Salsberg v. Mann and Drexel University – Pa. Super. – en banc (5-3 decision) – September 14, 2021
Majority – https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Superior/out/J-E01001-21o%20-%20104894484146523073.pdf?cb=1
The decision in Hennessey v. Santiago, 708 A.2d 1269, 1279 (Pa. Super. 1998) has been recognized as the controlling precedent on the availability of a § 766 claim for an at-will employee. See Haun v. Cmty. Health Sys., 13 A.3d 120, 125 n.1 (Pa. Super. 2011). In Hennessy, a former at-will employee filed suit against her employer for wrongful discharge. The former employee’s complaint also included a claim against a third-party for interfering with her at-will employment relationship. The Hennessy Court held that “an action for intentional interference with performance of a contract in the employment context applies only to interference with a prospective employment relationship whether at-will or not, not a presently existing at- will employment relationship.” Id., at 1279.
Dissent - https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Superior/out/J-E01001-21do%20-%20104894484146523572.pdf?cb=1 Appellant has alleged unjustified interference of a third person with her existing at-will employment contract. . . and the weight of authority remains in favor of allowing a cause of action in these circumstances. E.g., Hall v. Integon Life Ins. Co., 454 So.2d 1338, 1344 (Ala. 1984); Wagenseller v. Scottsdale Mem’l Hosp., 710 P.2d 1025, 1041-44 (Ariz. 1985) (superseded in part by statute on other grounds as stated in Galati v. America West Airlines, Inc., 69 P.3d 1011, 1013 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2003)); Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., 470 P.3d 571, 580 (Cal. 2020); Unistar Corp. v. Child, 415 So.2d 733, 734 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1982);2 Guinn v. Applied Composites Eng’g, Inc., 994 N.E.2d 1256, 1267 (Ind. 2013); RTL Dist., Inc. v. Double S Batteries, Inc., 545 N.W.2d 587, 590 (Iowa Ct. App. 1996) Health Call of Detroit v. Atrium Home & Health Care Servs., Inc., 706 N.W.2d 843, 849-50 (Mich. Ct. App. 2005) (quoting Feaheny, v. Caldwell, 437 N.W.2d 358, 363-64 (Mich. Ct. App. 1989)); Nordling v. Northern States Power Co., 478 N.W.2d 498, 505 (Minn. 1991); Levens v. Campbell, 733 So.2d 753, 760 (Miss. 1999); Topper v. Midwest Div., Inc., 306 S.W.3d 117, 125-26 (Mo. Ct. App. 2010); Bloch v. The Paul Revere Life Ins. Co., 547 S.E.2d 51, 59 (N.C. Ct. App. 2001), review denied, 553 S.E.2d 35 (N.C. 2001); Jenkins v. Region Nine Housing Corp., 703 A.2d 664, 667 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1997), certification denied, 709 A.2d 798 (N.J. 1998); McNickle v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 23 P.3d 949, 951 (Okla. Civ. App. 1999); Lewis v. Oregon Beauty Supply Co., 733 P.2d 430, 433 (Or. 1987); Forrester v. Stockstill, 869 S.W.2d 328, 330 (Tenn. 1994); Trepanier v. Getting Organized, Inc., 583 A.2d 583, 589 (Vt. 1990); Charolais Breeding Ranches, Ltd. v. FPC Sec. Corp., 279 N.W.2d 493, 496 (Wis. Ct. App. 1979).
