Eugene Meade was offered a job by Cedarapids, Inc. The job required moving to Eugene, Oregon, where Cedarapids, Inc., had a facility called the El-Jay Plant. To entice Meade to join the Cedarapids staff, management representatives told him that business was improving, that they believed in the potential of the El-Jay plant, that El-Jay sales were growing, that production at the plant was also increasing, and that there were plans to bring in an even greater numbers of new employees. On the basis of these assurances, Meade left his job and moved to Oregon. He also signed an agreement that noted that he was an at will employee who could be fired at any time.

Meade later discovered that all of the statements about the financial health of the El-Jay plant were false. Furthermore, Meade believed that the management had known all along that the statements were false. Meade learned that the El-Jay plant was actually caught in a downward economic spiral and was about to close. When Meade was discharged, he brought a lawsuit against Cedarapids, Inc., arguing that he had been defrauded into moving to Oregon.

In response, the Cedarapids management team argued that they had no duty to disclose the plan to shut down the Oregon facility. The management team also pointed to the agreement that Meade had signed and concluded that, as an at-will employee, he could not complain about his firing. The trial court agreed and dismissed the case. Meade then filed an appeal. Is there enough evidence of fraud in this case to allow it to go to a jury? Explain. Meade v. Cedarapids, Inc. Case No. 97-35836 (The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit).