Keith Clouse, a Texas lawyer who routinely litigates employment disputes, notes that the Texas Supreme Court recently ruled on an employment dispute. The Court addressed whether employees could enforce an employer’s alleged promise to pay proceeds from the sale or merger of the company to any employees who were still employed at the time of the sale or merger. The Court found that they could. Vanegas v. Am. Energy Servs., No. 07-0520, __ S.W.3d __ (Tex. Dec. 18, 2009).
The employer promised to pay certain employees five percent of the proceeds of a sale or merger if the employees were still employed when a sale or merger closed. Upon acquisition, however, the employer refused to pay the employees, claiming the promise to pay was illusory because the employer could have fired the employees at any time. The Court disagreed. The Court found that the employer’s promise to pay the employees represented a unilateral contract, and, because the employees fully performed by remaining at the company, the employer’s promise became enforceable. The Court focused not upon whether the initial promise was illusory, but upon whether the promise was enforceable at the time of the alleged breach.
To speak with Mr. Clouse or another attorney at a Dallas employment law firm, please contact the employment law lawyers at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at [email protected].
