Opinion ID: 1887503
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Renegotiation of Compensation Percentages

Text: By the end of 2001, when Olson's compensation dissatisfied him, Halvorsen refused to pay him more, and Olson announced his exit from Viking. Halvorsen and Olson decided to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution that decreased Halvorsen's share and increased Olson's share of Viking profits. Olson admitted that the three founders did not discuss how the changes in compensation percentages would affect the earnout provision he claims was agreed to or their purported entitlement to the fair value of Founders. Halvorsen and Ott thought that these changes would only affect annual compensation. Both Halvorsen and Ott testified that they would never have agreed to increase Olson's retirement benefits without requiring him to stay at Viking for a substantial period of time. Otherwise, Olson could have immediately walked away with a substantial amount of additional money, without conveying any corresponding additional benefit for Viking.