Hogg v. Stortz — 2 E.D. Smith 192

Majority

p. 192

Hogg v. Stortz.

Headnote

Where a father, by a contract for the services of a minor son, hinds him to serve for two years, at a fixed compensation for each year-, with a provision for the forfeiture of all wages in case the services are not continued during the whole term, no compensation can he recovered until the expiration of the second year.

Accordingly, if the minor, without just cause, leave the employer’s service before the end of the term, the wages previously earned are forfeited.

Action by the father, for the services of a minor son, who had. been apprenticed to the defendant for two years, at a specified compensation for each year. The contract provided that all wages should be forfeited, if the minor should leave the defendant’s employment before the expiration of the .full term, which he did, in consequence of the defendant’s refusal to make any payment of wages while the term was running. One of the district courts gave judgment for the plaintiff. The defendant appealed.

All the cases in this state establish the view taken by the defendant of this contract, viz: That payment was not to be made until its expiration. (See 12 J. R. 165; 19 Id. 337; 8 Cowen, 63; 4 Denio, 121 .)

If this he so, then the plaintiff’s son had no good cause for leaving the defendant’s employment; and having so abandoned his services, nothing can be recovered for his past labors. (See cases above cited.)

The rule may he a hard one, and is different in some of the other states; but the contract should he made specific in requiring payment before its expiration, to avoid the difficulty.

Judgment reversed.