MAPS ADVANCED MEDIATOR 2001
TRAINING
CASE
PROFILE
Estate
of Rogers v. Doe Travel Accessories Company
PLAINTIFF TRICIA ROGERS CONFIDENTIAL FACTS
You are very bitter and
angry. Robert gave up his successful
CPA practice based upon lots of promises and assurances from the Doe
family. Then, in his time of greatest
need, they dumped him. You believe the
stress of losing his job was a major set-back and that contributed to his
death. He seemed to be improving before
the astounding news of his termination.
Following the death of Robert,
you received $ 1,000,000 in life insurance he had purchased while being
self-employed that he maintained on his own while at Doe.
You know that Robert went into
work many days around lunch time during the spring before he was
terminated. You are aware, however,
that he did not do his usual reports nor meet with lenders, the venture
capitalists or senior management during the period of his Chemo and radiation
treatments.
You paid for the shares and paid
lots of interest to the Doe family, who are all filthy rich. They received $ 35,000,000 for the 50%
interest they sold to the venture people.
You need the money much more than they do, since you have three young
children. You financial advisor told you
he thinks the shares could be valued between $ 3- $ 4 per share based upon the
Ibsen Minority evaluation method.
There is no market for the shares, you want the additional shares which
would have vested if the full contract had been completed. You have the ownership of the vested shares
and intend to be a thorn in the side of Doe Travel, if necessary.
Before Robert became ill, you
and he were specifically told by Samuel Doe many times that the loan Notes did
not have to be repaid until the Doe went public and the Rogers family became
rich.
After your lawyer outlines the
case to the mediator, asserting that Robert had “broken” the 180 consecutive
day period by working, you open the joint session with a strong statement
attacking Doe Travel and the Doe family.
You emphasize their insensitivity and unfair treatment of Robert after
he became ill.
NOTES:
MAPS
ADVANCED MEDIATOR 2001 TRAINING
CASE
PROFILE
Estate
of Rogers v. Doe Travel Accessories Company
DEFENDANT BRUCE DOE CONFIDENTIAL FACTS
You are very bitter and
angry. Robert quit his struggling CPA
practice based upon full knowledge of the situation of the Company and the Doe
family. He was a family friend and very
sophisticated financially. You are
insulted by allegations that you mistreated him. You do not believe the stress of losing his job was a major
set-back that contributed to his death.
You continued medical benefits
and ½ salary for 6 months beyond termination out of the goodness of your
heart. While Robert was ill, he
directed the reduction in salary since he was receiving the disability benefits
and had no loss of income. This was
all oral.
You do know from conversations
with Robert while he was ill that he had maintained a life insurance policy of $ 1,000,000 he had purchased while being
self-employed.
The continued ownership of the
vested shares by Tricia is not desirable but there are other minority
shareholders already. This amounts to
less than one (1%) of the outstanding shares.
You know that Robert did not
come back to work since the card swipe system utilized to access and exit the
premises does not show him there on any occasions for more than short time,
except for a three hour time period one day the last week in June. John Morris did all the duties that used to
be done by Robert. All reports were
completed and signed by him without running them by Robert while he was
ill. There are no pieces of paper
generated from Robert other than the last memo. There are, however, some incriminating email communications
between Robert and your own Assistant, Kim.
They were having an affair when he became ill and Robert did meet her
for lunch a number of times while he was off ill. You confronted Kim with the email which was uncovered during the
investigation to respond to the lawsuit.
You have no desire to disclose this to Tricia or to otherwise make this
public.
Before Robert became ill, you do
remember specifically that your father,
Samuel Doe said many times that the loan Notes did not have to be repaid
until the Doe went public. Samuel does
not really care if he is re-paid, provided the lawsuit is settled. He would like closure on this matter.
The IPO never happened and
revenues were down before the September 11th terrorist attacks. Things can only get worse in the short-term
for the travel business. Almost all of
the luggage is partially made in Ski Lanka and Taiwan, so the geo-political
scene has you very concerned.
The acquisition led by Robert
has been a negative for the Company which is now saddled with debt. You do not believe that the shares are worth
more than $ 1 to $ 2 each.
NOTES:
