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Failure to State a Claim – Breach of Contract

By: Derek Hawkins//September 1, 2015//

Failure to State a Claim – Breach of Contract

By: Derek Hawkins//September 1, 2015//

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Civil

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: KANNE and SYKES, Circuit Judges, and ELLIS, District Judge

Failure to State a Claim – Breach of Contract

No.14-3563 Steven Olson v. Bemis Company, Inc

Appellant breaches clause of settlement agreement, eradicating any obligation of defendant-respondent to pay him.

“Regardless, Bemis’s promise to pay hinged on Olson’s waiver of his claims against the company. If we treat Olson’s waiver obligation as an independent contractual obligation, then there’s no doubt that Olson materially breached the contract by filing his hybrid § 301 suit. This excused Bemis from any subsequent obligation it may have had under the agreement.8 Similarly, if we treat the waiver obligation as a condition precedent to Bemis’s payment, then Olson failed to satisfy that condition and Bemis never was under any obligation to pay. The $20,000 payment was consideration for the waiver of all of Olson’s claims—including those related to his termination—and Olson chose to challenge his discharge in court rather than take the money. He was free to make that choice, but now he must live with the consequences.”

Affirmed

Full Text


Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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