Embry
v. Hargadine, McKittrick Dry Goods Co.
Court
of Appeals,
127
Mo.App. 383, 105 S.W. 777.
Facts: The plaintiff was employed
by the defendant. His employment contract
was about to expire. He went to his boss
and threatened to quit if he didn’t get a new contract. The defendant said something that the plaintiff
took to mean that the defendant agreed to reemploy the plaintiff for another
year. The plaintiff was fired in less
than a year, and he sued. The defendant
won at trial, and the plaintiff appealed.
Issue: Did the boss’s words form a
contract?
Rule: If a reasonable person
would have taken a party’s words to constitute assent to the formation of a contract,
then that contract will be enforceable.
Analysis: The court finds that it is
a matter of law whether or not the boss’s words could be understood by a
reasonable person as agreeing to form a contract. The court goes over the version of the events
given by the plaintiff and says that if that version of events is true, the
boss’s words would constitute assent to a valid contract of reemployment.
Conclusion: The judgment is reversed
and remanded.