Robert S. Ohanian, Cross-Appellant v. Avis Rent a Car System, Inc., Cross-Appellee

Believing that the oral lifetime employment contract as claimed by plaintiff is void under the New York Statute of Frauds, I am compelled to dissent. The majority decision appears not only to be in error, but also to be particularly unfair to defendant in light of the way the case was tried, the instructions of the trial judge to the jury, and the form of the special questions submitted to the jury.

Although there is no disagreement with much of the ably expressed majority opinion, the issue between us needs to be carefully explained.

I

The “oral employment contract,” as claimed by Ohanian in…