Reviewing: Nature and Terminology Mitsui Bank hired Ross Duncan as a branch manager in one of...

 

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Reviewing: Nature and Terminology Mitsui Bank hired Ross Duncan as a branch manager in one of its Southern Califor- nia locations. At that time, Duncan received an employee handbook informing him that Mitsui would review his performance and salary level annually. In 2016, Mitsui decided to create a new lending program to help financially troubled businesses stay afloat. It hired Duncan to be the credit development officer (CDO) and gave him a written compensation plan. Duncan's compensation was to be based on the program's success and involved a bonus and commissions based on the volume of new loans and sales. The written plan also stated, "This compensation plan will be reviewed and potentially amended after one year and will be subject to such review and amend- ment annually thereafter." Duncan's efforts as CDO were successful, and the program he developed grew to represent 25 percent of Mitsui's business in 2016 and 40 percent in 2017. Nevertheless, Mitsui refused to give Duncan a raise in 2016. Mitsui also amended his compensation plan to significantly reduce his compensation and to change his performance evalua- tion schedule to every six months. When he had still not received a raise by 2018, Duncan resigned as CDO and filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract. Using the in- formation presented in the chapter, answer the following questions. 1. What are the four requirements of a valid contract? 2. Did Duncan have a valid contract with Mitsui for employment as CDO? If so, was it a bilateral or a unilateral contract? 3. What are the requirements of an implied contract? 4. Can Duncan establish an implied contract based on the employment manual or the written compensation plan? Why or why not? Reviewing: Nature and Terminology Mitsui Bank hired Ross Duncan as a branch manager in one of its Southern Califor- nia locations. At that time, Duncan received an employee handbook informing him that Mitsui would review his performance and salary level annually. In 2016, Mitsui decided to create a new lending program to help financially troubled businesses stay afloat. It hired Duncan to be the credit development officer (CDO) and gave him a written compensation plan. Duncan's compensation was to be based on the program's success and involved a bonus and commissions based on the volume of new loans and sales. The written plan also stated, "This compensation plan will be reviewed and potentially amended after one year and will be subject to such review and amend- ment annually thereafter." Duncan's efforts as CDO were successful, and the program he developed grew to represent 25 percent of Mitsui's business in 2016 and 40 percent in 2017. Nevertheless, Mitsui refused to give Duncan a raise in 2016. Mitsui also amended his compensation plan to significantly reduce his compensation and to change his performance evalua- tion schedule to every six months. When he had still not received a raise by 2018, Duncan resigned as CDO and filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract. Using the in- formation presented in the chapter, answer the following questions. 1. What are the four requirements of a valid contract? 2. Did Duncan have a valid contract with Mitsui for employment as CDO? If so, was it a bilateral or a unilateral contract? 3. What are the requirements of an implied contract? 4. Can Duncan establish an implied contract based on the employment manual or the written compensation plan? Why or why not?