Also known as: at will
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A revocable interest or relationship that either party may terminate at any time without cause or notice.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Brook Connect allowed Bright Satellite to place antennas on its building roof under an oral agreement with no fixed term. When Brook Connect later decided to use the space for its own equipment, it directed Bright Satellite to remove the antennas immediately. Bright Satellite had no claim to continued access because the arrangement created only an estate terminable at the will of either party.
Anika Anand and Apollo Energy signed an unsigned writing for a five-year warehouse lease. Anika took possession and paid the stated rent for several months. Apollo Energy later ordered her out without notice. The arrangement became a tenancy at will that Apollo Energy could end at any time because the writing failed the statute of frauds.
Alliance Holdings orally promised Aurora Biotech a right of way across its parcel for truck access to a loading dock. Aurora Biotech began using the path and built a gate. Alliance Holdings later fenced the path and barred further use. The benefit remained terminable at will because the parties never executed a writing satisfying the statute of frauds.
Ashford Manufacturing's board voted to change the design of the company's official seal to reflect a new logo. The articles of incorporation contained no restriction on altering the seal. The board could make the change at will because the statute grants corporations power to alter their seal whenever they choose.
During wartime, federal officials seized cargo belonging to neutral merchants. The owners argued that modern usage forbade confiscation. Officials responded that the usage supplied only a discretionary guide the executive could follow or abandon. The seizure stood because the underlying rule operated at the will of the sovereign.
The President directed the Secretary of Commerce to seize steel mills during a labor dispute. The companies challenged the action as lacking statutory or constitutional authority. The Court held that the President could not create new powers simply by asserting them at will. The seizure order was set aside.
Possession alone creates a tenancy at will terminable by either party without notice. Payment and acceptance of rent may convert the arrangement into a periodic tenancy, but the initial result remains an estate at will.
Failure to satisfy the statute of frauds leaves the burden unenforceable and the benefit terminable at will unless an exception such as part performance or estoppel applies.
No. An employee whose position is terminable at the employer's discretion under state law holds no property interest in continued employment and therefore receives no procedural due-process hearing before discharge.
…exercised until appointment is made; once made his power over the office is terminated where by law the officer is not removable at will. The right to the office is then in the person appointed who has the absolute power of accepting or rejecting it. Mr. Marbury, since his commission was signed by the President and sealed…