Francis v. Lee Enterprises, Inc.

89 Haw. 234, 971 P.2d 707 (1999)

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Francis v. Lee Enterprises, Inc.

Hawaii Supreme Court
89 Haw. 234, 971 P.2d 707 (1999)

  • Written by Tammy Boggs, JD

Facts

Russ Francis (plaintiff) was a former professional football player. In 1996, Francis entered a written employment contract to work for local television network Lee Enterprises, Inc., dba KGMB (defendant) as KGMB’s sports director. In 1997, Francis was terminated. Francis sued the network alleging five causes of action, including breach of contract, “tortious breach of contract,” and punitive damages. Francis asserted that KGMB had acted in a willful, wanton, reckless, and/or bad-faith manner in breaching his employment contract. KGMB removed the case to federal district court and moved to dismiss the claim for tortious breach of contract. The Hawaii Supreme Court accepted a certified legal question from the district court regarding whether Hawaii recognized a cause of action for tortious breach of contract in the employment context.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Moon, C.J.)

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