Reference no: EM131473800

Question: From 1988 to 1992, Dennis McInerney served as a sales representative for Charter Golf, Inc., a company that manufactures and sells golf apparel and supplies. McInerney's sales territory originally covered Illinois but was later expanded to include Indiana and Wisconsin. In 1989, Hickey-Freeman, which manufactures a competing line of golf apparel, offered McInerney a position as an exclusive sales representative that included an 8 percent commission. McInerney contacted Jerry Montiel, Charter Golf's president, to notify him of his intention to accept Hickey-Freeman's offer. Montiel wanted McInerney to continue to work for Charter Golf and offered McInerney a 10 percent commission on sales in Illinois and Wisconsin "for the remainder of his life" in a position where he could be discharged only for dishonesty or disability. McInerney then refused the Hickey-Freeman offer and continued working for Charter Golf. The working relationship between McInerney and Charter Golf deteriorated, and Charter Golf fired McInerney. McInerney sued for breach of contract. In response, Charter Golf argued that:

(1) McInerney's promise to forgo the Hickey-Freeman job was not sufficient consideration to turn an existing employment-at-will contract into a contract for lifetime employment; and that,

(2) if there was a contract, the Statute of Frauds requires that a lifetime employment contract be in writing. How should the court rule on these two claims, and why?