K Mart Corp. v. Ponsock

OPINION

By the Court, Springer, J.:

Ponsock was a tenured employee of K Mart. Evidence supports a jury finding that K Mart dismissed Ponsock in order to save having to pay him retirement benefits provided for in the employment contract. The question is whether such conduct is tortious. We find that it is and approve a jury award for compensatory and punitive damages for the tort of breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Ponsock’s Status as Tenured Employee

Although for some inexplicable reason K Mart insists on referring to the employer-employee relationship with Ponsock as being…