## Facts

- Britton agreed to work for Turner for one year in exchange for a lump-sum wage payable only at the end of the year.
- Britton worked about nine and a half months, then voluntarily quit before the contract term ended and without Turner’s consent.
- Turner refused to pay anything, asserting full performance was a condition precedent to any payment.
- Turner offered no proof of specific monetary damages caused by Britton’s early departure.
- Britton sued in assumpsit, including a quantum meruit count seeking the reasonable value of services rendered.
- The trial court instructed the jury that Britton could recover the reasonable value of his services despite noncompletion; the jury awarded $95.

## Issues

1. Whether an employee who voluntarily breaches an entire, one-year employment contract with end-of-term payment may nonetheless recover in quantum meruit for the value of services the employer accepted and retained.
2. If recovery is allowed, whether it must be limited to the value of the benefit conferred minus any damages resulting from the breach.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of New Hampshire affirmed the judgment for Britton.
- The court held that although Britton could not recover on the express contract, Turner’s acceptance and retention of the labor supported restitution for the net benefit received.
- Britton’s recovery was limited to the reasonable value of the benefit conferred in excess of Turner’s damages, including any amount necessary to complete the contracted service or losses caused by the breach.

## Legal Principles

- A party who fails to complete an “entire” contract generally cannot recover on the special contract when payment is conditioned on full performance.
- When the nonbreaching party can reject partial performance and does so, no restitution is owed for the rejected benefit.
- When the nonbreaching party accepts and retains partial performance that provides a benefit exceeding the damages from the breach, the law implies a promise to pay for the net benefit (quantum meruit/restitution).
- Restitution to a breaching performer is measured by the reasonable value of the benefit retained, reduced by the nonbreaching party’s damages, and is not an award of the full contract price.
- Continuous labor accepted over time may support restitution because the employer’s ongoing retention of the services supplies the basis for an implied obligation to pay for the value kept.

## Conclusion

A worker who quits before completing a one-year contract with end-of-term payment may still recover in quantum meruit for the reasonable value of labor the employer accepted and retained, but only to the extent that value exceeds the employer’s provable damages from the breach.


Britton v. Turner, 6 N.H. 481 (N.H. 1834)