Rudman v. Cowles Communication, Inc.

Rudman (plaintiff) sold his test-prep publishing business to Cowles (defendant) under one contract and simultaneously signed a separate employment contract to keep running the test-prep division as a Cowles employee; Cowles later drastically changed his duties, edited his materials without approval, removed his name from the books, and subordinated him to other employees before firing him early. Rudman sued for wrongful discharge and for rescission of the acquisition contract based on fraud; the trial court found for Rudman on the discharge claim but against him on fraud, and Rudman appealed, arguing the intertwined contracts meant the employment breach also required rescinding the acquisition.