1. As part of his contract of employment with the Columbus Clinic, Dr. Jones signed a covenant not to compete, a clause in his contract under which Dr. Jones agreed that if he left his employment with the Clinic he would not compete with the Clinic by providing medical services within 25 miles of the Clinic for a period of two years. Dr. Jones left the Clinic and opened his own medical office just down the street from the Clinic. The Clinic sues Dr. Jones for breach of contract on the basis that his new practice violates the non-competition clause of the employment contract. What would be the likely result?
a) the Clinic will win because employment contracts are strictly construed;
b) the Clinic will win because the partial restraint of trade imposed by the agreement is reasonable in time, territory, and scope;
c) the Clinic will lose because restraints of trade violate public policy and cannot be enforced;
d) the Clinic will lose because the restraint of trade imposed by the agreement is not reasonably limited in time, territory, and scope.
2. As Chief Executive Officer of a Fortune 500 insurance company you are responsible for the day to day operations of your corporation and its 45,000 employees who work in plants and offices in 32 of the 50 states as well as 12 foreign countries on four continents. It is not possible for you to have direct knowledge of everything that goes on. However, as a result of a federal criminal investigation, it is determined that the financial records of your company have been altered and have been used to defraud investors, the government, and the public. Criminal charges are brought against the corporation and against you as CEO. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
a) a corporation can be held criminally liable for its wrongdoings;
b) a corporation cannot be held criminally liable for its wrongdoings but its agents or officers may be held liable;
c) a corporate officer or employee can be held criminally liable for the corporation’s wrongdoing to the extent he or she has responsibility.