JOBLESS

[RUSSELLC]

In July of 2000, my wife and I took a vacation to Pocatello, Idaho. We decided to relocate and I found a job with a local dealership. I was scheduled to start on October 2, 2000. A few days before our move to Idaho, the Service manager contacted me and told me that the dealership was sold. He asked me if I had a problem working for the new owners. I told him that I didn't have a problem with that. He also told me they were enacting a hiring freeze and he did not know for how long. When we got to Idaho, I contacted the dealership. I was then told that the hiring freeze may go as far as December.
Do I have any rights against the dealership for damages due to loss of wages and benefits?

 

[cdcard]

Dear Russelc:
You're probably going to have to talk to an attorney who practices either contract law or employment law in Idaho to get a definitive answer to your question. Some jurisdictions may view this situation as a breach of contract; ie, dealership promised you a job; the promise induced you to move to Idaho to work for them; you relied on that promise to your detriment by selling your house and expending money to move; dealership pulled the plug in the eleventh hour; and implied another job would be forthcoming. Some jurisdictions may take the alternate view that no breach of contract exists because no contract exists; ie, you were told before you left for Idaho that no job was readily available and dealership never gave you an approximate date as to availability. That same jurisdiction may find you did not rely to your detriment on anything since you moved there knowing there was nothing readily available to you at that dealership. Usually case law, not statutes, determine how a jurisdiction views these types of situations. You could do the legal research yourself, but, if you're like most people, you won't know how. If you want to give it a shot, go to your local law library and ask the librarian for assistance; most law librarians are a gold mine of information. It's tough to research case law on the internet because most sites require you to know the name and/or citation of the case you want to view and I don't know how you would have that information without a trip to the local law library first. However, if you're willing to come out of pocket for half an hour of a local attorney's time, you can probably get your question answered in a consultation. If you want to talk to a local Idaho attorney, consider contacting your local county bar association and ask for a referrel to an attorney who practices either contract law or employment law. When you make an appointment with that attorney, ask if they will give you a free half hour consultation; you may get your question answered for free. Good luck to you.
cdcard

 

[cdcard]

Dear Russellc:
(continued) Sorry; cut my last comments off too soon. If you're interested in the opinion of a California attorney who probably needs a few more facts to make a determination and who doesn't know much about Idaho law, I will tell you my opinion is there probably is no case here. The fact that the dealership told you before you moved to Idaho they had an indefinite hiring freeze should have put you on notice that it could be years before anything opened up there. However, like I said, I don't know all the facts nor local law. So you may want to consider talking to a local attorney. Good luck to you.
cdcard