As TBH&E celebrates its 3-year anniversary today, we would like to thank our clients, families, and friends for their trust and support. We look forward to continued success and growth in the years to come.
By Mike Hinkle
By Mike Hinkle
By Mike Hinkle
TBH&E Partner Jason P. Beaulieu has been selected by his peers as a 2017 Super Lawyer for the State of Maryland, a distinction awarded to less than 5% of all attorneys in the State. This marks Jason’s fifth consecutive selection to Maryland Super Lawyers®. Jason is a founding partner of Timmerman, Beaulieu, Hinkle & Esworthy, LLC. His practice focuses on civil and business litigation.
Super Lawyers® selects attorneys using a rigorous, multiphase process in which peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research of a candidate’s professional achievement and ethics. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.
By TB&H
TBH&E Partner Mike Hinkle has again been named to the Super Lawyers® Rising Star List for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mike is one of only 2.5% of practicing attorneys under the age of 40 to receive this distinction in 2016. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis and recognize attorneys who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Honorees are selected for inclusion following a rigorous, multi-phase selection process that includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Mike’s inclusion will be commemorated in the June 2016 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
Mike is a founding partner of Timmerman, Beaulieu, Hinkle & Esworthy, LLC. His practice focuses on complex civil and business litigation. He can be contacted by phone at (443) 608-5515 or by email at mjh@tbhelaw.com.
By TB&H
Employer’s Breach (Damages) – Question: Are damages for breach of a contract’s notice provision recoverable for the balance of the contract’s term? Answer: No.
Recently, The Honorable Richard D. Bennett, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, considered whether the proper measure of damages when an employer fails to comply with a notice of termination provision is limited to compliance with the notice provision. In Thompson v. Naval Academy Athletic Association, No. 12-2676 (D. Md. 19, 2014), Mr. Thompson contended that the Naval Academy Athletic Association (“NAAA”) terminated his employment without the requisite 180 days’ notice, and therefore, he sought compensation for the duration of the contract period. Judge Bennett relying on established Maryland law concluded that “[w]hen a party to a contract may terminate that contract at any time upon a specific period of notice to the other party, the injured party may recover only those profits he would have accrued during that period.”
Judge Bennett’s decision is helpful in clarifying the current Maryland law on damages when an employment agreement is terminated without proper notice.
About the Author
Jim Timmerman is a founding partner of Timmerman, Beaulieu, Hinkle & Esworthy, LLC. Jim’s practice focuses on complex business and commercial litigation, including the defense of companies in labor and employment matters, in the federal and state courts of Maryland. He can be contacted at (410) 649-4440 or via email at jmt@tbhelaw.com.
By TB&H
TBH&E Partner Mike Hinkle has again been named a Super Lawyers® Rising Star for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mike is one of only 2.5% of practicing attorneys under the age of 40 to receive this honor in Pennsylvania in 2015. Honorees are selected for inclusion following a rigorous, multi-phase selection process that includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis and recognize attorneys who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Mike’s inclusion will be commemorated in the June 2015 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
Mike is a founding partner of Timmerman, Beaulieu, Hinkle & Esworthy, LLC. His practice focuses on complex civil and business litigation. He can be contacted by phone at (410) 649-4440 or by email at mjh@tbhelaw.com.
By TB&H
Answer: When the no-definite term employment agreement contains a “for-cause” termination provision.
As employers head into the spring hiring season they are reminded of the Maryland Court of Appeals’ decision that recently re-examined the contours of Maryland’s firmly established doctrine of at-will employment and avoid an unintended lifetime employment contract or continuous for-cause relationship that was never intended.
In last summer’s decision, Spacesaver Systems, Inc. v. Adam (Md. Ct. App., No. 98 Aug. 27, 2014), the Maryland Court of Appeals confronted the question of whether a written contract containing a for-cause provision but no definite term of employment constituted an at-will contract, a lifetime contract, or something else. After laying out the fundamentals of Maryland employment law, the Court opted for the “something else” category classifying the situation as “continuous for-cause” employment. Explaining that while the absence of any duration suggested an at-will employment relationship, the for-cause provision negated an at-will employment contract.
As a result of the Adam Court’s decision, employers should review their employment agreement forms to make sure that the agreement forms actually establish the employment relationship that is intended. If an employer intends to provide for termination with and without cause, and related benefits only in the case of the latter, the employer must make the distinction clear. If at-will employment is intended your attorney can assist in properly documenting the relationship. Indeed, the Court of Appeals made this point particularly clear stating, “[employer’s] corporate attorney could easily have kept Adam’s employment at-will by inserting an at-will provision in the Employment Agreement, or making sure that no for-cause provision made its way into the contract.”
Employers, as you head into the spring hiring season review your employment documents, including your employment handbooks, to ensure that your documents establish the employment relationships you intend and that your documents are consistent with current law. Carelessness, in this area could result in significant unintended and expensive consequences.
If you have any questions about this Employer Alert, please contact Timmerman, Beaulieu, Hinkle & Esworthy attorney, Jim Timmerman, the author or this alert, or the attorney with whom you usually work for your employment law questions.
About the Author
Jim Timmerman is a founding partner of Timmerman, Beaulieu, Hinkle & Esworthy, LLC. Jim’s practice focuses on complex business and commercial litigation, including the defense of companies in labor and employment matters, in the federal and state courts of Maryland. He can be contacted at (410) 649-4440 or via email at jmt@tbhelaw.com.