Jiracha Journal 3

2 Lohasiriwat  MARCH 15 (2:30PM): You are covering for the VP of Advertising for two weeks. A manager from the Ad Department comes to you concerned about a recent meeting with a customer. The customer said that BBC promised her a year of free beverages and products valued at $2,500 during the year and she is threatening to sue if BBC does not comply. The customer points to a recent advertisement the retail store in South Philadelphia used (without running it past legal) that said: “Be one of the first customers through the door on Jan. 2, make a sizeable purchase, and win $2,500 in BBC premium products and a year of beverages on us!” The customer was arguably the 7 th or 8 th person to enter the store. The customer is threatening to sue BBC for breach of contract.  MARCH 25 (1:30PM): Hunter Hotels contracted to buy 2,000 single-cup coffee machines from BBC, choosing BBC because it was the only vendor who could deliver the large quantity in time for the grand opening of four of its new hotels. The deliveries were to be received on or before Jan 1. The contract states that “time is of the essence” because of the grand opening deadlines. Due to issues with suppliers, BBC missed the deadline and delivered the units on Feb 1. The previous VP in your position never resolved the issue and Hunter Hotels (contrary to its attorney’s previous threat not to accept the delivery), did, in fact, accept the order and is currently using the devices in its four new hotels. You call the attorney for Hunter Hotels demanding the $150,000 owed under the contract. The attorney tells you to “go pound sand, BBC should be glad my client hasn’t sued you for breach of contract,” and hangs up on you. You must decide how to handle this problem.  APRIL 1 (6:00PM): Without an administrative assistant you are totally swamped. It has become very difficult to keep track of your paperwork and you are quite stressed. You have been in heavy negotiations with Espress Inc., a supplier of parts critical to the manufacture of BBC’s premium line of espresso machines. You finish the final course of a five-course meal and agree that BBC will contract with Espress, Inc. for these special parts for $300,000. You need the parts ASAP and agree via handshake, noting that the agreement will be memorialized in writing as soon as you can get a new assistant. Weeks later, not only do the parts not arrive, but your contact at Espress denies that you ever had a deal to begin with. This means BBC cannot manufacture its premium line of products and will most certainly miss the deadlines needed for the holiday rush. You had not yet put the agreement in writing, but you believe that you have an oral contract with Espress Inc. that is valid and enforceable. You think to yourself, “Please let this be an April Fool’s joke!”  APRIL 20 (9AM): You are so bummed about how things have been going that you pull out your contract with BBC and begin looking it over, just in case the CEO decides that you are not up to the task and fires you. To your horror, you realize that BBC’s contract contains a non-compete clause that restricts your ability to work for any other manufacturer of products used to brew coffee, tea, and other hot beverages or retailers that compete with BBC within a 50-mile radius for the next 5 years. You were so excited for the new position you remember that you never read the contract and did not have a lawyer look it over before execution. You need to figure out your options. It is now the end of the month and you are fried. You have your first all-hands meeting with other Senior VPs and the CEO coming up and must provide a supply chain report. To prepare for the meeting you outline the following: 1. Rank the events and decide the top 3 that you will take care of first. Explain your rankings, and describe the harm or potential harm ; 2. For each event describe the legal issue (if any) which you think is applicable; and 3. Describe what, if anything, you think you should do in response to each event and explain why.