Law Commons^™

When Binding Doesn't Really Mean Binding: The Early Decision College Application, Jean Steadman

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Not Pictured: Minnesota’S Disfavor Toward Forfeitures—Capistrant V. Lifetouch Nat’L Sch. Studios, Inc., 916 N.W.2d 23 (Minn. 2018)., Madalyn Elmquist

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Anticipating Procedural Innovation: How And When Parties Calibrate Procedure Through Contract, Henry Allen Blair

Faculty Scholarship

Despite a vast literature on contract theory, scholars are only just scratching the surface of understanding how parties design their contracts in the real world. This shortfall is particularly true of procedural customizations. Contrary to some early commentators’ estimates, in a small but significant set of circumstances, parties engage in a diverse range of procedural customization. To date, however, scholars have struggled to identify and explain the patterns of ex ante procedural contracting.

This Article argues that the first step toward understanding how transactional attorneys harness the potential of procedural autonomy is to recognize that procedural customization functions most effectively …

Contracts: An Eight-Factor Test For Quantum Meruit Compensation For A Dismissed Contingency Fee Counsel—Faricy Law Firm, P.A. V. Api, Inc. Asbestos Settlement Trust, 912 N.W.2d 652 (Minn. 2018), Mitch Ohiwa

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jason’S Long Night At Camp Blood: Surveying The Independent Copyrightability Of Jason Voorhees In The Wake Of Horror Inc. V. Miller, Tim Kelly

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

Bad Foundation: Washington's Lack Of Homeowner Rights, Brendan Williams

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.

Contracts: Between A Rock And A Hard Place—Sorchaga V. Ride Auto, Llc, Rachel D. Zaiger

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contracts: Mndot's Ironically Nonspecific Specifications Should Not Concern Subcontractors—Storms, Inc. V. Mathy Construction Company, David Ribnick

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contracts: A Question Of Consideration: Medical Staff Bylaws As An Enforceable Contract—Medical Staff Of Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center V. Avera Marshall, Alexander Hsu

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Delaware’S Implied Contractual Covenant Of Good Faith And “Sibling Rivalry” Among Equity Holders, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

An obligation of good faith and fair dealing is implied in every common law contract and is codified in the Uniform Commercial Code (“U.C.C”). The terminology differs: Some jurisdictions refer to an “implied covenant;” others to an “implied contractual obligation;” still others to an “implied duty.” But whatever the label, the concept is understood by the vast majority of U.S. lawyers as a matter of commercial rather than entity law. And, to the vast majority of corporate lawyers, “good faith” does not mean contract law but rather conjures up an important aspect of a corporate director’s duty of loyalty.

Nonetheless, …

When Your Body Is Your Business, Mary P. Byrn, Morgan L. Holcomb

Faculty Scholarship

Surrogacy in the United States is a multi-million dollar industry in which well paid professionals seek out highly specialized women to fulfill the difficult job of being a surrogate. Surrogates enter lengthy contracts in which they agree, in intricate detail, to provide a service for significant compensation - surrogates are paid well over $22 million dollars a year. This article argues that surrogates are also professionals in this for-profit industry and are required to report surrogacy compensation as income. As a corollary, surrogates may deduct most of their surrogacy related expenses as business deductions. Being a surrogate is a highly …

Where Is Emily Litella When You Need Her?: The Unsuccessful Effort To Craft A General Theory Of Obligation Of Promise For Benefit Received, Edwin J. Butterfoss, Henry Allen Blair

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Matter Of Trust: Should No-Reliance Clauses Bar Claims For Fraudulent Inducement Of Contract?, Henry Allen Blair

Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, Professor Allen Blair examines the enforceability of no-reliance clauses--contractual disclaimers designed to prevent parties from relying on extra-contractual representations to prove fraudulent inducement claims. Many courts are skeptical of such disclaimers and either refuse to enforce them or will enforce them only subject to substantial restrictions. These courts base their decisions on generic moral prohibitions against lying. This Article argues, however, that these courts reach their conclusion too easily. They presume that no-reliance clauses can serve no legitimate contract function and thus never provide value to parties. But, in at least some cases between sophisticated parties, no-reliance …

Careful What You Wish For — Freedom Of Contract And The Necessity Of Careful Scrivening, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Invalid And 'Iffy' Contract Clauses, In Symposium: Contracting Out Of The Uniform Commercial Code, Christina L. Kunz

Faculty Scholarship

This Symposium focuses on the extent to which attorneys can use agreed terms to supplant or “bump” the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The articles in this Symposium demonstrate that the degree to which attorneys customarily “contract out” varies considerably from UCC article to article. In reality, though, the issues surrounding contracting out of UCC provisions are not limited to the UCC, statutes, or other codified rules. Most “repeat players” in the market periodically ask their lawyers to redraft their standard-form contracts in ways that increasingly favor the drafter. Some of these lawyers may intentionally draft clauses that …

You Don’T Have To Be Ludwig Wittgenstein’: How Llewellyn’S Concept Of Agreement Should Change The Law Of Open-Quantity Contracts, Henry Allen Blair

Faculty Scholarship

In this article, Professor Allen Blair examines the preeminent role of exclusivity in open-quantity contracts under the Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”). Although the text of the UCC does not mandate that open-quantity contracts be exclusive, the vast majority of courts considering the issue have held that exclusivity is necessary to prevent such contracts from failing for lack of mutuality of obligation. The Article traces the historic development of open-quantity agreements, focusing on pre-Code cases recognizing the commercial utility of such agreements but struggling with how to accommodate them under a classical model of contract formation. It was in this historic …

Defective Products And Product Warranty Claims In Minnesota, J. David Prince

William Mitchell Law Review

Warranty law is an important supplement to tort law principles governing liability for defective products. Warranties arise from promises or assertions associated with either the sale of a product or some other transfer of a product for value. Such promises or assertions about a product may be express, made in the form of the seller’s statements about the qualities or attributes of the product, or they may simply be implied as a matter of policy. Although warranty law is generally regarded today as part of the body of contract law, the origins of warranty lie in tort. Important developments in …

Case Note: Contracts—Into The Void: Minnesota Limits Application Of The Prima Paint Doctrine—Onvoy, Inc. V. Shal, Llc, Mikel D. Johnson

William Mitchell Law Review

This note first gives a brief overview of arbitration use in the United States. It then discusses the Onvoy decision and provides an analysis of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling. Finally, the note concludes that the court’s holding properly weighs Minnesota’s strong presumption in favor of arbitration against the need to allow access to the courts.

Red Owl's Legacy, Gregory M. Duhl

Faculty Scholarship

In the early 1960s, Joseph Hoffman, a high school graduate, baker and father of seven, sought to obtain a Red Owl grocery store franchise in Wisconsin. He entered into negotiations with Red Owl Stores, Inc. after the franchisor assured him that the $18,000 he had to invest in the franchise was sufficient. Over the course of the negotiations, Red Owl encouraged Hoffman to sell his bakery, buy a small grocery store to gain experience in the grocery business, sell his grocery store three months later, and move his family to the desired location for his Red Owl franchise. The negotiations …

Beyond Words: An Empirical Study Of Context In Contract Creation, Deborah A. Schmedemann

Faculty Scholarship

This article reports on an empirical study into how judges interpret contracts. In general, the study demonstrates that key participants do look to context for guidance on issues of contract creation. Part II summarizes the modem legal perspective on these questions, as stated in the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, as posited in the scholarly debate about relational contracts, and as exemplified in case law regarding employment contracts. Part III describes a study designed to capture the thinking on these questions of participants in an employment contract. Part IV presents the results obtained from respondents who represented the parties to the …

The Sense And Nonsense Of Web Site Terms Of Use Agreements, Sharon Sandeen

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the purpose, use and enforceability of TOUs. In so doing it looks beyond the common question of whether TOUs are enforceable to ask whether and under what circumstances TOUs are necessary. This article explores whether the nature of the Internet is so different from the brick-and-mortar world that TOUs are needed for web sites but not for retail stores. A review of many of the existing TOUs reveals that major differences exist in the number and nature of their provisions. On one extreme are the TOUs of companies like Disney, Barnes and Noble and Amazon that apparently …

Contracts—Beating Them At Their Own Game: The Business Risk Doctrine And The Broadening Coverage Of Commercial General Liability Insurance—Thommes V. Milwaukee Insurance Co., Katherine J. Solon

William Mitchell Law Review

This note first examines the theory behind the business risk doctrine in analyzing CGL insurance. It then details the supreme court's holding in Thommes, followed by an analysis of that decision. Finally, the note concludes that, whatever problems may exist, the court has devised a manageable approach to CGL insurance coverage.

The Cisg Convention And Thomas Franck's Theory Of Legitimacy, Anthony S. Winer

Faculty Scholarship

The Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) Convention is one of the most talked-about, and written-about, aspects of international commercial law. Ss time progresses, it may become evident that significant numbers of commercial actors and significant numbers of courts and other adjudicatory bodies are simply choosing not to apply the Convention. In such event, the question as to why there should be such a reluctance to adopt the Convention will present itself. This Article finds helpful perspective on this question in the work of international legal scholar Thomas Franck. Specifically, guidance is drawn from the theory of international …

Guilty Knowledge, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

Agency law's attribution rules impose most of the risk of agent misconduct on the party who selects the agent and benefits from the agent's endeavors, i.e., the principal. The rules thus help establish and maintain a proper balance of risk between principals and third parties. Unfortunately, a recent unpublished decision of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, Engen v. Mitch's Bar & Grill, threatens to upset that balance and release principals from responsibility for an important type of information possessed by their agents. Engen is dangerous, despite its unpublished status. This Case Note seeks to eliminate any influence the case might …

Frontispiece On Good Faith: A Functional Approach Within The Ucc, Christina L. Kunz

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines areas of the law with thin jurisprudences on good faith, and how the Uniform Commercial Code’s (UCC’s) express statutory rules have become an active laboratory of experiments on good faith. Part I discusses the general obligation of good faith under the UCC. Part II lays out and discusses how the specific UCC provisions on good faith serve one or more of the following functions: restrict the exercise of one-sided power in a contract, in order to avoid unfair or unexpected results; restrict the range of possible responses to defective performance or to an unexpected event, in order …

Working Backwards: The Covenant Of Good Faith And Fair Dealing In Employment Law, Deborah A. Schmedemann

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines the covenant of good faith and fair dealing with respect to employment law. This doctrine is at an interesting stage in its development (or decline) in Minnesota and elsewhere. The article begins with the standard exposition of the current state of the law; part I describes the limited scope of the covenant and its limited force in Minnesota employment law. Part II contains my assessment of the courts' handling of the covenant and the promise this theory holds for Minnesota employees and employers. My theses are: First, the courts have thus far failed to develop a sound …

Why Not Good Faith?-The Foibles Of Fairness In Closely Held Corporations, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

This essay describes the contours of the shareholder’s duty to be fair and explores some of the problems caused by the law’s imprecision in defining the duty of fairness. Because this duty is best understood as a rejection of old norms, part one of this essay describes the traditional doctrines of intra-corporate responsibility. Part two describes the special characteristics of a close corporation and outlines how those characteristics pushed close corporation law to new concepts of fairness and shareholder duties. Part three attempts to delineate those duties of fairness and also to highlight some of the dangers that arise when …

No Risk Allocation Need Apply: The Twisted Minnesota Law Of Indemnification, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

Minnesota's law on indemnification agreements is the most restrictive in the country. To provide a basis for understanding the law's restrictions, this Article begins with an analysis of the rationale and functions of indemnification agreements. The Article then reviews the hostility of both the common and statutory law to indemnification agreements and argues that opponents of indemnification have acted without convincing reasons or supporting evidence in substituting government rules for private decision-making.