## Facts

- Eagle Lock Company issued employee Kazimierz Tilbert a “Certificate of Benefit” naming his wife, Annie Tilbert, as beneficiary if he died while employed after the required service period.
- The certificate and accompanying letter stated, in substance, that the certificate conferred “no legal right” and that the company reserved the right to terminate the certificate at any time; the certificate also became void if the employee was not in the company’s employ at death.
- On August 22, 1931, the company decided to terminate all such benefit certificates and arranged to notify employees by placing cancellation notices in pay envelopes to be distributed on August 28, 1931.
- Tilbert remained continuously employed and died at 2:00 a.m. on August 28, 1931, before the pay envelope distribution that day.
- Annie Tilbert demanded payment of the death benefit; the company refused, asserting it had terminated the plan.
- The plaintiff sued; the defendant demurred to the amended complaint, and the trial court reserved the legal questions for appellate advice tied to entry of judgment.

## Issues

1. Whether the benefit certificate constituted an enforceable promise supported by consideration (continued service), notwithstanding language disclaiming legal rights and reserving unilateral termination.
2. Whether the employer’s termination decision and same-day distribution of cancellation notices cut off coverage when the employee died earlier that day while still employed, including whether the court should treat fractions of a day as legally significant.

## Decision

- The demurrer was overruled, and judgment was directed for the plaintiff for the death benefit.
- The certificate operated as a binding promise to employees who continued in service in reliance on it, supported by consideration.
- The attempted termination was not effective as to Tilbert until the end of August 28, 1931; his death during that day while employed entitled his beneficiary to recover.

## Legal Principles

- An employer’s written benefit offer intended to induce continued employment can form an enforceable unilateral contract when employees accept by remaining in service and satisfying the stated conditions.
- Drafting that declares a benefit “confers no legal right” and reserves termination power does not necessarily negate contractual effect where the arrangement is structured to induce performance; at most, termination operates prospectively and cannot defeat benefits that have vested through performance.
- Although the law generally disregards fractions of a day, courts may recognize the order of events within a day when necessary to prevent injustice and to determine whether contractual rights have accrued before an asserted termination.

## Conclusion

The court treated the employer’s benefit plan as a unilateral contract supported by employees’ continued service and held that the employer’s same-day termination effort did not defeat a death benefit when the employee died earlier that day while still employed.


Tilbert v. Eagle Lock Co., 165 A. 205 (Conn. 1933)