## Facts

- Elmer Hillesland worked for the Federal Land Bank Association of Grand Forks from 1956 and served as its chief executive officer beginning in 1972.
- Hillesland learned that Association borrowers, Ray and Eva Westby, wished to sell their farm after experiencing financial distress.
- Hillesland’s sons negotiated to buy the Westby farm.
- Hillesland disclosed the potential conflict and sought approval through internal procedures, including submission of a prohibited-acts report to the Association’s board.
- The Association’s board met in closed session with the Westbys and approved the transaction.
- Hillesland submitted the matter to the Federal Land Bank of St. Paul’s review committee, which did not disapprove the transaction but cautioned about the appearance of a conflict and barred Hillesland from further direct involvement.
- After the sale closed, the Bank investigated the transaction.
- At a June 15, 1983 Association board meeting, Bank representatives informed Hillesland he was discharged for violating conduct standards, harming the institutions’ reputation, and exercising poor business judgment.

## Issues

1. Whether the Farm Credit Act implied a private cause of action allowing an employee to sue for wrongful discharge.
2. Whether Hillesland had an enforceable employment contract limiting termination (i.e., whether he was not an at-will employee).
3. Whether an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing limits termination in at-will employment under North Dakota law.
4. Whether Hillesland produced sufficient evidence to avoid summary judgment on his age discrimination claim.
5. Whether the Bank tortiously interfered with Hillesland’s employment relationship with the Association.

## Decision

- The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for the Association and the Bank on all claims.
- The court held the Farm Credit Act did not create an implied private right of action for wrongful discharge.
- The court held Hillesland was an at-will employee and failed to show a contract for a definite term or termination only for cause.
- The court declined to recognize an implied good-faith limitation on termination in at-will employment.
- The court held the age discrimination claim failed because Hillesland did not present evidence that age caused the discharge, and the employer offered legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons.
- The court held the tortious interference claim failed because the employment was at-will and the Bank’s conduct reflected justified oversight within the Farm Credit system rather than improper interference.

## Legal Principles

- A private right of action will not be implied under a federal statute absent indicia of legislative intent; statutory structure relying on administrative or internal mechanisms weighs against implying an employment-discharge remedy.
- North Dakota presumes employment is at-will unless the employee proves an agreement for a definite term or an express restriction requiring cause for termination.
- Internal policies and ethical standards, without more, do not convert at-will employment into for-cause employment.
- North Dakota does not recognize an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing as an independent limitation on termination in at-will employment.
- Under a burden-shifting approach to age discrimination, a plaintiff must present evidence permitting a finding that age was a determinative factor; an employer’s legitimate stated reasons defeat the claim absent evidence of pretext.
- Tortious interference requires improper interference; actions by a related oversight entity taken to protect institutional interests, especially regarding an at-will relationship, are generally not actionable.

## Conclusion

The court upheld dismissal of all claims, concluding that federal law provided no implied wrongful-discharge remedy, state law treated the employment as at-will without a good-faith restriction, and the record did not support age discrimination or improper interference by the supervising Bank.


Hillesland v. Fed. Land Bank Ass'n of Grand Forks, 407 N.W.2d 206 (N.D. 1987)