Hogg v. Stortz

Decided November 15, 1853

New York Court of Common Pleas · decided 1853-11-15

Action by the father, for the services of a minor son, who had. been apprenticed to the defendant for two years, at a specified compensation for each year. The contract provided that all wages should be forfeited, if the minor should leave the defendant’s employment before the expiration of the .full term, which he did, in consequence of the defendant’s refusal to make any payment of wages while the term was running. One of the district courts gave judgment for the plaintiff.

Decided 1853-11-15

By the Court. Ingraham, First J.

¶1All the cases in this state establish the view taken by the defendant of this contract, viz: That payment was not to be made until its expiration. (See 12 J. R. 165; 19 Id. 337; 8 Cowen, 63; 4 Denio, 121.)

¶2If this he so, then the plaintiff’s son had no good cause for leaving the defendant’s employment; and having so abandoned his services, nothing can be recovered for his past labors. (See cases above cited.)

¶3The rule may he a hard one, and is different in some of the other states; but the contract should he made specific in requiring payment before its expiration, to avoid the difficulty.

¶4Judgment reversed.