Utah Supreme Court
Stephen A. Giusti, Plaintiff, Appellant, and Cross-Appellee v. Sterling Wentworth Corporation, a Utah Corporation…
January 16, 2009621 Utah Adv. Rep. 11
Summary
The court held that Giusti's appeal was timely because the appeal period began when the required separate judgment was entered, not when the earlier final order was issued. It affirmed summary judgment for SWC on Giusti's contract, fraudulent inducement, and tortious interference claims, concluding that his employment was at will, that he failed to show recoverable fraud damages, and that the individual defendants acted within the scope of their employment. The court also affirmed the denial of attorney fees and the limitation of recoverable costs. No separate opinions were issued.
Holding
- Timeliness of Giusti's appeal. The appeal was timely because the July judgment was necessary under the civil-procedure rule governing entry of a separate order and triggered the appeal period when it was entered.
- Contract claims based on an alleged twelve-month employment guarantee. Summary judgment for SWC was proper on Giusti's breach-of-contract, implied-covenant, and promissory-estoppel claims because the offer letter did not guarantee employment for twelve months.
- Effect of the later employment agreement and alleged contrary conversations. The signed employment agreement independently confirmed that Giusti's employment was at will, and the alleged conversation with the human-resources director could not alter the agreement through parol evidence.
- Fraudulent inducement damages. Summary judgment for SWC was proper because Giusti failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact concerning damages.
- Tortious interference by SWC executives. Summary judgment was proper because Giusti produced no evidence that the executives acted outside the scope of their employment for purely personal reasons.
- SWC's attorney-fee and cost requests. The district court correctly denied attorney fees and did not abuse its discretion by limiting SWC's recoverable costs to $55.
Docket 20070648, 20070720
Cited authorities
- Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 7(F)(2)
- rule 7(F)(2) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure
- Rule 7(F)(2)
- Rule 7(F)(2)
- rule 7(F)(2)
- rule 7(F)(2)
- rule 7(F)(2)
- rule 7(F)(2)