Abell v. Fidelity Bank

11 Pa. D. & C.3d 1, 1978 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 34
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Chester County
DecidedAugust 4, 1978
Docketno. 141
StatusPublished

This text of 11 Pa. D. & C.3d 1 (Abell v. Fidelity Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Chester County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Abell v. Fidelity Bank, 11 Pa. D. & C.3d 1, 1978 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 34 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1978).

Opinion

STIVELY, Jr., J.,

— in this action, Ernest G. Abell and Ralph E. Duey, were formerly employed by defendant, J.V. Calhoun Company. The Calhoun Company is settlor of a profit-sharing trust of which defendant, Fidelity Bank, is trustee. As of January, 1973, plaintiffs were eligible employes under the profit-sharing trust agreement, absent any actions by them which may have forfeited their rights thereunder. As of December 31, 1972, the company had contributed $12,685.29 to the plan on behalf of plaintiff Abell, and $120.76 on behalf of plaintiff Duey. (There were no employe contributions.)

On January 29, 1973, Abell, who headed the Gaseous Fuels Division of J.V.C. Equipment Company, a subsidiary of J.V. Calhoun Company, and Duey, an employe of the same division, informed John Calhoun, Jr., the president of the company, that they intended to resign in 30 days. Four days later, on February 2, 1973, they were fired.

Subsequent to leaving the Calhoun Company, plaintiffs requested their share of the profit-sharing trust. They were informed by letter in June of 1973, that this would not be forthcoming. This action was then brought in assumpsit. After a jury verdict in favor of defendants, plaintiffs filed motions for a [3]*3new trial, in arrest of judgment, and for judgment n.o.v.

In support of these motions, plaintiffs have advanced some 13 reasons why relief should be granted. Several of these have not been briefed, and are thus deemed waived on post-trial consideration and appeal. The remaining reasons have been combined into five arguments, which will be discussed seriatum.

I. Defendant insists that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence and against the law, and that a motion for a directed verdict should have been granted.

“In order to warrant the granting of a new trial on the ground that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, the preponderance of evidence must be clear and decisive.” Lester v. Century Indemnity Co., 356 Pa. 15, 17, 50 A. 2d 678 (1947), citing 6 Standard Pa. Pract. §49, 320. More recently, our Supreme Court has said: “When a jury’s finding is so opposed to demonstrated facts that, looking at the verdict, the mind stands baffled, the intellect searches in vain for cause and effect, and reason rebels against a bizarre and erratic conclusion, it can be said that the verdict is shocking and unjust, and that a new trial is imperative.” Green v. Johnson, 424 Pa. 296, 298, 227 A. 2d 644 (1967). This is hardly the case here; the jury’s verdict was eminently reasonable.

Defendant in this case stipulated at the outset that plaintiffs had been entitled to the money in question at the beginning of January, 1973. However, it advanced the affirmative defense that plaintiffs had forfeited their entitlement to any share of the profit-sharing fund by their disloyal acts at the time they left the company’s employ.

[4]*4The fifth article of the profit-sharing trust agreement stated: “Upon resignation or discharge of an eligible employee from the service of the Company, provided that such discharge is without cause or fault upon the part of such employee, such as dishonesty, misconduct or insubordination, such employee shall be entitled to receive from the Trustee, such portion of the assets of the Trust allocated to such employee, as shall be determined by the number of years said employee has been a participant in the Plan, in accordance with [the attached schedule].”

In support of their contention that plaintiffs’ resignation or discharge was with “cause” or “fault,” defendants attempted to show that, while still in the employ of Calhoun, plaintiffs (through Abell) solicited a customer of their employer for the business which they were setting up on their own.

The evidence was undisputed that several days prior to informing the president of Calhoun of his intended resignation, Abell had spoken with officers of Tyronics, Inc., a major client of Calhoun’s Gaseous Fuels Division, and told them that he and Duey “didn’t see too much of a future” with Calhoun and were at least very seriously considering leaving. These Tyronics officers asked Abell to inform them of his and Duey’s decision and, after speaking with them, Abell expressed to Duey his confidence that they would have a good chance of getting the Tyronics account for the new Abell Engineering Company.

Immediately after Abell and Duey informed the president of the Calhoun Company of their decision to resign, Abell called Tyronics. That same afternoon, Tyronics wrote a letter to Calhoun cancelling its representative agreement. That letter said in [5]*5part: “It is our understanding that Ernest Abell and Ralph Duey have tendered their resignations . . . We feel that Tyronics’ sales success in the recent years has been primarily due to the efforts of Mr. Abell and Mr. Duey. For this reason, in the best interest of Tyronics, we are appointing the Abell Engineering Company our representative in the Philadelphia area.”

From this evidence, the jury could reasonably infer that plaintiffs had in fact solicited the Tyronics account while still employed by Calhoun. The profit-sharing trust agreement stated that an employe could “[forfeit] his right to participation by reason of unfaithful service to the corporation, such as dishonesty, misconduct or insubordination . . .” From plaintiffs’ actions, the jury could also reasonably infer that plaintiffs had been “unfaithful” in their service to the corporation within the meaning of the profit-sharing trust agreement. (See Restatement, 2d, Agency, §393, comment e.) Since the evidence was compatible with a finding that plaintiffs had forfeited their rights under the profit-sharing trust agreement, the verdict was not against the weight of the evidence.

Neither was the verdict against the law. “In order ... to secure a new trial on the ground that the verdict is against the law, the party complaining must show that the jury disregarded the instructions of the Court.” 6A Standard Pa. Pract. §75, 101, and the cases cited there. There was no attempt to make such a showing here. In fact, plaintiffs contend not that the jury failed to follow the judge’s instructions, but rather that those instructions were erroneous.

In connection with their motion for judgment n.o.v., plaintiffs urge that the trial court erred in [6]*6refusing to grant their motion for a directed verdict.

“It is well settled that a Judgment n.o.v. will be entered only in a clear case, and that any doubts will be resolved in favor of the verdict.” 6A Standard Pa. Pract. §163, 209, citing Pantuso v. Pittsburgh Motor Coach Co., 360 Pa. 464, 62 A. 2d 56 (1948).

The Superior Court has stated: “A Judgment n.o.v. is the directing of a verdict in favor of the losing party, despite a verdict to the contrary. It may only be entered in a clear case where the evidence is insufficient to sustain a verdict against him. Stewart v. Chernicky, 439 Pa. 43, 266 A. 2d 259 (1970). Judgment n.o.v. is inappropriate if the evidence on a material point presented an issue of fact for decision by the jury. This method of attacking the verdict may never be utilized so as to invade the province of the jury, especially where that determination is based partly on questions of conflicting testimonies and credibility of witnesses. Brandon v. Peoples Natural Gas Co., 417 Pa. 128, 207 A. 2d 843 (1965); Axilbund v. McAllister, 407 Pa. 46, 180 A. 2d 244 (1962).

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Bluebook (online)
11 Pa. D. & C.3d 1, 1978 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 34, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/abell-v-fidelity-bank-pactcomplcheste-1978.