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Demasse v. ITT Corporation

Arizona Supreme Court
984 P.2d 1138 (1999)

Written by Robert Cane, JD

Facts

Between 1960 and 1979, ITT Corporation (defendant) hired numerous employees in Arizona, including Roger Demasse and five others (the employees) (plaintiffs) and gave them an employee handbook stating any layoffs would be based on seniority. In 1989, ITT issued a new handbook saying it could change its policies at any time. In 1993, ITT changed its layoff policy, saying that any layoffs would now be based on performance instead of seniority. The six employees were then laid off before less-senior workers. The employees sued ITT in federal district court, claiming the original handbook created a contract requiring seniority-based layoffs. The district court granted summary judgment to ITT. The employees appealed. The Ninth Circuit certified a question to the Arizona Supreme Court, seeking guidance about the state's contract-modification laws.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Feldman, J.)

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Concurrence/Dissent (Jones, C.J.)

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