Legal Question in Business Law in California

Are stacked commissions and over-rides legal. Case in point...I have an associate, whom he and I sell for a company based in the state of Washington. We both have signed MOU's with the company, stating we both get 10% of any sale. Our first sale was $54,000, which at face value is $5,400 each. What they told us "after the fact" is that they have a "stacked commission" program, whereby commissions are considered the cost of sales. So, for each of us, they deducted BOTH our commissions from the sale and our commissions were reduced, netting us each $4,860, not the $5,400 we expected. To me, I told them this seems "double dipping." They said it is stipulated in our MOU's under deducts, i.e. freight [which there were none], credit card charges [none] and "other costs."

Is there any illegality here?


Asked on 9/17/11, 8:17 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Joe Marman Law Office of Joseph Marman

read the contract carefully.

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Answered on 9/17/11, 9:29 am
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

This is strictly a matter of contract language and its interpretation. Have there been prior disputes with the company's other salespersons? As your colleagues.

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Answered on 9/18/11, 2:34 pm


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