Hunter v. Deutsche Bank AG, New York Branch
56 A.D.3d 274, 866 N.Y.S.2d 670, 2008 N.Y. Slip Op. 08423
Appellate Division, First Department · November 6, 2008
What the court decided
Where the contracts and the employee handbook made bonus awards "solely and completely a matter of defendant's discretion," the breach of contract claims failed; language tying bonuses to performance and profitability did not limit that discretion. The court held that implied-covenant claims, "even assuming they can coexist in this context with a right of unfettered discretion," failed for lack of evidence of bad faith, and that the unpaid bonuses were not wages under ยง 193, "plaintiffs' 'commission' nomenclature notwithstanding."
Who won
The employer won; summary judgment dismissing the complaints was affirmed.
Why it matters for salespeople
Calling pay a "commission" does not make it one if the written terms leave it to discretion. The Court of Appeals later distinguished this case in Ryan, and its doubt about implied-covenant claims should be read with 111 West 57th (2026).
Key passage: 56 A.D.3d 274 at 274.
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