Opinion ID: 1143765
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Inequality of Bargaining Position

Text: The trial court found that Pat had a close family relationship with his cousin Beaux and that Pat, educated as a teacher and lacking business acumen, put his faith in Beaux, a wily real estate developer. The court concluded that the employment agreements were not arms length business transactions. We agree that these factors could play a part in a bad faith determination. However, we note that the trial court also found that the Gibsons reviewed the agreements overnight, that both Pat and Bernice had been involved in sales and that Pat was ten years older than Beaux. We hold that the personal relationship between the parties does not mandate a higher standard of good faith than that mandated by the employer-employee relationship. We conclude that none of Beaux's acts injured the right of the Gibsons to receive the bonus; rather, his conduct was either relatively neutral or was designed to produce a profitable sale of the Klondike. Here, the totality of the circumstances did not evidence bad faith. We therefore hold that Beaux's dealings with the Gibsons did not constitute a breach of his duty of good faith and fair dealing. We conclude that the trial court erred in excusing the employment-on-sale condition, and accordingly reverse the bonus award.