Facts
- Dove entered into a bonus system with his employer, including working 10 weeks straight without being late or absent.
- Dove’s performance was perfect for 9.5 weeks.
- Dove was sick for 2 days and so lost the bonus.
- He sued arguing, essentially, that his performance was nearly perfect and his failure was out of his control.
Issue
- Can you have substantial performance of an entire contract where the contract stipulates you must complete in full?
Held
- The Plaintiff knew the terms of the contract when he agreed to them; if he thought they were unnecessarily harsh he could have refused to participate, but he didn’t.
- Fighting tardiness and absenteeism was a central theme of the bonus program and so it cannot be removed
- There was no fraud on the part of Rose Acre Farms that would make the contract unfair.
- You cannot use “impossibility” to sue for the value of the contract, only against paying damages.
Relevance
- This case is a demonstration of the principle that you cannot have substantial performance,
-- Download Dove v. Rose Acre Farms 434 N.E.2d 931 (1982) as PDF --

