McDill v. Environamics Corporation (New Hampshire Supreme Court)

Environamics Corporation discharged its controller for hiring his daughter in contravention of an explicit directive prohibiting him from doing so. At trial, the plaintiff disclosed that, prior to his discharge, he had misappropriated a letter sent to the company’s president. The trial court denied Environamics’ request to use this separate pre-termination misconduct to establish another breach of the employment contract and limit the plaintiff’s damages. NELF filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire in the New Hampshire Supreme Court, arguing that the Court should permit the use of "after-acquired" evidence of an employee’s pre-termination misconduct to bar recovery for wrongful discharge in breach of contract cases. NELF argued that the integrity of the employment relationship and the proper balance between the rights of employers and employees require that after-acquired evidence be considered on the issue of liability in such cases. The Court agreed and remanded for a new trial.