{"id":39183,"date":"2015-09-17T11:25:58","date_gmt":"2015-09-17T16:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/contracts\/uncategorized\/employment-agreement-general-internet-inc-and-scott-kurnit.html"},"modified":"2015-09-17T11:25:58","modified_gmt":"2015-09-17T16:25:58","slug":"employment-agreement-general-internet-inc-and-scott-kurnit","status":"publish","type":"corporate_contracts","link":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/contracts\/compensation\/employment-agreement-general-internet-inc-and-scott-kurnit.html","title":{"rendered":"Employment Agreement &#8211; General Internet Inc. and Scott Kurnit"},"content":{"rendered":"<pre>\n                               GENERAL INTERNET, INC.\n                                22 West 19th Street\n                             New York, New York  10010\n\n                                   October 20, 1996\n\nMr. Scott Kurnit\n236 East 47th Street\n27th Floor\nNew York, New York  10017\n\nDear Scott:\n\n     This Letter Agreement sets forth the terms and provisions pursuant to which\nGeneral Internet continues to employ you as Chairman and CEO based upon the\nterms and provisions set forth in an agreement dated June 14, 1996 between you\nand Open Text Corporation (the 'ORIGINAL AGREEMENT').  The parties acknowledge\nthat Original Agreement has been terminated pursuant to an agreement dated as of\nOctober 11, 1996.  The terms of your employment are as follows:\n\n          1.   SALARY.  $195,000 annually.  General Internet acknowledges that\nyou have not received a salary through the date hereof and may continue to defer\nyour salary in your sole discretion, provided that General Internet acknowledges\nthat it will immediately upon demand pay to you all accrued salary in a lump\nsum.\n\n          2.   BONUS.  Target bonus of $150,000 subject to standards to be\ndetermined; provided that you shall be entitled to a minimum $100,000 annual\nbonus (which shall be payable on or about December 31, of each year).\n\n          3.   BENEFITS.  You shall be entitled to General Internet's standard\nbenefit program.  In addition, you shall be entitled to an automobile allowance\nof $900 per month.\n\n          4.   LOCATION.  Your location shall be at the Company's headquarters\nin the New York metropolitan area.\n\n          5.   BOARD OF DIRECTORS.  You shall be a member of the Board of\nDirectors of General Internet as long as you are employed by General Internet.\n\n          6.   TERM.\n\n               (a)  The initial term shall be three (3) years commencing as of\nJune 14, 1996 plus one (1) year of severance equal to salary and bonus (without\nmitigation or offset).  In the event of a termination by General Internet of\nyour employment without Cause (as hereinafter defined) including in connection\nwith a closing down of its business, you shall be entitled to your salary and\nthe minimum bonus for the of the remainder of the 3 year term and an additional\n1 year of severance.\n\n\n\n\n\n               (b)  'Cause' shall mean an act of dishonesty affecting General\nInternet, drug or alcohol abuse affecting performance or failure to comply with\na directive of the Board of Directors consistent with your position and this\nLetter Agreement after written notice that such failure shall be deemed to be\nCause and a reasonable opportunity to perform.  Upon a termination for Cause you\nshall not be entitled to any additional compensation.\n\n          7.   MISCELLANEOUS.  This Letter Agreement represents the parties\nentire agreement and understanding of the parties and may only be amended in\nwriting.  This Letter Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of\nNew York.\n\n     Please sign below to acknowledge your understanding and agreement with the\nterms and provisions of this agreement.\n\n\n                                   Sincerely yours,\n\n                                   GENERAL INTERNET, INC.\n\n                                   By: \/s\/ Scott Kurnit\n                                      ---------------------------\n                                      Title: CEO         10\/20\/96\n\nACCEPTED AND AGREED TO:\n\n\/s\/ Scott Kurnit 10\/20\/96\n-----------------------------\n       Scott Kurnit\n\n\n\n                               General Internet Inc.\n                                 220 E 42nd Street\n                                     24th Floor\n                                 New York, NY 10017\n\n                                   October 21, 1998\n\nMr. Scott Kurnit\n236 E. 47th Street\nApt.  27E\nNew York, NY 10017\n\nDear Scott:\n\nReference is made to a letter agreement dated October 20, 1996 between General\nInternet Inc. and you with respect to your employment (the 'Employment Letter'\nand collectively with this letter (the 'Amendment Letter'), the 'Agreement'). \nThe parties hereto agree as follows:\n\n1.   Paragraph 8 is inserted as follows:\n\n     '8.  DISPUTE RESOLUTION: If the parties should have a material dispute\n     arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the parties' respective\n     rights and duties hereunder, then the parties will resolve such dispute in\n     the following manner: (i) any party may at any time deliver to the other a\n     written dispute notice setting forth a brief description of the issue for\n     which such notice initiates the dispute resolution mechanism contemplated\n     by this Paragraph 8; (ii) during the forty-five (45) day period following\n     the delivery of the notice described in (i) above, appropriate\n     representatives of the various parties will meet and seek to resolve the\n     disputed issue through negotiation, (iii) if representatives of the parties\n     are unable to resolve the disputed issue through negotiation, then within\n     thirty (30) days after the period described in (ii) above, the parties will\n     refer the issue (to the exclusion of a court of law) to final and binding\n     arbitration in New York, New York in accordance with the then existing\n     rules (the 'Rules') of the American Arbitration Association ('AAA'), and\n     judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any\n     court having jurisdiction thereof; provided, however, that the law\n     applicable to any controversy shall be the law of the State of New York,\n     regardless of principles of conflicts of laws.  In any arbitration pursuant\n     to this Agreement, (i) discovery shall be allowed and governed by the New\n     York Code of Civil Procedure and (ii) the award or decision shall be\n     rendered by a majority of the members of a Board of Arbitration consisting\n     of three (3) members, one of whom shall be appointed by each of the\n     respective parties and the third of whom shall be the chairman of the panel\n     and be appointed by mutual agreement of said two party-appointed\n     arbitrators.  In the event of failure of said two arbitrators to agree\n     within sixty (60) days after the commencement of the arbitration proceeding\n     upon the appointment of the third arbitrator, the third arbitrator shall be\n     appointed by the AAA in accordance with the Rules.  In the event that\n     either party shall fail to appoint an arbitrator within thirty (30) days\n     after the commencement of the arbitration proceedings, such arbitrator and\n     the third arbitrator shall be appointed by the AAA in accordance with the\n     Rules.  Nothing set forth above shall be interpreted to\n\n\n\n\n     prevent the parties from agreeing in writing to submit any dispute to a\n     single arbitrator in lieu of a three (3) member Board of Arbitration.  Upon\n     the completion of the selection of the Board of Arbitration (or if the\n     parties agree otherwise in writing, a single arbitrator), an award or\n     decision shall be rendered within no more than forty-five (45) days. \n     Notwithstanding the foregoing, the request by either party for preliminary\n     or permanent injunctive relief, whether prohibitive or mandatory, shall not\n     be subject to arbitration and may be adjudicated only by the courts of the\n     State of New York or the U.S.  District Court in New York.\n\n2.   Except as modified by this Amendment Letter, the Employment Letter shall\n     remain in full force and effect.\n\nPlease sign below to acknowledge your agreement with the terms hereof.\n\n\n                                        Sincerely,\n\n                                        \/s\/ Scott Kurnit\n                                        ---------------------------\n                                        Scott Kurnit\n                                        CEO\n\nAgreed and Accepted by\n\n\/s\/ Scott Kurnit\n------------------------------\nScott Kurnit\n\n\n\n\n\n                                  GENERAL INTERNET\n                                220 East 42nd Street\n                             New York, New York  10017\n\n                                    March 17, 1997\n\nMr. Scott Kurnit\n236 East 47th Street\n27th Floor\nNew York, New York  10017\n\nDear Scott:\n\n     Reference is made to a letter agreement dated October 20, 1996 between\nGeneral Internet and you with respect to your employment (the 'EMPLOYMENT\nLETTER').  The parties hereto agree as follows:\n\n          8.   Paragraph 6 of the Employment Letter is hereby terminated in its\nentirety and replaced with the following:\n\n               '6.  SEVERANCE.\n\n                    (a)  In the event of a termination by General Internet of\n                    your employment without Cause (as hereinafter defined) you\n                    shall be entitled to your salary for 12 months as severance\n                    (without mitigation or offset).\n\n                    (b)  'Cause' shall mean an act of dishonesty affecting\n                    General Internet, drug or alcohol abuse affecting\n                    performance or failure to comply with a directive of the\n                    Board of Directors consistent with your position and this\n                    Letter Agreement after written notice that such failure\n                    shall be deemed to be Cause and a reasonable opportunity to\n                    perform.  Upon a termination for Cause or in connection with\n                    the closing down of the business, you shall not be entitled\n                    to any additional compensation.'\n\n          9.   Except as modified by this Letter Agreement, the Employment\nletter shall remain in full force and effect.\n\n     Please sign below to acknowledge your agreement with the terms hereof.\n\n                                   Sincerely yours,\n\n                                   GENERAL INTERNET, INC.\n\n                                   \/s\/ Scott Kurnit\n                                   ---------------------------\n                                   Title:  CEO        3\/17\/97\n\n\nACCEPTED AND AGREED TO:\n\n\/s\/ Scott Kurnit     3\/17\/97\n-----------------------------\n        SCOTT KURNIT\n\n\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":true,"_modified_date":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false},"corporate_contracts_companies":[6551],"corporate_contracts_industries":[9510],"corporate_contracts_types":[9539,9544],"class_list":["post-39183","corporate_contracts","type-corporate_contracts","status-publish","hentry","corporate_contracts_companies-aboutcom-inc","corporate_contracts_industries-technology__programming","corporate_contracts_types-compensation","corporate_contracts_types-compensation__employment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_contracts\/39183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_contracts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/corporate_contracts"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"corporate_contracts_companies","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_contracts_companies?post=39183"},{"taxonomy":"corporate_contracts_industries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_contracts_industries?post=39183"},{"taxonomy":"corporate_contracts_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corporate.findlaw.com\/legal-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_contracts_types?post=39183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}