WPC 4Vj 0(yw@ 0l 0DU 0J 0T 0^7 0h 0r 0|o 0 0q 1u 0dv UB % U6" B)X DC AM U* B;Xv~tv D3 0@ AO8 0DM D/ BU!3|x($ DDEӀ((3$ !      0  (#$  0  2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23    ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)P 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X<6X9`(*Courier 12pt10cpiX<  9p`(Courier New% Line 7 d 7Border 1dd-!C << G<  9p`(Arial d  !  #d#  ##   YYY FILED#X September25,1996CecilCrowson,Jr.#AppellateCourtClerk PtPtHH(FG(HH(d'@Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   BA Op Geneva  BA Op Geneva $$$$'dxd("$    -C<< CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5($$   1  ' dxdP Pd ! .         \RA'\7oXXdd7L"%!;+'h|`  `Lߛ@ INTHECOURTOFAPPEALSOFTENNESSEE@ EASTERNSECTION BENJAMINL.DOTSON,   )C/ANO.03A019604CV00133      ) PlaintiffAppellant, )KNOXLAW      )v.      )HON.WHEELERROSENBALM,      )JUDGEKNOXVILLECOLLEGE,   )      )AFFIRMEDAND DefendantAppellee.  )REMANDEDJAMESM.CRAIN,Knoxville,forPlaintiffAppellant.ROBERTS.STONE,MCCAMPBELL&YOUNG,P.C.,Knoxville,forDefendantAppellee.@ OPINION @         Franks.J.  Inthisactionfordamagesforbreachofcontract,theTrialJudgedirectedaverdictforthedefendant,andplaintiffhasappealed.  Plaintiffenteredaworkarrangementwithdefendant,andthearrangementwasacknowledgedbydefendantintheformofaletterwhichread:0 0 EffectiveAugust1,1989,youwillbecompensatedforyourcontractualserviceshereatKnoxvilleCollegeasfollows: 0 1.Travelexpenses$500.00  0 2.TuitionwaiverforObadiahandAlfredoDotsonasneededhereoratoneoftheother43PresbyterianCollegesifaccepted. 0 3.Livingquartershereoncampus,plusutilities,plusmealsinthedininghall. 0 4.Anamountgiveneachpayperiodforpersonalexpensessuchas,laundry,localtelephoneservices,andtoiletries$250.000 0 Iftheamountstatedaboveisnotuseditwillaccumulateuntilsuchtimeasyoufinduseforit.Theletterwassignedbydefendantsexecutivevicepresident,DennisSpellman.  Atthetimeofplaintiffsemployment,hissonswereinhighschool,andplaintiffwasterminatedbytheCollegeafterhavingbeenemployedfortenmonths.  Afterthesonsgraduatedfromhighschool,plaintiffaskedtheCollegetohonorwhatheconsideredtobethecontractualbenefitoftuitionwaiver,asthesonswantedtoattendMaryvilleCollege,oneofthe43affiliatedPresbyteriancollegesreferencedintheletter.DefendantofferedtowaivetuitionforbothsonstoattendKnoxvilleCollege,buttheywerenotgivenwaiverstoMaryvilleCollegebecausethewaiverprogramfortheothercollegeswasconditionedupontheparentbeingacurrentemployee.  Theplaintiffrepresentedhimselfinthetrialbeforeajury,andtheproofofferedattrialwastheletterrepresentingtheagreementwithKnoxvilleCollege.Appellantandhissontestifiedastotheunderstandingthatthetwosonswouldbeentitledtofouryearsofcollegeattendanceatanyofthe44Presbyteriancolleges,buttheTrialCourtdeterminedthattheletterwasnotsufficientlydefinitetoconstitutesuchacontract.  Whenreviewingatrialcourtsgrantofdirectedverdict,itisourdutyto:0 0 lookatalltheevidence,takethestrongestlegitimateviewoftheevidenceinfavoroftheopponentofthemotion,allowallreasonableinferencestothatparty,discardallcountervailingevidenceanddenythemotionwherethereisanydoubtastotheconclusionstobedrawnfromthewholeevidence.Averdictshouldbedirectedonlywhereareasonablemindcoulddrawbutoneconclusion.Bentonv.Snyder,825S.W.2d409(Tenn.1992),citingGoodev.TamkoAsphaltProducts,Inc.,783S.W.2d184,187(Tenn.1989).  Indefinitenessastoanyessentialelementofanagreementmaypreventthecreationofanenforceablecontract.PeoplesBankofElkValleyv.ConagraPoultryCo.,832S.W.2d550,553(Tenn.App.1991).ExamplesofcontractswhichhavebeenfoundtooindefiniteincludeJamestowneonSignal,Inc.V.FirstFederalSavings&LoanAssoc.,807S.W.2d559(Tenn.App.1990),whereadirectedverdictwasgrantedbecausetheloanagreementdidnotcontainessentialelementsofaloan,suchas theamounttobeloaned,thedurationoftheloan,howitwastoberepaid,therateofinteresttobepaidandwhen,whatsecurity,ifany,wastobegiven. Id.at564.Higginsv.Oil,Chemical,&AtomicWorkersfoundanagreementto takecare ofcertainworkerstooindefinitebecausethetermsdidnot provideabasisfordeterminingtheexistenceofabreachandforgivinganappropriateremedy. 881S.W.2d875(Tenn.1991),citingRestatement2dofContracts,33(2).TheHigginscontractgavenomeanstodeterminethe essentialdetails ofthecontract,forexample,howlongwerethepaymentstocontinue,weretheytoincreaseasthewagesoftheregularworkersincreased,whenandunderwhatcircumstancesmighttheybeterminated?Id.at881.  Inthiscase,theletterfromKnoxCollegeleavesmanyquestionsunanswered.Thereisnotermstatinghowmanyyearsofwaivedtuitionthesonscouldreceiveorhowmanyyearsofworkplaintiffhadtoprovide.Thereisnothingdealingwiththesituationfoundinthiscase,whereplaintiffwasterminatedbeforetheboyscompletedschool.Thereisnocriteriafordeterminingwhenplaintiffbecameentitledtothewaivers.  Therecordestablishesthatinordertoqualifyattheothercollegesforthewaiver,theparentmustbeemployedbythecollegeatthetime,andacourtinascertainingtheintentionofthepartiesconsidersallcircumstancessurroundingtheparties,thenatureofbusinessinwhichtheyareengaged,andtowhichthecontractrelates.CommerceStreetCo.v.GoodyearTire&RubberCo.,215S.W.2d4,(Tenn.App.1948).Therecordbeforeus,takeninthestrongestviewonbehalfoftheplaintiff,doesnotestablishthenecessaryelementsofanenforceablecontractfortuitionwaivers.Accordingly,weaffirmthejudgmentoftheTrialCourtonthisissue.  Finally,plaintiffarguesthattheTrialCourtwasinerrorinsustainingdefendantsdefendantsobjectionstoplaintiffstestimonythathehadreceivedpraiseforhisworkatthecollege.  Duringthetrial,plaintifftestifiedthathehad receivedmanypraisesandaccoladesfor[his]performance atwork.TheTrialCourtsustaineddefendantsobjectiontothetestimonyonthegroundsthatitwasirrelevantastowhetherplaintiffbreachedthecontract.  Trialjudgeshavebroaddiscretionovertheadmissibilityofevidence.Otisv.CambridgeMutualFireInsuranceCo.,850S.W.2d439,442(Tenn.1992).Appellatecourtswillreverseatrialjudgesdecisiononlywhenthetrialcourthasabusedhisorherdiscretionandwhentheerrorhasaffectedsubstantialrightsofoneoftheparties.Id.CitingTennesseeRulesofEvidence103(a).  Inordertoberelevant,evidencemusttendtomaketheexistenceofafactthatisofconsequencetothedeterminationoftheactionmoreprobableorlessprobablethanitwouldbewithouttheevidence.TennesseeRulesofEvidence401.Here,plaintiffsperformanceonthejobisnot ofconsequence tothedeterminationofwhetherthecontractexistedorwhethertheatwillcontractwasbreached.TheTrialJudgedidnotabusehisdiscretioninexcludingthistestimony.  FortheforegoingreasonsweaffirmthejudgmentoftheTrialCourtandremandwithcostsofappealassessedtoplaintiff.      ________________________      HerschelP.Franks,J.CONCUR:___________________________CharlesD.Susano,Jr.,J.___________________________CliffordE.Sanders,Sp.J.