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Keywords

contractlawsuitbreach of contractdamagessummary judgmentcorporation

contractplaintiffdefendantdamagestrialmotionsummary judgment

Related Cases

Parker v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., 3 Cal.3d 176, 474 P.2d 689, 89 Cal.Rptr. 737, 44 A.L.R.3d 615

Facts

Parker, a well-known actress, had a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox to star in a musical film titled 'Bloomer Girl' for a guaranteed compensation of $750,000. However, the corporation decided not to produce the film and offered Parker a role in a different film, 'Big Country, Big Man,' which was a dramatic western set in Australia. The new offer eliminated certain rights Parker had under the original contract, including approvals for the director and screenplay. Parker did not accept the new offer and subsequently filed a lawsuit for the compensation due under the original contract.

Plaintiff is well known as an actress, and in the contract between plaintiff and defendant is sometimes referred to as the 'Artist.' Under the contract, dated August 6, 1965, plaintiff was to play the female lead in defendant's contemplated production of a motion picture entitled 'Bloomer Girl.' The contract provided that defendant would pay plaintiff a minimum 'guaranteed compensation' of '53,571.42 per week for 14 weeks commencing May 23, 1966, for a total of $750,000.

Issue

The main legal issue was whether Parker's rejection of the substitute employment offer constituted a failure to mitigate damages in her breach of contract claim against Twentieth Century-Fox.

The basic question in this case is whether or not plaintiff acted reasonably in rejecting defendant's offer of alternate employment.

Rule

The court applied the rule that an employee is not required to accept alternative employment that is of a different or inferior kind in order to mitigate damages resulting from wrongful discharge.

The general rule is that the measure of recovery by a wrongfully discharged employee is the amount of salary agreed upon for the period of service, less the amount which the employer affirmatively proves the employee has earned or with reasonable effort might have earned from other employment.

Analysis

The court analyzed the nature of the substitute employment offer and determined that it was significantly different and inferior to the original contract. The original role in 'Bloomer Girl' required Parker's talents as a dancer and was to be filmed in California, while the alternative role in 'Big Country' was a dramatic role in a western film set in Australia. The court found that the differences in the nature of the roles and the loss of certain contractual rights made the substitute offer unacceptable for mitigation purposes.

Applying the foregoing rules to the record in the present case, with all intendments in favor of the party opposing the summary judgment motion—here, defendant—it is clear that the trial court correctly ruled that plaintiff's failure to accept defendant's tendered substitute employment could not be applied in mitigation of damages because the offer of the 'Big Country' lead was of employment both different and inferior.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the summary judgment in favor of Parker, concluding that her rejection of the substitute offer could not be used to mitigate the damages owed to her for the breach of contract.

The judgment is affirmed.

Who won?

Parker prevailed in the case because the court found that the substitute employment offer was inferior and did not require her to accept it to mitigate damages.

We have concluded that the trial court correctly ruled in plaintiff's favor and that the judgment should be affirmed.

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