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Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

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Situating Bystanders Within Strict Products Liability, Mark A. Geistfeld Dec 2023

Situating Bystanders Within Strict Products Liability, Mark A. Geistfeld

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

"The largely neglected role of bystanders within products liability is reflected in the extensive scholarship of Professor Aaron Twerski—the rightly celebrated honoree of this symposium. Within Twerski’s vast body of impressive publications, his limited discussions of bystanders align with the widely held assumption that, aside from the problems they pose for the consumer expectations test, bystanders do not merit much attention within the context of products liability. Bystander injuries are much more important than is commonly recognized; one must focus on them to adequately identify the conditions under which consumer-choice doctrines properly limit tort liability. Because the varied rules of …


It's Finally Time For A National Data Privacy Law: A Discussion Of The American Data Privacy And Protection Act (Adppa), Erin J. An Dec 2023

It's Finally Time For A National Data Privacy Law: A Discussion Of The American Data Privacy And Protection Act (Adppa), Erin J. An

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Millions of Americans face unprecedented privacy risks related to their data, often without their awareness. With the increasing value of consumer data and its growing utilization by businesses, there is a growing demand for greater transparency and privacy protections. As of 2023, no comprehensive federal law governs data privacy in the United States, leaving citizens with limited protections. Introduced to Congress on June 21, 2022, the American Data and Privacy Protection Act (ADPPA) successfully passed the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, making it the furthest a national comprehensive data privacy bill has progressed through the federal legislative …


Commercial Law Harmonization: The Role Of The United States, Hal Burman May 2023

Commercial Law Harmonization: The Role Of The United States, Hal Burman

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The modern field of transnational commercial law harmonization began in the United States in the mid-1960s; the international basis of that began in the mid-1940s. Before that, a limited number of areas of private international law (PIL) had active participation of US interests, such as maritime law. US participation internationally effectively began in the middle 1960s. Developments parallel to commercial law have been significant in the areas of applicable law, jurisdiction, commercial arbitration, family law, and other fields – all important areas of transnational law, but beyond the scope of this symposium. Each of these areas of law, while affecting …


Limiting 28 U.S.C. § 1782: A Changed Landscape For Discovery In Private Commercial Arbitration Abroad, Jazmyne R. Barto May 2023

Limiting 28 U.S.C. § 1782: A Changed Landscape For Discovery In Private Commercial Arbitration Abroad, Jazmyne R. Barto

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

For decades 28 U.S.C. § 1782 has been used by foreign entities looking to compel discovery in the United States for use in commercial arbitration proceedings abroad. Despite the statute being in force since 1948, many federal courts were unsure of whether § 1782 could actually be used in international private commercial arbitration. The Supreme Court tried and failed to clarify the statute’s scope in 2004, leading to a circuit court split as to §1782’s applicability. Looking to end the controversy once and for all, during the Summer of 2022, the Supreme Court clearly stated that § 1782 might not …


Part Ii: Commercial Law Harmonization: The Past As Prologue—A “Festschrift” In Honor Of Neil B. Cohen, Edward J. Janger May 2023

Part Ii: Commercial Law Harmonization: The Past As Prologue—A “Festschrift” In Honor Of Neil B. Cohen, Edward J. Janger

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

No abstract provided.


Neil Cohen’S Contribution To Uniform Secured Finance Law, Spyridon V. Bazinas May 2023

Neil Cohen’S Contribution To Uniform Secured Finance Law, Spyridon V. Bazinas

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Article discusses Neil Cohen’s contribution to uniform secured finance law and, in particular, to the UNCITRAL Model Law on Secured Transactions. It does so by focusing on the misgivings Neil Cohen had expressed before, and his reflections on those misgivings after, the preparation of the Model Law. The discussion presents Neil Cohen as is generally known, as a distinguished scholar, but also as he is known to his friends and colleagues, as a person with rare qualities.


Reforming The Law Reform Ecosystem, Timothy Schnabel May 2023

Reforming The Law Reform Ecosystem, Timothy Schnabel

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Article outlines a series of reforms that would make global law reform efforts more effective and efficient. These efforts currently occur primarily in three multilateral organizations (UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, and the Hague Conference). The member states of these organizations could easily increase coordination—even to the point of de facto consolidation of the organizations’ work—and could increase the attention given to selecting projects and promoting instruments. Additionally, the U.S. government could organize plurilateral law reform efforts outside these organizations and draw on U.S. domestic law reform efforts to identify new topics for work. Finally, non-government actors could themselves coordinate across the …


Same Old Story, New Solution: Force Majeure Deficiencies In The Wake Of Covid-19 And An Unorthodox Approach To Drafting It, Steven H. Dovi May 2023

Same Old Story, New Solution: Force Majeure Deficiencies In The Wake Of Covid-19 And An Unorthodox Approach To Drafting It, Steven H. Dovi

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

On January 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first laboratory-confirmed case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on American soil.[1] On March 8, 2021—more than a year later—the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York decided Gap v. Ponte Gadea New York.[2] It ruled, inter alia, that the COVID-19 pandemic, in keeping with the relevant provision’s narrow tailoring, did not amount to a force majeure event and a defense to breach.[3] While seemingly one of the first decisions of its kind in the Southern District, this Note argues that the holding …


Entire Fairness Or Bust: The Burst Of The 2020-2021 Spac Bubble, Nicole Lynch May 2023

Entire Fairness Or Bust: The Burst Of The 2020-2021 Spac Bubble, Nicole Lynch

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) have skyrocketed in recent years as an alternative for taking private companies public through an initial public offering (IPO). SPACs are blank-check companies that raise capital through public exchanges for the “special purpose” of acquiring a privately held company. Once acquired, the private company will take the SPAC’s place on the public exchange, effectively accomplishing the same thing as a traditional IPO but without all the onerous reporting requirements and upfront costs. For these reasons, SPACs have become the next big thing in securities markets despite being around since the 1990s. Throughout 2020 and 2021, …


Commercial Law Harmonization: The Past As Prologue—A “Festschrift” In Honor Of Neil B. Cohen, Edward J. Janger Dec 2022

Commercial Law Harmonization: The Past As Prologue—A “Festschrift” In Honor Of Neil B. Cohen, Edward J. Janger

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

No abstract provided.


The Internet Is For Porn…Or Is It? Fair Access To Financial Services And The Need For Onlyporn Legislation, Emily Pollak Dec 2022

The Internet Is For Porn…Or Is It? Fair Access To Financial Services And The Need For Onlyporn Legislation, Emily Pollak

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Historically, the pornography industry has been the target of countless attempts to delegitimize sex work, but it still endures as a legal industry. Nevertheless, financial service providers such as banks and third-party payment processors have circumvented providing the industry fair access to their services, under vague pretexts such as reputational risk. While porn is not the only marginalized industry affected by unfair treatment from financial service providers, it is among the most targeted. This note gives context to this issue and provides that access to the global marketplace should not be limited by financial institutions functioning as de facto legislators, …


Formulating Lists Of Factors: Lessons From The Good, The Bad, And The U.C.C., Stephen L. Sepinuck Dec 2022

Formulating Lists Of Factors: Lessons From The Good, The Bad, And The U.C.C., Stephen L. Sepinuck

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

No abstract provided.


Reviving The Realist Restatements And The Common Law Codes: Neil Cohen And The Grand Style, Edward J. Janger Dec 2022

Reviving The Realist Restatements And The Common Law Codes: Neil Cohen And The Grand Style, Edward J. Janger

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The “Second” Restatements and the Uniform Commercial Code have shaped the sensibility of lawyers and law students for the last half century. Both projects were anti-formal at their core, articulating pragmatic principles to guide judicial decision making without necessarily determining the outcome. Recent jurisprudence interpreting the Restatements, as well as efforts to update both sets of instruments, have taken a formalist turn. As examples, this essay will consider judicial interpretations of § 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts where internet platforms like Amazon are involved. Then it will consider the tortured and recently concluded experience in connection with the …


Failed Efforts At Harmonization Of Securities Regulation, Roberta S. Karmel Dec 2022

Failed Efforts At Harmonization Of Securities Regulation, Roberta S. Karmel

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Article is based on a speech made by Professor Karmel at the Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial, & Commercial Law annual symposium in May 2022 titled “Commercial Law Harmonization: Past as Prologue,” analyzing the work done in the past half-century to balance commercial law. The symposium also celebrated the career of Neil B. Cohen of Brooklyn Law School for his teaching and participation in law reform efforts.


Achieving Law Reform Sometimes Requires A Strong Defense, William H. Henning Dec 2022

Achieving Law Reform Sometimes Requires A Strong Defense, William H. Henning

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In 2019, a joint drafting committee authorized by the Uniform Law Commission and the American Law Institute began work on a sweeping set of amendments to the official text of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) that address issues arising from emerging technologies. The amendments were approved by the sponsoring organizations at their 2022 annual meetings, and efforts are already underway to gain uniform nationwide enactment by state legislatures. The most significant changes to the UCC consist of a new Article 12 dealing with digital assets and amendments to Article 9 that facilitate the leveraging of these assets. Also in 2019, …


Flow Of Commerce, Flow Of Traffic, Carl S. Bjerre Dec 2022

Flow Of Commerce, Flow Of Traffic, Carl S. Bjerre

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

No abstract provided.


The Development Of The American “Security Interest” And Its Effect On The International Harmonization Of Security Rights, Henry Gabriel Dec 2022

The Development Of The American “Security Interest” And Its Effect On The International Harmonization Of Security Rights, Henry Gabriel

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

No abstract provided.


The Uncitral Model Law And Secured Transactions Law Reform, Louise Gullifer Dec 2022

The Uncitral Model Law And Secured Transactions Law Reform, Louise Gullifer

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

No abstract provided.


Standing In The Ether: Constitutional Standing In Data Breach Cases After Mcmorris, Andrew Ridge Dec 2022

Standing In The Ether: Constitutional Standing In Data Breach Cases After Mcmorris, Andrew Ridge

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

For some time, circuit courts have been ostensibly divided over the power of plaintiffs to maintain claims for injuries sustained from data breaches based merely on an increased risk of injury. However, in McMorris v. Carlos Lopez & Assocs., LLC, 995 F.3d 295 (2d Cir. 2021), the Second Circuit denied the existence of the circuit split, instead contending that its three-factor balancing test for determining standing for risk of future injury in data breach cases could be reconciled with the positions of both clusters of circuits. The three factors are “(1) whether the plaintiffs’ data has been exposed as the …


The Dark Side Of E-Commerce: The Negative Effects Of E-Commerce On The Environment, Flora Ho Dec 2022

The Dark Side Of E-Commerce: The Negative Effects Of E-Commerce On The Environment, Flora Ho

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

E-commerce has many advantages for both consumers and sellers, but its process has taken a toll on the environment. In this Note, I discuss two integral aspects of the e-commerce process that contribute to climate change: (1) air pollution from delivery vehicles, and (2) the use of non-sustainable packaging. I will provide insight into the U.S. environmental laws currently in place that regulate greenhouse gas emissions and other contributors to climate change, such as the Clean Air Act and the Solid Waste Disposal Act, while highlighting how these laws are minimal at best. I argue that the U.S. government should …


The Coming Shift In Shareholder Activism: From “Firm-Specific” To “Systematic Risk” Proxy Campaigns (And How To Enable Them), John C. Coffee, Jr. Dec 2021

The Coming Shift In Shareholder Activism: From “Firm-Specific” To “Systematic Risk” Proxy Campaigns (And How To Enable Them), John C. Coffee, Jr.

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This article distinguishes two types of shareholder activism: (1) firm-specific activism, which has a long history and focuses on changes at a specific target company, and (2) systematic risk activism, which seeks to reduce the systematic risk in a portfolio and thereby benefit diversified investors. Typically, such a systematic risk campaign may force a portfolio company to internalize negative externalities to benefit the other companies in the portfolio (such as by reducing carbon emissions or undertaking climate risk reforms). But, systematic risk activism faces an inherent difficulty: the party that leads this campaign and invests in the target company may …


A Rejection Of Absolutist Duties As A Barrier To Creditor Protection: Facilitating Directorial Decisivness Surrounding Insolvency Through The Business Judgment Rule, Philip Gavin May 2021

A Rejection Of Absolutist Duties As A Barrier To Creditor Protection: Facilitating Directorial Decisivness Surrounding Insolvency Through The Business Judgment Rule, Philip Gavin

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Article draws attention to the difficulties that directors may face when seeking to discharge their duties as a corporation approaches insolvency, in particular when directors must discern the point at which a corporation has become insolvent. It argues that discretion allowed to directors by the business judgment rule will be crucial to overcoming these difficulties. To do this, this article examines the nature of duties owed by directors both before and after insolvency, and accepts the stance taken by Delaware courts in recent years towards an expansive understanding of a corporation’s interests upon insolvency. It then considers unresolved issues …


Qualified Opportunity Funds: Private Equity Exemptions From Public Responsibility, Audrey E. Abate May 2021

Qualified Opportunity Funds: Private Equity Exemptions From Public Responsibility, Audrey E. Abate

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed and signed into law in 2017, included a pilot program of a new kind of tax advantage: the Qualified Opportunity Zone. The obscure provision has since spawned novel investment vehicles, called Qualified Opportunity Funds, through which qualified individuals and entities participate in what are often significant tax advantages, including deferral of capital gains for up to ten years. Because Qualified Opportunity Funds have come into existence so recently, regulation has been slow to catch up to the ways in which this tax program is rapidly attracting capital from private equity, investment …


Let's Stop Playing Games: Why Better Congressional Interaction Is Required To Protect Young Gamers, Dominick Tarantino May 2021

Let's Stop Playing Games: Why Better Congressional Interaction Is Required To Protect Young Gamers, Dominick Tarantino

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Note addresses the predatory nature of video game microtransactions, the serious risks they pose, and why an improved plan of legislative intervention is necessary to protect young, vulnerable video game consumers. With loot box microtransactions driving a flourishing industry that has reached unprecedented levels of success, adequate consumer protection cannot properly be achieved through self-regulation. Senator Josh Hawley’s Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act is a step in the right direction, but its broad language will result in unintended consequences that can cripple the entire industry. Revising the bill’s language will protect the intended young consumer and allow for …


Symposium: Consumer Welfare Market Structure And Political Power, Edward J. Janger Dec 2020

Symposium: Consumer Welfare Market Structure And Political Power, Edward J. Janger

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Two competing visions dominate the fields of antitrust and consumer protection: neo-liberal and progressive. The neo-classical approach is associated with Robert Bork and the Law and Economics Movement. The progressive strand is older, identified with Brandeis and early 20th Century social reform. As a matter of chronology the Brandeisian view dominated into the 1970s, but from 1980, until recently, the Borkian law and economics approach has been in ascendancy in Congress, the academy, and in the courts. Technological change and events in the broader economy have caused the politics and the academic focus to shift. The financial crisis of 2008-09 …


Your Uber Driver Is Here, But Their Benefits Are Not: The Abc Test, Assembly Bill 5, And Regulating Gig Economy Employers, Brian A. Brown Ii Dec 2020

Your Uber Driver Is Here, But Their Benefits Are Not: The Abc Test, Assembly Bill 5, And Regulating Gig Economy Employers, Brian A. Brown Ii

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In September 2019, California passed Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) which adopts the ABC test as the standard for determining whether an individual worker is an employee or an independent contractor. This legislation is aimed at gig economy employers, such as Uber, whose workers are arguably misclassified as independent contractors, ultimately denying them access to benefits and the ability to unionize. This Note will discuss AB 5 by identifying the successes and pitfalls of the legislation. While AB 5 is a step in the right direction, the bill still needs to be refined to avoid gaps in enforcement. Further, this …


Consumers' Declining Power In The Fintech Auto Loan Market, Pamela Foohey Dec 2020

Consumers' Declining Power In The Fintech Auto Loan Market, Pamela Foohey

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Automobiles have become part of America’s infrastructure. For most people, having access to a car is crucial to their livelihoods and they will take on significant amounts of debt to purchase vehicles. Auto debt is unlike any other consumer debt, both in its structure, which allows creditors to easily seize collateral, and in its lack of regulation. The unique and lucrative nature of auto debt has not gone unnoticed by lenders or by companies leveraging fintech to offer people new ways to purchase cars and car loans. This Article assesses the evolving marketplace for auto sales, leasing, and loans to …


Warranty, Product Liability And Transaction Structure: The Problem Of Amazon, Edward J. Janger, Aaron D. Twerski Dec 2020

Warranty, Product Liability And Transaction Structure: The Problem Of Amazon, Edward J. Janger, Aaron D. Twerski

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Amazon, and other internet sales platforms, have revolutionized the manner in which goods are purchased and sold. The obligations undertaken by Amazon in those sales are unclear, both as a matter of transparency, and as a matter of legal doctrine. Is Amazon a store? Is it a shipper? Is it a telephone? In various transactions Amazon can play some or all of these roles. Choosing the right metaphor has consequences. Amazon knows this and has done everything it can to deploy the metaphors selectively to its best legal and practical advantage, even when the chosen characterizations are inapt or even …


Door Shut And Ears Plugged: How Consumer Reporting Casts Identity Theft Victims Out Of Financial Society And How The Law Can Be Harmonized To Bring Them Back In, Ryan Bolger Dec 2020

Door Shut And Ears Plugged: How Consumer Reporting Casts Identity Theft Victims Out Of Financial Society And How The Law Can Be Harmonized To Bring Them Back In, Ryan Bolger

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) are the gatekeepers to the American economy. As the chief informants for prospective lenders, landlords, and employers, they exert immense power over the day-to-day decisions of who gets what. Despite these high stakes, the CRAs run consumer reporting as an automated electronic process that causes a lot of reporting errors, disqualifying consumers from essential goods, services, and opportunities. This is painfully true in the context of identity theft, where perverse incentives pollute the integrity of consumer reporting, piling undue harm onto identity theft victims. The law provides a remedy for this problem, but circuit courts are …


The Heavy Hand Of Amazon: A Seller Not A Neutral Platform, Edward J. Janger, Aaron D. Twerski Jun 2020

The Heavy Hand Of Amazon: A Seller Not A Neutral Platform, Edward J. Janger, Aaron D. Twerski

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Since the adoption of Section 402A of the Second Restatement of Torts, every party in a product’s distribution chain has been potentially liable for injuries caused by product defects. Consumers who buy from reputable sellers are almost always guaranteed to have a solvent defendant if injured by a product defect. Amazon, though responsible for a vast number of retail sales, has sought to avoid liability by claiming that it is not a seller but a neutral platform that merely facilitates third-party sales to consumers. With two significant exceptions, most courts have sided with Amazon and concluded that Amazon is not …