Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
On Tuesday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the case of Fire Chief Steven Earl Elliott, formerly of the Enka-Candler Fire and Rescue Department. Chief Elliott had an employment agreement with the department through October 31, 2013, but was terminated without cause on March 3, 2008.
The employment agreement was well drafted, and provided that if Chief Elliott was terminated without cause, the department would have to pay him the balance of his salary and provide all benefits through the end of the contract, as if he had remained a full-time employee. When the department refused to honor the agreement, Chief Elliott sued.
The fire department claimed the agreement was unenforceable because the chief provided no consideration. In other words, the department claimed the agreement was merely an unenforceable promise for it to pay the chief. The department also claimed the agreement was against public policy, and that it could not be required to expend taxpayers funds to pay amounts it had not budgeted.
The trial court ruled in favor of the chief and the department appealed. The NC Court of Appeals concluded that by agreeing to work for the department, the chief made a promise to the department that was adequate consideration to support an enforceable agreement between the parties. [Incidentally, to rule otherwise would essentially transform every employment agreement in the state into an at will employment.]
The Court of Appeals also ruled that an employment agreement with a fire chief serves a legitimate public purpose that does not violate public policy. As for the defense that the department could not be required to pay funds for unbudgeted purposes, the court stated: “Defendant cites no authority, however, for the proposition that a municipality can evade payment of severance pay or breach of contract damages by simply not budgeting for them. Nor do we know of any such authority.”
Here is a copy of the decision. Elliott-v-Enka-Candler-Fire-and-Rescue
