedly held that in the absence of a contractual agreement between an employer and an employee establishing a definite term of employment, the relationship is presumed to be terminable at the will of either party without regard to the quality of performance of either party. Soles v. City of Raleigh Civil Serv. Comm\u2019n, 345 N.C. 443, 446, 480 S.E.2d 685, 687 (1997); Harris v. Duke Power Co., 319 N.C. 627, 629, 356 S.E.2d 357, 359 (1987). There are limited exceptions. First, as stated above, parties can remove the at-will presumption by specifying a definite period of employment contractually. Second, federal and state statutes have created exceptions prohibiting employers from discharging employees based on impermissible considerations such as the employee\u2019s age, race, sex, religion, national origin, or disability, or in retaliation for filing certain claims against the employer. See, e.g., 29 U.S.C. \u00a7 623(a) (1988) (Age Discrimination Act); 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 2000e-2a (1988) (Equal Employment Opportunities Act); 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 12112(a) (Supp. 1988) (Americans with Disabilities Act); N.C.G.S. \u00a7 95-241 (1993) (prohibiting discharge in retaliation for filing workers\u2019 compensation, OSHA, and similar claims). Finally, this Court has recognized a public-policy exception to the employment-at-will rule. See Amos v. Oakdale Knitting Co., 331 N.C. 348, 416 S.E.2d 166 (1992) (discharging an employee for refusing to work for less than minimum wage violates public policy); Coman v. Thomas Mfg. Co., 325 N.C. 172, 381 S.E.2d 445 (1989) (discharging an employee for refusing to falsify driver records to show compliance with federal transportation regulations offends public policy).\nPlaintiff does not rely upon any of these exceptions. He instead invokes an asserted exception earlier described by the Court of Appeals as follows:\nGenerally, employment contracts that attempt to provide for permanent employment, or \u201cemployment for life,\u201d are terminable at will by either party. Where the employee gives some special consideration in addition to his services, such as relinquishing a claim for personal injuries against the employer, removing his residence from one place to another in order to accept employment, or assisting in breaking a strike, such a contract may be enforced.\nBurkhimer v. Gealy, 39 N.C. App. 450, 454, 250 S.E.2d 678, 682 (emphasis added), disc. rev. denied, 297 N.C. 298, 254 S.E.2d 918 (1979). The Court of Appeals relied upon this \u201cmoving residence\u201d exception as additional support for its holding in Sides v. Duke University. There, the plaintiff, a nurse anesthetist who had moved from Michigan to North Carolina to accept employment at Duke University Medical Center, sued the Medical Center based on the termination of her employment. After concluding that the plaintiff had stated a claim that fell within a public-policy exception to the at-will doctrine, the court considered a \u201cmoving residence\u201d exception, stating:\nThe additional consideration that the complaint alleges, her move from Michigan, was sufficient, we believe, to remove plaintiffs employment contract from the terminable-at-will rule and allow her to state a claim for breach of contract since it is also alleged that her discharge was for a reason other than the unsatisfactory performance of her duties.\nSides, 74 N.C. App. at 345, 328 S.E.2d at 828.\nHere, plaintiff wishes to rely on this asserted \u201cmoving residence\u201d exception to state a claim for relief. He does not contend that defendant\u2019s assurances of continued employment were sufficient, standing alone, to create an employment contract for a definite term. Under well-settled law, they are not. This Court has held that a contract for \u201ca regular permanent job\u201d is not sufficiently definite to remove the employment relationship from the at-will presumption. Still v. Lance, 279 N.C. 254, 259, 182 S.E.2d 403, 406 (1971); Malever v. Kay Jewelry Co., 223 N.C. 148, 149, 25 S.E.2d 436, 437 (1943). The assurances defendant made here were no more specific than those in Still and Malever. Further, the assurance plaintiff here primarily relies upon, \u201cIf you do your job, you\u2019ll have a job,\u201d is not sufficient to make this indefinite hiring terminable only for cause. See Tuttle v. Kernersville Lumber Co., 263 N.C. 216, 219, 139 S.E.2d 249, 25 1 (1964) (plaintiff-employee\u2019s contention that he had an agreement with defendant-employer such that plaintiff would \u201chave a permanent job as long as [his] work was satisfactory\u201d was insufficient to remove the employment contract from the terminable-at-will rule).\nNor does plaintiff contend that a statutory or public-policy exception to the at-will doctrine applies. Rather, he argues that the combination of defendant\u2019s assurances, such as, \u201cIf you do your job, you\u2019ll have a job,\u201d and plaintiff\u2019s move from Massachusetts to North Carolina to accept the offer of employment, created a contract under which plaintiff could be discharged only for cause. The question thus is whether this Court should recognize a \u201cmoving residence\u201d exception to the general rule of employment at will.\nPlaintiff\u2019s contention that this exception is well established in our jurisprudence is incorrect. This Court has not heretofore expressly passed upon it. While Malever, on which defendant relies, is somewhat pertinent, we do not consider it dispositive. The Court\u2019s focus there was on whether the employer\u2019s use of the term \u201cpermanent\u201d in reference to the employment sufficed to remove the case from the employment-at-will doctrine, not on whether the employee\u2019s relocation constituted additional consideration that accomplished such removal. Further, the Court noted that the employee\u2019s relocation appeared motivated primarily by family rather than employment considerations. Malever, 223 N.C. at 149, 25 S.E.2d at 437. In Harris v. Duke Power Co., we cited application of the \u201cmoving residence\u201d exception in Sides as part of a background discussion of exceptions to the general rule of employment at will. Harris, 319 N.C. at 629, 356 S.E.2d at 359. We neither specifically approved nor disapproved such an exception, however, and any language in Harris that may be viewed as suggesting the contrary is disapproved. The pertinent language quoted above from the Court of Appeals\u2019 opinions in Burkhimer and Sides is also disapproved.\nThe employment-at-will doctrine has prevailed in this state for a century. See Edwards v. Seaboard & Roanoke R.R. Co., 121 N.C. 490, 491-92, 28 S.E. 137, 137 (1897). The narrow exceptions to it have been grounded in considerations of public policy designed either to prohibit status-based discrimination or to insure the integrity of the judicial process or the enforcement of the law. The facts here do not present policy concerns of this nature. Rather, they are representative of negotiations and circumstances characteristically associated with traditional at-will employment situations.\nFurther, as we recognized in Coman, \u201cadoption of the [at-will] rule by the courts greatly facilitated the development of the American economy at the end of the nineteenth century.\u201d Coman, 325 N.C. at 174, 381 S.E.2d at 446. A century later, the rule remains an incentive to economic development, and any significant erosion of it could serve as a disincentive. Additional exceptions thus demand careful consideration and should be adopted only with substantial justification grounded in compelling considerations of public policy.\nWe perceive no such justification here. The society to which the employment-at-will doctrine currently applies is a highly mobile one in which relocation to accept new employment is common. To remove an employment relationship from the at-will presumption upon an employee\u2019s change of residence, coupled with vague assurances of continued employment, would substantially erode the rule and bring considerable instability to an otherwise largely clear area of the law. See House v. Cannon Mills Co., 713 F. Supp. 159, 164 (M.D.N.C. 1988) (\u201cRecognition of a general exception whenever relocation or a job change is involved would emasculate the terminable-at-will rule, because many if not most hirings involve either a job change or a change of residence or both.\u201d). We thus hold that plaintiff-employee\u2019s change of residence in the wake of defendant-employer\u2019s statements here does not constitute additional consideration making what is otherwise an at-will employment relationship one that can be terminated by the employer only for cause.\nWe do not, as the dissenting opinion suggests, hold that the establishment of \u201ca definite term of service\u201d is the sole means of contractually removing the at-will presumption. We simply follow settled law which holds that the employer\u2019s assurances of continued employment do not remove an employment relationship from the at-will presumption, Tuttle, 263 N.C. at 219, 139 S.E.2d at 251, and now hold that the asserted additional consideration of the employee\u2019s relocation of residence to accept the employment likewise does not alter this status. Because we do not recognize the exception plaintiff seeks, we need not consider, as does the dissent, whether the evidence sufficed to support a verdict for plaintiff under the asserted exception.\nFor the reasons stated, the decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed. The case is remanded to that court for further remand to the Superior Court, New Hanover County, for an order setting aside the verdict for plaintiff and entering judgment for defendant notwithstanding the verdict.\nREVERSED AND REMANDED", "type": "majority", "author": "WHICHARD, Justice." }, { "text": "Justice Frye\ndissenting.\nAlthough our cases have in the past made reference to the existence of an \u201cadditional consideration\u201d exception to the doctrine of employment at will, see Harris v. Duke Power Co., 319 N.C. 627, 629, 356 S.E.2d 357, 359 (1987); Tuttle v. Kernersville Lumber Co., 263 N.C. 216, 219, 139 S.E.2d 249, 251 (1964), and our Court of Appeals has more fully described the exception based on moving residence, see Sides v. Duke Univ., 74 N.C. App. 331, 345, 328 S.E.2d 818, 828, disc. rev. denied, 314 N.C. 331, 333 S.E.2d 490 (1985); Burkhimer v. Gealy, 39 N.C. App. 450, 454, 250 S.E.2d 678, 682, disc. rev. denied, 297 N.C. 298, 254 S.E.2d 918 (1979), as the majority notes, this Court has never expressly passed upon the precise issue presented by the facts of this case. This Court granted defendant\u2019s petition for discretionary review in this case to decide, first, whether North Carolina recognizes an exception to the rule of employment at will based on: (1) an employer\u2019s making statements that can be construed as assurances that the employee will be discharged only for deficient performance, and (2) an employee\u2019s providing \u201cadditional consideration\u201d by moving his residence to accept employment in response to those assurances. I believe a more precise statement of this question is whether an enforceable contract exists between employer and employee, so as to remove the presumption that the employment is terminable at will, where the employer makes specific assurances and the prospective employee gives additional consideration in reliance on those assurances.\nThe majority correctly states that North Carolina follows the doctrine of employment at will. However, employment at will is not, nor should it be, an ironclad mandate which prevents employers and employees from negotiating the terms of the employment relationship to their mutual satisfaction. The general rule of employment at will is more accurately construed as a rebuttable presumption which can be overcome by the words and conduct of the parties, allowing a jury to find that the parties in fact reached certain agreements within a contract of employment. I read the majority\u2019s decision as holding that representations made by an employer to a prospective employee and supported by additional consideration are insufficient as a matter of law to create an enforceable contract unless the employer specifies a definite term of service. Because this holding contradicts established principles of contract law, I must respectfully dissent.\nThe case often cited as the earliest adoption of North Carolina\u2019s employment-at-will rule, Edwards v. Seaboard & Roanoke R.R. Co., 121 N.C. 490, 28 S.E. 137 (1897), in fact recognized the contractual nature of the employment relationship. The facts in Edwards' required the Court to discern the intent of the parties as to the term of employment. The Court held that the contract was not specific as to the term of service, and therefore, \u201c[i]t does not seem unreasonable that the parties intended that the service should be performed for a price that should aggregate the gross sum annually, leaving the parties to sever their relations at will, for their own convenience.\u201d Id. at 491, 28 S.E. at 137 (emphasis added).\nIn reviewing the origins of employment at will, this Court has noted that American courts moved toward the doctrine after \u201cthe industrial revolution and the development of freedom of contract.\u201d Coman v. Thomas Mfg. Co., 325 N.C. 172, 174, 381 S.E.2d 445, 446 (1989). Nothing else appearing, freedom of contract arguably presumes the freedom of either party to terminate the employment relationship at will. However, an inflexible adherence to this presumption cannot stand in the face of evidence of contrary intent on the part of the contracting parties. As stated by the majority, \u201cparties can remove the at-will presumption by specifying a definite period of employment contractually.\u201d Likewise, where an employer agrees to restrict his right to discharge an employee in exchange for additional consideration provided by the employee, the courts must recognize that a contract has been formed which removes the presumption of employment at will.\nIn applying this analysis, the essential inquiry is whether the necessary elements of an enforceable contract were present. \u201cA contract is an agreement, upon a sufficient consideration, to do or not to do a particular thing.\u201d Campbell v. Campbell, 234 N.C. 188, 191, 66 S.E.2d 672, 674 (1951). Cases in which an employee relocates merely as an incident of accepting new employment will not rebut the presumption of employment at will. However, an agreement and consideration are both present where the employer has induced the employee to move his residence based on specific assurances that he will not be discharged except for deficient performance. This approach, which relies on contract principles, does not establish a \u201cgeneral exception\u201d to employment at will in all cases involving a relocation.\nThe second issue presented by defendant-appellant in this case is whether, if North Carolina recognizes such an exception to the rule of employment at will, the record in this case supports the application of the exception and is sufficient to sustain the verdict returned in favor of plaintiff. Again, I believe a more precise question is whether plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to support a jury\u2019s finding that an enforceable contract existed so as to rebut the presumption of employment at will. The majority states that the assurance primarily relied upon by plaintiff \u201cis not sufficient to make this indefinite hiring terminable only for cause\u201d and holds that the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the trial court, which denied defendant\u2019s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. I disagree.\nA motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict pursuant to Rule 50(b)(1) is essentially a renewal of an earlier motion for a directed verdict. See Raintree Homeowners Ass\u2019n v. Bleimann, 342 N.C. 159, 164, 463 S.E.2d 72, 75 (1995) (citing Dickinson v. Pake, 284 N.C. 576, 201 S.E.2d 897 (1974)). Therefore, the test for determining whether a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict should have been granted is the same as that which is applied when determining whether a motion for a directed verdict could have been properly granted. See id. (citing Manganello v. Permastone, Inc., 291 N.C. 666, 231 S.E.2d 678 (1977)). \u201cA directed verdict is proper only if it appears that the nonmovant failed to show a right .to recover upon any view of the facts which the evidence reasonably tends to establish.\u201d West v. Slick, 313 N.C. 33, 40, 326 S.E.2d 601, 606 (1985); see also Haas v. Warren, 341 N.C. 148, 152, 459 S.E.2d 254, 256 (1995). Further, all of the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, here the plaintiff, giving plaintiff the benefit of every reasonable inference to be drawn therefrom and resolving all conflicts, contradictions, and inconsistencies in plaintiff\u2019s favor. See Haas, 341 N.C. at 152, 459 S.E.2d at 256.\nIn this case the jury was presented, and answered, the following crucial questions:\nBefore plaintiff, Kurtzman, accepted a position of employment with defendant, AAI, did AAI make specific assurances to him that he would be discharged from employment with AAI only for deficient performance?\nAnswer: Yes\nDid the defendant, AAI, breach the employment contract by terminating the plaintiff, Kurtzman, without just cause?\nAnswer: Yes\nThe proper question for this Court, therefore, is whether there was evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff as the non-moving party, from which the jury could find that defendant made specific assurances to plaintiff that he would be discharged only for deficient performance and that defendant breached the employment contract by terminating plaintiff without just cause.\nThere was testimony in this case that during the course of negotiation for employment, plaintiff made known his concern about job security and received certain assurances from defendant. Plaintiff, who at that time held a secure position, was concerned about the security of the position for which he was being recruited. Defendant assured plaintiff that it was a \u201ccareer position.\u201d When plaintiff specifically inquired about a written contract, defendant responded that he did not need a contract \u201cif he was any good\u201d and that as long as he did his job, he would have a job. From these statements a jury could reasonably conclude that defendant promised plaintiff he would not be discharged unless his performance was deficient. In reliance on these assurances, and in acceptance of defendant\u2019s promise, plaintiff resigned from his job and moved his residence in order to accept employment with defendant. A jury could reasonably find that this action by plaintiff constituted sufficient additional consideration to support the employment contract.\nAll the evidence considered by the jury, viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, could reasonably support plaintiff\u2019s contention that defendant made specific assurances that plaintiff would not be discharged unless his performance was deficient and that the contract was supported by additional consideration apart from plaintiff\u2019s services. Therefore, I believe that the trial judge properly denied defendant\u2019s motion for a directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and that the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the trial court.", "type": "dissent", "author": "Justice Frye" } ], "attorneys": [ "Shipman & Associates, L.L.P., by Gary K. Shipman and C. Wes Hodges, II, for plaintiff-appellee.", "Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A., by John R. Wester and Frank H. Lancaster, for defendant-appellant.", "Hunton & Williams, by Amy E. Simpson, for North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry, amicus curiae.", "Patterson, Harkavy & Lawrence, L.L.P., by Martha A. Geer, for the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, amicus curiae." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "LEWIS KURTZMAN v. APPLIED ANALYTICAL INDUSTRIES, INC.\nNo. 103PA97\n(Filed 7 November 1997)\nLabor and Employment \u00a7 65 (NCI4th)\u2014 employment contract \u2014 assurances\u2014moving residence \u2014 not converted from at-will\nAn action for breach of an employment contract was remanded for an order setting aside the verdict for plaintiff and entering judgment for defendant notwithstanding the verdict where defendant contacted plaintiff and recruited him for a position as director of sales; plaintiff inquired into the security of the proposed position during negotiations; he was told \u201cIf you do your job, you\u2019ll have a job,\u201d \u201cThis is a long-term growth opportunity for you,\u201d \u201cThis is a secure position,\u201d and \u201cWe\u2019re offering you a career position\u201d; plaintiff began his employment with defendant on 30 March 1992, moved immediately from Massachusetts to Wilmington, with his wife and daughter joining him following the sale of their home; and defendant terminated his employment on 2 November 1992. Although plaintiff argues that the combination of defendant\u2019s assurances and plaintiff\u2019s move to accept the offer of employment created a contract under which plaintiff could be discharged only for cause, plaintiff-employee\u2019s change of residence in the wake of defendant-employer\u2019s statements here does not constitute additional consideration making what is otherwise an at-will employment relationship one that can be terminated by the employer only for cause. The employment-at-will doctrine has prevailed in North Carolina for a century; the narrow exceptions to it have been grounded in considerations of public policy designed either to prohibit status-based discrimination or to insure the integrity of the judicial process or the enforcement of the law. The society to which the employment-at-will doctrine currently applies is a highly mobile one in which relocation to accept new employment is common. To remove an employment relationship from the at-will presumption upon an employee\u2019s change of residence, coupled with vague assurances of continued employment, would substantially erode the rule and bring considerable instability to an otherwise largely clear area of the law.\nAm Jur 2d, Employment Relationship \u00a7 35.\nJustice Frye dissenting.\nOn discretionary review pursuant to N.C.G.S. \u00a7 7A-31 of a unanimous decision of the Court of Appeals, 125 N.C. App. 261, 480 S.E.2d 425 (1997), affirming a judgment awarding damages to plaintiff entered by Cobb, J., out of session on 1 August 1995, following a jury verdict for plaintiff at the 22 May 1995 Civil Session of Superior Court, New Hanover County. Heard in the Supreme Court 14 October 1997.\nShipman & Associates, L.L.P., by Gary K. Shipman and C. Wes Hodges, II, for plaintiff-appellee.\nRobinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A., by John R. Wester and Frank H. Lancaster, for defendant-appellant.\nHunton & Williams, by Amy E. Simpson, for North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry, amicus curiae.\nPatterson, Harkavy & Lawrence, L.L.P., by Martha A. Geer, for the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, amicus curiae." }, "file_name": "0329-01", "first_page_order": 369, "last_page_order": 378 }