Bennett & Belfort, P.C. attorneys, Todd Bennett and Craig Levey, were successful in obtaining a dismissal of a breach of contract case in Federal Court on behalf of their client, Gregory Daley. The case was highlighted in this week’s “Important Opinions of the Week” section of Lawyer’s Weekly.
Attorney Bennett and Attorney Levey were defending Gregory Daley, the franchisee and operator of several Dunkin Donuts locations. A former business partner and employee of Mr. Daley, Chahine Lahlou, filed a lawsuit against Mr. Daley for breach of contract and fraud in the inducement, arising out of Mr. Lahlou’s former employment with Mr. Daley. Mr. Lahlou alleged, in pertinent part, that Mr. Daley fraudulently induced him to accept a job with a term of employment in excess of one year, and that Mr. Daley breached his oral contract with Mr. Lahlou by constructively terminating him. Prior to the filing of the Motion for Summary Judgment by Bennett & Belfort, P.C., the parties agreed to dismiss the fraud in the inducement count, leaving only the breach of contract claim.
The Statute of Frauds requires a contract to be in writing if the terms of the contract cannot be performed within one year. There are numerous exceptions to the Statute of Frauds. However, believing that the oral contract for a term of employment in excess of one year violated the Statute of Frauds and that none of the exceptions to the Statute of Frauds was applicable, Attorney Todd Bennett and Attorney Craig Levey filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. The Honorable Judge Tauro of the United States District Court of Massachusetts agreed with Attorney Bennett and Attorney Levey, and dismissed the only remaining count, the breach of contract claim, thus ending the case against Mr. Daley. Lahlou v. Daley, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, Civil Action No. 11-10622 (Tauro, J.).
