In the Matter of Dr. Pasquale De Petris, Appellant, v. Union Settlement
Association, Inc., Respondent.
86 N.Y.2d 406, 657 N.E.2d 269, 633 N.Y.S.2d 274
October 24, 1995
(Case Commentary by Editorial Board)
1 No. 202 (1995 NY Int. 213)
Decided October 24, 1995
_________________________________________________________________
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
Karen Wohlforth, for Appellant.
Stephanie G. Wheeler, for Respondent.
KAYE, CHIEF JUDGE:
At issue on this appeal is whether a discharged employee's article 78
petition, claiming wrongful termination for failure to comply with
procedures set out in an employee manual, was correctly dismissed. We
conclude, as did the Appellate Division, that it was.
In 1972, petitioner, Dr. Pasquale De Petris, joined the James Weldon
Johnson Counseling Center, a provider of outpatient mental health
services in East Harlem, as a staff psychologist. He continued to hold
that position when in 1982 respondent, Union Settlement Association, a
private nonprofit corporation, assumed responsibility for the Center.
Petitioner was made Assistant Administrative Director of the Center in
1986 and two years later became its Administrative Director.
Among petitioner's duties as Administrative Director was overseeing
the Center's finances which, beginning in 1990, became a source of
friction between petitioner and respondent. According to respondent,
the Center under petitioner's direction operated at a deficit and the
overspending continued. Between December 1991 and April 1992,
respondent's Executive Director, Eugene Sklar, and its Associate
Executive Director, Gina Rusch, several times in writing and in
meetings expressed concern to petitioner regarding his oversight of
the Center's finances. In response to these communications, petitioner
proposed various measures for reducing expenditures and increasing
revenues but on April 2, 1992 Rusch wrote him that she saw no
indication that corrective measures were actually being implemented.
At a meeting on April 14, 1992, respondent's Board of Directors
SNIPPETS:
Stephanie G. Wheeler, for Respondent.
At issue on this appeal is whether a discharged employee's article 78 petition, claiming
We conclude, as did the Appellate Division, that it was.
He continued to hold that position when in 1982 respondent, Union Settlement Association, a
Petitioner was made Assistant Administrative Director of the Center in 1986 and two years
Among petitioner's duties as Administrative Director was overseeing the Center's finances
Between December 1991 and April 1992, respondent's Executive Director, Eugene Sklar, and its
The next day, petitioner wrote Rusch that the termination letter did not comply with
We fully expect that the provisions and information in this Manual will change from time to
Employees dismissed for gross misconduct, according to the Manual, could be terminated
The trial court held that article 78 relief was available in a proceeding brought against a
We now affirm the Appellate Division order,
Absent an agreement establishing a fixed duration, an employment relationship is presumed to
An employee may recover, however, by establishing that the employer made the employee aware
the employee in effect has a contract claim against the employer.
He cannot point to any provision limiting respondent's right to terminate his at-will
Medical College, 60 Hun 107, aff'd 128 NY 621), and on Appellate Division decisions granting
Opinion by Chief Judge Kaye.
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