Whether a statement constituted a clear & unequivocal assurance of just-cause employment; Rood v General Dynamics Corp

In an order in lieu of granting leave to appeal, the court reversed the Court of Appeals judgment (see eJournal # 81036 in the 2/28/24 edition) and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings. The court held that a reasonable jury could find that a statement by defendant-employer’s former administrator “constituted a clear and unequivocal assurance of just-cause employment.” The court reversed “the Court of Appeals’ holding that, as a matter of law, [the administrator’s] statement that the plaintiff ‘was not to be terminated other than for a proper cause’ fell short of describing an unequivocal and enforceable institutional commitment to guaranteeing the plaintiff employment but for just cause.” The court denied leave to appeal in all other respects because it was not persuaded that it should review the remaining questions presented.