Cengage Advantage Books: Law for Business 19th Edition by John Ashcroft,Katherine Ashcroft,Martha Patterson

Exercise 17

Michael Kalmus entered an oral employment contract with Financial Necessities Network, Inc. The contract provided that Kalmus would work as a commissioned salesman, with a starting salary and a 25-70 percent commission rate. After an initial period, Kalmus' salary would decrease to zero while his commission rate increased to a maximum of 50-70 percent. The contract also provided that Kalmus would receive "any and all commissions" regarding his insurance sales as long as they were being generated, regardless of whether Kalmus was still employed with the company. The parties never specified the duration of the employment agreement. After Kalmus was terminated from the company, the management told him it would only pay a 25-50 commission rate for a limited period of time. Kalmus sued for breach of contract. Financial Necessities Network asserted that the oral contract was unenforceable, because it was intended to be a "lifetime contract or contract until the age of retirement" and was required to be in writing under the Statute of Frauds. Was the contract barred by the Statute of Frauds?