LJL Transportation v. Pilot Air Freight Corp. - Pa. Supreme Court - January 22, 2009
http://origin-www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/Supreme/out/J-60-2008mo.pdf
Held: A party’s conduct in breaching a francise agreement can may justify its immediate termination, even if the contract includes an express provision granting the breaching party the right to cure before the contract is terminated, when there is a material breach of the contract so serious it goes directly to the heart and essence of the contract, rendering the breach incurable.
The wrongful conduct consisted of plaintiff's admittedly dishonest, indefensible diversion of business to defendant's competitor.
The court looked to the law of other states, which had adopted the “Williston view,” which provides, “Unless a contract provision for termination for breach is in terms exclusive . . . it is a cumulative remedy and does not bar the ordinary remedy of termination for a breach which is material or which goes to the root of the matter or essence of the contract.” Williston, A Treatise on The Law of Contracts, § 842, 165 n.1 (3d. ed. 1962).
