Dalan v. Paracelsus Healthcare Corp. of N.D.,
No. 20010269 (N.D. Mar. 12, 2002)
The
Supreme Court of North Dakota was asked to determine whether a physician was
entitled to additional compensation under his employment contract for on-call
coverage. In dismissing the complaint, the court found that discussions about
additional compensation were not reduced to writing, as required by the agreement,
thus there was no breach of the express terms of the contract. The court also
ruled that the claim for breach of implied covenant of good faith, even if available,
does not obligate a party to accept a material change in the terms of the contract.
Since requiring additional compensation for on-call coverage would contradict
an express term of the contract, the court found that this claim could not go
forward.