Case B: Chapter 15 (6 and 7) and Chapter 16 (9) in Dynamic Business Law

6. When Holloman applied for a job at Circuit City, she signed a "Dispute Resolution Agreement" (DRA) that stated: "This agreement requires you and Cir-cuit City to arbitrate certain legal disputes related to your application for employment with Circuit City." The job application then added, "Circuit City will consider your application only if this agreement is signed." Finally, the DRA contained this statement: *I understand that my employment, compensation and terms and conditions of employment can be altered or terminated, with or without cause, and with or without notice, at any time, at the option of either Circuit City or myself"- Holloman was hired but later quit and sued Circuit City, claiming she had been discriminated against and constructively discharged. Holloman argued that the arbitration agreement was illusory and not supported by consideration because of Circuit City's unilateral ability to terminate or modify the agreement. How should the court rule? Explain your reasoning.

[Holloman v. Circuit City Stores, 162 Md. App. 332 (Md. Ct. App. 2005).|

7. Martin was employed as a retail associate by UPS for over two years. He had no written employ-ment agreement. On December 5, 2004, Martin's boss called him at his home and told him that he was terminating Martin's employment. The par-ties disagreed, however, as to the content of the rest of the conversation. Martin testified that his boss had said that Martin was fired because the other employces felt intimidated by him and that Martin would be given a severance package of two weeks' pay if he would not litigate. Martin's mother corroborated this version of the conversa-tion. In contrast, Martin's boss stated that he told Martin that he was fired because of his continued personal use of company computers and because of the multiple downloads on company comput-ers. The boss claims he indicated that he would give Martin his last week's pay and his November bonus and that he would consider giving him two weeks of severance pay in a few weeks. Martin never received severance pay from the company.The company now argues that the offer of sever-ance pay was not supported by consideration and that Martin was not prejudiced by his boss's rescis-sion of his offer to pay severance. How should the court decide? Why?

[Richard A. Martin v. Ost Mark, Inc., 2006 Ohio App. LEXIS 3938 (OhioCt. of Appeals, 2006).]

9. Seigneur joined NFI, a health and fitness facility, to lose weight and become fit. She was in poor physical condition and had back problems that she discussed with NFI before signing a contract with the facility. The contract she ultimately signed contained a clause that said NFI was not responsible for injuries sustained during exercise. Seigneur claimed that she tore a muscle in her shoulder while doing a series of tests to evaluate her physical condition. The tear required surgery to be repaired, and her surgeon stated that he believed the injury was caused by her using an upper-torso weight machine during her fitness evaluation. Shesued NFI for negligence. NFI filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis of the exculpatory clause. The trial court granted NFl's motion, and Seigneur appealed. Do you believe the appellate court upheld the motion for summary judgment? Why or why not?

[Seigneur v. National Fitness Institute, Inc., 752 A.2d 631 (Ct. App. Md. 2000).]

For each assigned case, write an analysis of the issue based on the following criteria:

Identify the parties involved in the case dispute (who is the plaintiff and who is the defendant).

Identify the facts associated with the case and fact patterns.

Develop the appropriate legal issue(s) in question (i.e., the specific legal issue between the two parties). Provide a judgment on who should win the case - be clear.

Support your decision with an appropriate rule of law.

Be prepared to defend your decision and to objectively evaluate the other points of view.

(SAMPLE ANALYSIS , Issue, Facts, Rule of Law, Judgement, Reasoning)