Breach of Contract Attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Million Dollar Verbal Promise

More In This Category

View Transcript

We represented a portfolio manager. He had actually gone to several other law firms in town, none of them agreeing to take his case. His case involved an oral promise that was made to him by the hedge fund president who he went to work for. The oral promise was “We will pay you a $1 million in a year our fund beats the S&P 500,” so a very objective promise. It occurred two times over the next few years, and the employer did not pay my client the money that they owed. They in fact denied that the promise had ever been made. My client never put this in writing. The employer never put this in writing. The employer, again, denied ever having made the promise, indicating that there was never any reference to it in any e-mail, any writing anywhere, nor was there any reference to it in any of the financials of the company. And so the difficulty of establishing this oral contract of course became central to the case. We developed a number of different facts. It became an eight-day trial, and it resulted in a full award for our client of all of the money that he was owed, plus interest.

Minneapolis, MN trial lawyer Andrew Parker talks about a breach of contract case we call, “The Million Dollar Verbal Promise.” He recalls that he represented a portfolio manager whose case had been declined by several other local law firms. The dispute centered on an oral promise made by the hedge fund president: if the fund outperformed the S&P 500, the client would receive $1 million within a year. This promise occurred twice over several years, yet the employer failed to pay and denied that any agreement had been made.

Neither party had documented the promise, and there was no written evidence or reference in emails or financial records, making the establishment of the oral contract a central challenge of the case. Through careful development of supporting facts, he successfully litigated the matter over an eight-day trial, ultimately securing a full award for his client, including all owed funds plus interest.

More Videos From This Lawyer