Would the clause above be enforceable in an employment contract under Alabama law
5 business law questions
Question 1
Review the following paragraph and then answer Questions A through E below.
Employee hereby covenants and agrees that Employee will not, without the prior written consent of the Company, directly or indirectly, whether individually or through any entity controlled by Employee, during the term of this Agreement and for a period of 3 years from the termination of this Agreement, for any reason, directly or indirectly, on his own behalf or in the service or on behalf of others, whether or not for compensation, engage in any business activity, or have any interest in any person, firm, corporation or business, through a subsidiary or parent entity or other entity (whether as a shareholder, agent, joint venturer, security holder, trustee, partner, consultant, creditor lending credit or money for the purpose of establishing or operating any such business, partnership or otherwise) which is competitive with the then existing business of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Employee may own shares of competing companies whose securities are publicly traded, so long as such securities do not constitute five percent or more of the outstanding securities of any such company.
A. What type of clause is the paragraph above? Why would an employer want to use a clause like this in an employment contract?
[Enter your answer here. All questions below should be answered just like this!]
B. Would the clause above be enforceable in an employment contract under Alabama law? Explain why or why not. (Note: You will need to conduct your own research on Alabama law to answer this question. Be sure to cite any sources you use. Hint: I recommend starting with a simple Google search. Many times, you can find articles that give you citations to any relevant statutes. If you find any, it is a good idea to double check the statute to make sure your article is correct! But any reliable sources will work here—you need to use your judgment to decide whether you’re confident in the sources you use.)
C. Would the clause above be enforceable in an employment contract in Georgia? Explain why or why not. (Same note and hint as in Question B, although you’ll need to look up Georgia law).
D. Imagine that a company has already hired an employee and the employee has signed an employment contract WITHOUT a clause like the one above. The company realizes it made a mistake and wants to ask the employee to sign a second contract containing the clause above. The company wants to tell the employee that he must sign the second contract if he wants to keep his job. If the employee signs the second contract under those circumstances, would that contract be enforceable? Why or why not? (Hint 1: It does not matter what state’s law applies; the answer will be the same based on general contract principles. Hint 2: Think about the elements of valid contracts!)
E. Imagine that McDonald’s decides to require all of its new employees to sign agreements at the time of hire saying that they will not work for competing fast food restaurants in the same town for one year after leaving McDonald’s. Would this agreement be enforceable if a McDonald’s cashier quits to go work at Burger King? (Hint: There is a pretty clear answer to this no matter what state’s law applies.)
Question 2
Michael is a software developer who is hired by TechCo, Inc. on a five year employment contract. Michael is a resident of Maryland. TechCo, Inc. is incorporated in Delaware and its headquarters are located in Madison, Wisconsin. Michael applied for the job after seeing a job posting placed by TechCo in several of the major newspapers in Maryland. Michael works from home in Maryland. His manager, Linda, works from TechCo’s headquarters in Wisconsin. Each week, Linda calls Michael several times to check on the status of his work. Linda and Michael also exchange emails several times a day. TechCo deposits Michael’s paycheck every two weeks in Michael’s bank account at his bank in Maryland. However, Michael is TechCo’s only Maryland employee. None of the TechCo executives working at the Wisconsin headquarters has ever traveled to Maryland on business.
After Michael has worked for TechCo for three years, Linda calls and tells him that the company must terminate Michael’s employment because the company is having financial difficulties. Michael believes that TechCo has breached its employment contract with him. Michael wants to file a breach of contract lawsuit under state law in a Maryland state court. He is seeking $100,000 in his suit.
Answer Questions A and B below:
A. Would a Maryland state court be able to exercise personal jurisdiction over TechCo, Inc.? Assume that Maryland has a long-arm statute that provides that Maryland courts may exercise personal jurisdiction to the extent permitted by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Be sure to provide thorough analysis for your answer. (Hint: Consider the 4 routes to personal jurisdiction we discussed in class.)
B. Would a Delaware state court be able to exercise personal jurisdiction over TechCo, Inc. if Michael decided to file a lawsuit there? Why or why not?
Question 3
Answer Questions A through D below:
A. Your friend, Tyler, has just bought a fuzzy purple suit jacket with silver glitter stars. You (obviously) are totally jealous, and go online to buy one for yourself. However, the jackets are all sold out online. You decide to offer to buy Tyler’s new jacket from him. Write a statement that would qualify as an effective legal offer to purchase Tyler’s jacket. (Hint: Your statement needs to create the power of acceptance in the offeree!)
B. Explain why your answer to Question A qualifies as an offer from the standpoint of contract law. (Hint: How does your statement meet the requirements for an effective offer?)
C. Assume that after you make your offer to Tyler, he replies, “How dare you!!! That’s a terrible price!!! I’m insulted! Outraged! You disgust me! But, I accept your offer.” Has Tyler accepted your offer? Explain why or why not.
D. Assume that after you make your offer, Tyler says he needs to think about whether to accept. Three days later, you decide you don’t want to buy the coat. You have not heard anything from Tyler. What should you do immediately?
Question 4
Compare and contrast arbitration and mediation. What are some of the key differences?
Question 5
Your friend, Amber, is excited because she just sold her car. She tells you she sold her car to a 17-year-old. You ask her whether anyone else signed the contract along with the 17-year-old, and Amber tells you no. You think to yourself, “Wow, Amber is a nice girl, but she is pretty dumb.” Why are you correct?
DUE DATE: FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2020 BY 11:59 PM CENTRAL TIME
Exam Submission: Exams are to be submitted through Canvas. You should submit the exam document with your exam answers listed below each question. When you save the exam 2 file on your computer to upload to Canvas, please name the file “Last Name Exam 2” using your last name. (For example, my exam file would be “Dove Exam 2”).
Exam Instructions:
GENERAL: This is a take home exam. You will have access to a wide range of resources to complete the exam (see below) and you will have over two days to complete the exam. Your exam answers should reflect that by being as comprehensive, carefully considered, and polished as possible. You don’t need to write a novel, but I do need to see evidence of critical thinking and consideration of all potential legal issues, as well as reasonable effort in general. This includes proofreading—please do not submit sloppy exams. You need to leave yourself time to carefully proofread to ensure you submit a professional document.
EXAM ANSWERS: Answer the exam questions within the Exam 2 document. Please DO NOT enter your answers in bold text (use regular text like this). That way I can easily distinguish your answers.
ALLOWED RESOURCES: You may use any resources in Canvas, any class notes, any books, and any information online to complete your exam. Any sources other than course material must be cited, and quotation marks MUST be used for any direct quotes. You do not need to use any formal citation format; you just need to give me a URL or book title if you use anything outside of class material. However, all exam answers must be in your own words. Any hint of plagiarism will not be tolerated—this includes paraphrasing without attribution.
WORKING WITH OTHERS: I do not mind if you discuss the exam with classmates or share research. However, ALL STUDENTS MUST SUBMIT THEIR OWN ANSWERS TO EACH EXAM QUESTION. EVERY SINGLE WORD ON YOUR EXAM MUST BE YOUR OWN, with the exception of properly quoted and cited sources. This means you MAY NOT copy and paste exam answers from another student, and you MAY NOT divide up the questions and then share answers after changing a few words around. To repeat, YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN WORK FOR EACH EXAM QUESTION.
TO BE CLEAR: You have access to a wide range of material for this exam. There are only two major restrictions on this exam: first, cite source material, and second, write your own answers. Both rules come down to one principle: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Not only is the exam being submitted using TurnItIn, I can 100% guarantee you that if you break these rules, I will know. I promise you I’ve read anything you’ll find online relating to the course material. I promise you that if you use each other’s exam answers, no matter how many words you change around, I will know. I want everyone to succeed on this exam and in this course, but academic dishonesty will result in an automatic F on this exam and will be reported to the Dean of Student Services per University policy
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