Mark Williams, Plaintiff Below, Appellant v. Precision Coil, Inc., Defendant Below, Appellee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed summary judgment for Precision Coil on Mark Williams's claim that his job application and the company's employee handbook converted his at-will employment into a contract dischargeable only for cause. Reaffirming Painter, the court restated the Rule 56 summary judgment standard consistently with federal law and held the application form contained no definite promise of job security. Although the handbook's disclaimer lacked the clear, conspicuous, and understandable language required to be valid and might have left the handbook's contractual implications to a jury, Williams offered no evidence that he knew of the handbook—an essential element of a Cook contract claim—and, alternatively, Precision Coil complied in substance with its disciplinary procedure before terminating him for absenteeism.