McInerney v. Charter Golf, Inc.

Dennis McInerney (plaintiff), a sales representative for Charter Golf, Inc. (Charter) (defendant), told Charter's president he planned to accept a competitor's job offer with a higher commission rate; Charter's president orally promised McInerney a 10 percent lifetime commission rate in some states and guaranteed he could be fired only for dishonesty or disability, and McInerney accepted, giving up the competing offer. Three years later Charter fired him anyway, and he sued for breach of contract. The trial court granted Charter summary judgment on statute-of-frauds grounds, and the appellate court affirmed on a different theory — that giving up another job offer was insufficient consideration to convert at-will employment into lifetime employment — prompting McInerney's appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.