Wassenaar v Towne Hotel Case Brief Summary Law Case Explained

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Get more case briefs explained with Quimbee. Quimbee has over 16,300 case briefs (and counting) keyed to 223 casebooks ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-o... • Wassenaar v. Towne Hotel | 331 N.W.2d 357 (1983) • In a stipulated-damages clause, contracting parties agree on an amount that represents their best estimation of the damages that would result if either party breaches the agreement. But courts won’t enforce this kind of clause if the amount is so high that it appears to be intended more to punish a contract breach than fairly compensate the injured party. In Wassenaar versus Panos, the Wisconsin Supreme Court considered what makes a stipulated-damages clause reasonable. • Theanne Panos hired Donald Wassenaar as the general manager of the Towne Hotel. Panos and Wassenaar signed an employment contract that provided for a three-year term of employment. The contract also contained a stipulated-damages clause that specified that if Panos fired Wassenaar before the contract term expired, Wassenaar would be paid his salary for the remainder of the three years. • Panos fired Wassenaar twenty-one months before the end of the contract term. Wassenaar was unemployed for approximately two and a half months before finding a job at another hotel. Wassenaar sued Panos for damages. The trial court concluded that the stipulated-damages clause was valid, and the jury awarded Wassenaar $24,640, which was equivalent to his salary for the twenty-one months remaining on the contract when he was fired. There was no evidence offered at trial regarding whether Wassenaar’s current job was similar in responsibility or salary to his job at the Towne Hotel. • Panos appealed, and the appellate court reversed the trial court’s judgment, concluding that the stipulated-damages clause was unenforceable as a penalty. Wassenaar appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. • Want more details on this case? Get the rule of law, issues, holding and reasonings, and more case facts here: https://www.quimbee.com/cases/wassena... • The Quimbee App features over 16,300 case briefs keyed to 223 casebooks. Try it free for 7 days! ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-o... • Have Questions about this Case? Submit your questions and get answers from a real attorney here: https://www.quimbee.com/cases/wassena... • Did we just become best friends? Stay connected to Quimbee here: Subscribe to our YouTube Channel ► https://www.youtube.com/subscription_... • Quimbee Case Brief App ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-o... • Facebook ► / quimbeedotcom • Twitter ► / quimbeedotcom • #casebriefs #lawcases #casesummaries

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