McNevin v. Solvay Process Co.

53 N.Y.S. 98 (1898)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

McNevin v. Solvay Process Co.

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
53 N.Y.S. 98 (1898)

Facts

James McNevin (plaintiff) was a former employee of Solvay Process Company (Solvay) (defendant). During McNevin’s employment, Solvay established a pension fund for the benefit of certain employees and prescribed rules for administering the fund. The fund’s purpose was to provide support if an employee could no longer work due to an accident, sickness, or advanced age. Solvay’s creation of the fund and deposits thereto were entirely voluntary. Participating employees were each assigned an account and provided with a passbook in which amounts allocated to the account were recorded. The passbooks also contained Solvay’s rules for the fund and a pledge, signed by the employee, to discharge his duties to the company loyally and faithfully. The rules specified that an employee could demand payment from his account only with Solvay’s approval. To manage the fund, Solvay appointed trustees who were empowered to resolve all questions concerning employees’ rights to the fund. The trustees’ decisions were final; employees had no right of appeal. Solvay dismissed McNevin with no explanation. McNevin later applied for payment of the amount shown in his passbook and appeared before the trustees, who voted not to remit the payment. McNevin brought a legal action to recover the amount allotted to him. The trial court entered judgment in favor of McNevin, and Solvay appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Follett, J.)

Dissent (Green, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership