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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules on Cat’s Paw Theory

Posted on Jun 24th, 2023


A recent SJC decision in MARK A. ADAMS vs. SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC USA rules on the “cat’s paw” theory of liability.  Companies considering a reduction in force should be familiar with this decision and should discuss their plans with qualified employment counsel.

What is the Cat’s Paw theory:

The “cat’s paw” theory of liability refers to a legal concept where an employer can be held responsible for discriminatory actions taken by its employees, even if those employees were not the ultimate decision-makers. In this theory, the employer is considered to be the “cat” and the employee who carries out the discriminatory action is the “paw.” The idea is that the employer may use or rely on the biased actions or recommendations of its employees to accomplish its discriminatory purposes. Under the “cat’s paw” theory, the employer can be held liable for discrimination, even if the decision-maker was not directly motivated by discriminatory intent.

The theory is based on a fable  in which a monkey convinces a cat to retrieve chestnuts from a fire, and then makes off with the finished product, leaving the cat with a burned paw and no chestnuts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_paw_theory

More about the case:

Mark Adams sued his former employer, Schneider Electric USA, for age discrimination after being laid off in a 2017 reduction in force. Schneider Electric was initially granted summary judgment, but the Appeals Court reversed the decision. The Supreme Judicial Court granted further appellate review to clarify the summary judgment standards in employment discrimination cases. The court concluded that the grant of summary judgment was improper, as there was evidence to support the claim of a discriminatory corporate policy and the “cat’s paw” theory of liability.

Mark Adams produced several pieces of evidence to support his claim of age discrimination. First, he provided evidence that officials at Schneider Electric expressed a desire to increase “age diversity” in the company and specifically in the research and development (R&D) group where he worked. They wanted to hire recent college graduates and reduce the number of older employees.

Adams also presented evidence that his R&D group in Andover was targeted for layoffs while a younger R&D group in India was not. Human resources executives at Schneider Electric emphasized the need for age diversity and discussed making budget reductions to make room for younger employees.

Furthermore, Adams’s name appeared on a list that exemplified the policy of increasing age diversity, indicating that he was selected for the layoff based on his age. Additionally, statistical evidence showed that the layoffs had a disparate impact on employees over fifty years of age.

Overall, Adams provided evidence of discriminatory remarks by corporate executives, the targeting of his division for layoffs, and statistical evidence of age-based impact, all of which supported his claim of age discrimination

 


Massachusetts Appellate Court Rules On General Release Provisions As They Relate To Severance Agreements And Promises Of Equity

Posted on Jan 17th, 2018

Ryan S. Carroll

The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently affirmed the practice that a general release, including one provided in the context of an employment separation, extinguishes the signing party’s rights to all claims predating that release.  However, that general statement does not come without some caveats.

Alan MacDonald (MacDonald), had two separate terms of employment with Jenzabar, first as a CFO and later as a “Mergers and Acquisitions Researcher”.  During his first term of employment, MacDonald executed an employment agreement which provided for: (i) the issuance of a number of shares of preferred stock and (ii) an option to acquire 1,516,000 shares of common stock.  MacDonald and Jenzabar would enter into two additional agreements relating to his equity.  MacDonald then left Jenzabar and had not received his preferred shares nor exercised any of his vested interests.  At a later date, MacDonald joined Jenzabar for the second time and left shortly thereafter.  After his second departure, MacDonald and Jenzabar executed a severance agreement which provided for Jenzabar to continue to pay MacDonald’s salary and other benefits for six months in exchange for a general release of all claims, an affirmation and extension of a confidentiality obligation and an agreement that the severance agreement terminated and supersedes all other oral and written agreements or arrangements between MacDonald and Jenzabar.  After he signed the severance agreement, MacDonald attempted to exercise his option and Jenzabar denied the request, citing the release.  Litigation then ensued as to MacDonald’s rights to the equity and the enforceability of the severance agreement.

In MacDonald vs. Jenzabar, the court ruled that the general release provision and a merger and integration clause in the severance agreement extinguished MacDonald’s rights to the equity.

The general release language (“from any and all claims, liabilities, obligations, promises, agreements, damages, causes of action, suits, demands, losses, debts, and expenses . . . of any nature whatsoever, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, arising on or before the date of this Agreement.“) was held to be both clear and broad and that MacDonald released all rights to the preferred stock and option.  Further, the court cited that, “a general release disposes all claims and demands arising out of any transactions between the parties” and that “any intended exception should have been expressly stated.

Lastly, the court ruled the merger and integration clause contained in the severance agreement clearly extinguished all rights to the promised preferred shares and the option.

This case is an overall win for employers with respect to their separation arrangements. The case also illustrates the significance of any single word or phrase (or lack thereof) in a tightly-worded document, such as a release, when under the microscope of a court’s review.  Any ambiguity in this context creates risk for each party, and conversely creates negotiating leverage in terms of pre-litigation negotiations, leading to unnecessary cost and other negative impact for both parties.


SJC issues key interpretive decision in employee-shareholder context

Posted on Mar 18th, 2014
Last week’s decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Selmark Associates et al. v. Ehrlich is a critical reminder to corporate lawyers and fiduciaries of the extensive protections of minority shareholders of Massachusetts corporations and the necessity for carefully drafted shareholder and employment agreements with shareholder employees in such companies.  Two key takeaways from this decision are as follows:
  • In closely held corporations, Massachusetts has long afforded minority shareholders the protection of a fiduciary duty owed to them by the other shareholders that is more extensive than other states, such as Delaware, for example.  While courts will allow shareholders to provide otherwise in written agreements, Selmark holds that if the shareholder agreements are not specifically on point, the fiduciary duty standard will apply.
  • Going the other way, Selmark holds that the solicitation of customers by a former employee shareholder (who is then still a shareholder) is also breach of such shareholder’s fiduciary duty to his fellow shareholders, even where the employment was terminated by the corporation and was considered a “freeze out” under corporate law.  While this holding certainly could give companies more leverage in separation discussions with former employee shareholders, the potential uncertainty created over the scope of such a non-solicitation duty that was not reduced to writing could present significant challenges to practitioners on both sides of the matter.

Because of the potential uncertainly to fiduciary duty claims added by this decision, parties on both sides would be well advised to address the issue of fiduciary duty head-on in their agreements, and to define as specifically as possible the scope of any limitations to that duty.  While this point is not addressed by the Court, both employers and employees may also consider the advantages (and disadvantages) of using holding companies and special purpose entities to separate the legal identity of the employee from that of the shareholder.

In addition, potential buyers and sellers of Massachusetts corporations should take note of this case in the planning of their transaction.

If you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to email us.

Background

They say that bad facts often make bad law.  If that is true, then this case certainly does not disappoint.  The case ultimately arises from a sudden (and apparently unwarranted) termination of employment of a shareholder employee, Ehrlich, who  had been a long term valued employee of Selmark and its affiliate Marathon.  Ehrlich originally was employed by Marathon and had informally been promised equity in the company by its founder.  As part of Marathon founder’s planned retirement and succession plan a number of years later, Erhlick entered into a series of agreements with the sole stockholder of Selmark (Elofson) involving the gradual sale of Marathon to Ehrlich and Selmark. These agreements comprised a stock purchase agreement, an employment agreement, a conversion agreement and a stock (shareholders) agreement.

The purchase agreement provided for the gradual acquisition of Marathon stock by the two purchasers through monthly payments pursuant to promissory notes. Upon full payment, Selmark would own 51% and Ehrlich 49%. Under the terms of the purchase agreement, Marathon bore primary responsibility for the monthly payments and Ehrlich and Selmark were each separate co-guarantors.

The employment agreement between Ehrlich and Marathon provided for a term of employment through 2002, with extension possible on the written agreement of the parties. Per its terms, Ehrlich became the vice-president of Marathon and potentially a director, and could only be terminated for cause. If the agreement was not extended, at the conclusion of the initial contract term, it would terminate and Ehrlich would be required to resign as an officer and director of Marathon.

Pursuant to a separate  conversion agreement, Ehrlich had the option, once he and Selmark fully paid off the purchase of Marathon, to convert what would his then 49% interest in Marathon into a 12.5% interest in Selmark (and then Selmark would own 100% of Marathon).  This agreement also required that, upon conversion, Selmark offer Ehrlich an employment agreement that would provide “for compensation, bonuses, expense payments, and benefits consistent with his percentage ownership of [Selmark].”  Independent of employment, upon conversion, Ehrlich was to become an officer of Selmark and member of its board of directors.

Under a separate “stock agreement”, if Ehrlich paid off his purchased stock and exercised his conversion option, Ehrlich’s rights as a minority stockholder of Selmark would be governed by that agreement.  This agreement provided both parties with the opportunity to end their business relationship through the sale of Ehrlich’s stock, which included a cross-purchase put and call rights for the parties.

After these agreements were executed, Marathon and Selmark remained separate entities, but presented themselves as “Selmark” to the outside world.  Ehrlich identified himself as a VP of Selmark even, while technically  he was an employee and vice-president of Marathon.  Ehrlich’s employment agreement expired by its terms in 2002, but Ehrlich remained an employee of Marathon and retained his position as vice-president. In 2003, Ehrlich began to report directly to Selmark’s management and received no complaints about his job performance.

In the summer of 2007, Ehrlich provided notice to Elofson that he intended to accelerate his final payments on his 49% share of Marathon stock by December 2007.  According to the Court, Elofson then decided that he did not want Erhlich as a business partner and in October 2007 informed Ehrlich that his employment with Marathon was terminated and offered for  Selmark to purchase Ehrlich’s 49% interest in Marathon for the same price he would have received had he converted his Marathon shares into Selmark stock and then Selmark had exercised its call rights pursuant to the stock agreement.  To assuage him to sell his shares, Elofson also told Ehrlich that Marathon did not have the cash-flow to support the continuing payments under the Notes, and that Ehrlich would have to meet the shortfall if he did not sell his shares to Elofson.

In November 2007, Ehrlich took a job with a competing manufacturer’s representative company and afterwards solicited some of Marathon’s customers. After his termination, Ehrlich received a small severance, but did not cash in his Marathon stock under the terms offered in the termination letter and remained a minority shareholder of Marathon.

Following his termination, Ehrlich did not believe that Marathon had insufficient funds to make its remaining payments under the notes.  Taking matters somewhat into his own hands, he suspended payments to Marathon which appears to have only complicated the parties disputed because of the default issues that arose.  While it appears that Ehrlich did eventually pay off his portion of the Notes and attempted to cure the default, the ambiguity over whether he perfected his conversion rights and his shareholder rights under the stock agreement added additional complexity to the dispute.

In 2008, Selmark and Marathon sued Ehrlich for breach of fiduciary duty for his solicitation of Marathon customers, and  Ehrlich responded with thirteen counterclaims against counterclaims, also including fiduciary duty claims.  At trial, the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on their fiduciary duty claim, and in favor of Ehrlich (with respect to Selmark and Elofson) on his breach of contract, fiduciary duty and 93A counterclaims, netting a significant verdict in his favor.  (The trial judge also later doubled the 93A damages and awarded attorney’s fees. )  The parties then appealed.

Discussion

While many aspects of this decision are worth a careful reading in its original, unabridged version, the most interesting parts of this case for me relate to its holdings on the fiduciary duty issue.

1.  Fiduciary Duty owed to Ehrlich as an Employee Shareholder.  The jury found that Selmark and Elofson breached their fiduciary duties to Ehrlich in relation to the termination of his employment by Marathon.  Citing the long standing precedent in Massachusetts protecting minority stockholders in closely held corporations, the SJC held that a “freeze-out” can occur “when a minority shareholder is deprived of employment”.

Although the Court acknowledged that fiduciary duties of good faith and loyalty may be inapplicable where the parties have negotiated a series of agreements intended to govern the terms of their relationship, the challenged conduct must be clearly contemplated by the terms of the written agreements.  The presence of a contract “will not always supplant a shareholder’s fiduciary duty, ” and when the contract does not entirely govern the other shareholders’ or directors’ challenged actions, a claim for breach of fiduciary duty may still lie.   To supplant the otherwise applicable fiduciary duties of parties in a close corporation, the terms of a contract must clearly and expressly indicate a departure from those obligations.

In this case, while the parties had entered into multiple, complex written agreements, the Court still held that none of these agreements covered the duties at issue.  The Court reasoned that none of the agreements contained terms that addressed Ehrlich’s employment rights upon expiration of his Marathon employment agreement and before conversion of his Marathon stock.  Finding that fiduciary duty did apply, the Court affirmed the trial court’s findings in favor of Ehrlich on these issues.  Among its reasoning, the Court noted that Elofson could have sought less harmful alternatives before resorting to termination, and cited precedent that a fellow shareholder employee is owed “real substance and communication, including efforts to resolve supposed complaints by less drastic measures than termination.”

2.  Fiduciary Duty owed by Ehrlich.   At trial, Marathon and Selmark argued that Ehrlich violated his fiduciary duties of good faith and loyalty to Marathon when he solicited Marathon’s customers for his new employer. The jury agreed, and awarded them $240,000 in damages.  On appeal, Ehrlich contended that, because he was fired by Elofson and essentially “frozen out” of Marathon, he had the right to compete with Marathon without committing a breach of his fiduciary duties to the company.

Ruling in favor of the employer in this case, the Court cited long-standing precedent under Massachusetts law that  shareholders in close corporations owe fiduciary duties not only to one another, but to the corporation as well.  (See, e.g., Chambers v. Gold Medal Bakery, Inc., 464 Mass. 383, 394 (2013); Donahue v. Rodd Electrotype Co. of New England, Inc., 367 Mass. at 593.)

At issue here was whether those fiduciary duties to the corporation continue once a shareholder has been “frozen out,” or wrongfully terminated, by that corporation.   Declining to follow precedent from the Supreme Court of Wyoming that held that a freeze out does extinguish such a duty, the Court held that the fiduciary duty does, in fact, survive a freeze out.  The Court saw what Ehrlich proposed as a “drastic step” and reasoned that “allowing a party who has suffered harm within a close corporation to seek retribution by disregarding its own duties has no basis in our laws and would undermine fundamental and long-standing fiduciary principles that are essential to corporate governance.”

Because the Court did not address what would be the scope and extent of such a duty, parties are still advised to address all such issues in a written non-solicitation agreement, which can define more precisely the specifics such as the term, geographic scope and other similar issues.

 

 

 

 

 


Massachusetts Appeals Court Holds that Mass Wage Act Applies to Remote Employees

Posted on Jun 21st, 2013

A Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled today that an employee’s private right of action under the Massachusetts Wage Act under G.L. c. 149, § 148 did apply in the case of a traveling salesman who rarely set foot in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This choice of law case basically states that where the Commonwealth has a close connection to the employment relationship of the parties, local law should be applied to the claim.

In this case the plaintiff worked as a salesperson Starbak, Inc., a Delaware corporation that had its a sole place of business in Massachusetts. He resided in Florida and conducted most of his sales activity across the country for Starbal. When Starbak closed its doors, it terminated his employment with significant commissions outstanding. The plaintiff then brought suit against the company’s chief executive officer, a Massachusetts resident, seeking unpaid sales commissions of more than $100,000, certain unreimbursed expenses, wages in lieu of accrued vacation time, treble damages, and attorney’s fees. The question here was whether Massachusetts law would apply given that the plaintiff rarely visited the state.

The Court found that the nature of the plaintiff’s work was such that only Massachusetts was tied to it. The employment agreement governing the work relationship provided that Massachusetts law would be applied in the event of a dispute. Starbak was located there and as a result customers who dealt with the plaintiff entered into business with the company in Massachusetts. The plaintiff’s business cards identified his contact information as the same as Starbak’s, based in Massachusetts. His paychecks were issued from Massachusetts, and he communicated with the company daily. The plaintiff was in fact required to return to Massachusetts several times each year, and when he did return he would generally work in the same office space each time.

While distinguishing a case cited by the defendant where the Wage Act was not applied to an Australian employee operating outside the United States, importantly, the Court did acknowledge that the application of the Wage Act may be different in the case on a non-US employee.

This case should caution businesses that employ workers from a distance. While it does not seem to indicate that all remote employees will always be able to access remedies afforded by the local law of the businesses they work for, this is certainly something for businesses to consider when drafting employment agreements and establishing relationships with remote workers.

If you have any questions about this topic, please feel free to email us.


Recent NY Court Decision on Rescission of Stock Option Agreement

Posted on May 12th, 2013

Employee stock options are an essential component of compensation in technology companies.  Options and other equity incentives allow employers to attract and retain talented personnel who hope to profit from a successful sale of the business that they help create.  While there has been substantial attention in recent years to the manner in which options are awarded, a topic less often discussed, but equally important, is how they may be rightfully terminated by an employer following a separation.  A recent decision by a New York appellate court’s decision in Lenel Systems Intl. v. Smith illustrates what can arise if this issue is not expressly addressed in the option agreement.

In Lenel, an employer sought to terminate an employee’s stock options who had violated his noncompetition agreement after leaving Lenel’s employment.  While the stock option agreement did not have an express provision entitling the company to terminate the agreement, it did provide that the employee’s agreement not to compete was consideration for the options.  Not having the express right to terminate, the employer sought to rescind the option on equitable grounds.

The court summarized that rescission is an equitable remedy that allows a court to declare a contract void from its inception.  As a general rule, rescission of a contract is permitted where there is a breach of contract that is material and willful, or so substantial and fundamental “as to strongly tend to defeat the object of the parties in making the contract.”  The court rejected the defendant’s argument that an express forfeiture clause in the option agreement was required in order for option to be subject to rescission.  Instead, the court reasoned that the noncompetition covenant was the sole consideration for the option agreement, and when the defendant chose to compete with Lenel “in violation of the only material condition of the agreements,” he would give up his right to the stock options promised in exchange.

In is also worth noting that two of the appellate judges dissented from this decision, arguing that the consideration for the option consisted of two parts, one being the compliance with the covenant during the term of employment and the other part for the post-termination period.  The dissent reasoned that since the defendant did comply with the covenant during his six years of employment with Lenel, it cannot be said that he did not provide any consideration for the option, thereby reducing the argument in  favor of rescission.

As a lower appellate court decision, the Lenel case is more likely to lead an academic interest than to have an binding impact on the law on this issue.  However, the case illustrates that while rescission may be available as a remedy for employers, it is a difficult path to travel and that addressing termination rights in the option agreements may be advisable.


Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Commissions to be Wages eligible for Treble Damages under the Wage Act

Posted on Apr 10th, 2013

A recent decision by the SJC holds that sales commissions can be wages within the meaning of the Massachusetts Wage Act, potentially subjecting employers to treble damages for failure to pay these amounts in a timely manner as required by the statute.   This case is called WEBER vs. COAST TO COAST MEDICAL, INC. et al.

The Court stated that while not all benefits fall within the term wages, commissions have been held to do so. The Court cited Section 148, which expressly states that holiday and vacation pay due under an agreement, as well as commissions that are “definitely determined” and “due and payable” to the employee, are wages within the meaning of the statute.  The Court approvingly cited earlier decisions, which reasoned the the legislative intent was “to apply the benefits of the statute to current-day employees as defined in the statute, including executives and professionals earning a substantial base salary plus commissions.”

This case serves as a clarification on this important point and a reminder to employers that commission plans should be in writing, and should clearly state any terms and conditions applicable to the amount and timing of the payments.