Law Commons^™

Pluralism In Contract Law, Leon Trakman

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contracts, Claude D. Rowher

Cal Law Trends and Developments

Recent decisions have brought about a number of changes in the area of contract interpretation. Although the general trends seem clear and commendable, the details are often obscure and bothersome.

Contracts, Robert G. Meiners

Cal Law Trends and Developments

No abstract provided.

Standardization Of Standard-Form Contracts: Competition And Contract Implications, Mark R. Patterson

William & Mary Law Review

Standard-form contracts are a common feature of commercial relationships because they offer the advantage of lower transaction costs. This advantage of standard contracts is increased when there is a second layer of standardization under which multiple firms agree on a standard contract. Trade associations and similar entities often effect standardization of this kind through collective agreement on a standard contract, sometimes under the aegis of state actors. Multifirm contract standardization can provide not only the usual transaction-cost advantages of standard-form contracts, but also increased competition among firms, because a standard contract makes comparison among firms’ offerings easier. But standardization among …

Salvage Awards On The Somali Coast: Who Pays For Public And Private Rescue Efforts In Piracy Crises?, Geoffrey Christopher Rapp

American University Law Review

This paper, a contribution to the "Troubled Waters: Combating Modern Piracy with the Rule of Law" symposium, explores the question of who pays for rescue efforts associated with maritime piracy. The paper explores the availability of admiralty law's salvage awards to governmental and non-governmental actors who intervene to rescue vessels and crew from pirates. Such awards provide an unusual incentive to rescue, traditionally unavailable for land-based rescue, but may raise complicated questions of policy and international law. The paper concludes by comparing salvage awards to a recent trend in American states to adopt "Search and Rescue" expense statutes allowing governments …

Contracts, William T. Laube

Cal Law Trends and Developments

In any given twelve-month reporting period there is, for some reason, a case emphasis on particular problems in each major classification of the law. The field of contracts is no exception. For the period covered by this volume, two basic contract problems float to the surface in the pool of reported appellate decisions. The first problem discussed, and illustrated by a number of recent cases, relates to the obligation to pay "more money" for merchandise or services than that provided for in the original contract. There are various background situations which activate the demand for "more money," but the most …

Commercial Transactions, Neil M. Levy

Cal Law Trends and Developments

The emphasis of this article reflects the degree to which commercial law today is statutory. Particularly in California, where the Uniform Commercial Code has only been in effect since January 1, 1965, few cases construing that statute reached the appellate courts during the year 1967. However, the state legislature in 1967 amended 25 sections of the California Commercial Code. Although these amendments cover a wide range of substantive problems, they can be viewed in the light of the policy of the code as enunciated in section 1102(2)(c), "[t]o make uniform the law among the various jurisdictions." In addition, one group …

Edwards V. Arthur Andersen Llp: There Is Not A "Narrow-Restraint" Exception To California's Prohibition Of Noncompetition Agreements, And A General Release May Not Mean What It Says, Bradford P. Anderson

Golden Gate University Law Review

On August 7, 2008, the California Supreme Court issued a vital enunciation of State Law in the decision of Edwards v. Arthur Andersen LLP. The court explicitly rejected the existence of any "narrow restraint" exception to California's prohibition against noncompetition agreements under California Business and Professions Code section 16600. The majority also stated that a general release "does not encompass nonwaivable statutory protections, such as the employee indemnity protection of [Labor Code section] 2802,'' even if the express language of the contract is all-encompassing. The Edwards Court's rejection of a "narrow-restraint" exception brings needed certainty to interpretation of Business and …

Fighting Piracy With Private Security Measures: When Contract Law Should Tell Parties To Walk The Plank, Jennifer S. Martin

American University Law Review

This Article addresses the following question: when should contract law permit parties to discontinue performance under a private security contract aimed to combat piracy? Piracy has been 'on the rise' off Somalia and in East Asia, with serious attacks escalating. Some shipping companies have responded by drafting 'best management practices', hiring security companies to advise on countering the threat and hiring armed or unarmed security protection. After presenting representative factual situations involving pirate attacks, the Article describes the traditional approach to defining the obligations of parties and the performance issues that arise during contractual performance. This approach takes into account …

Challenging Adhesion Contracts In California: A Consumer's Guide, Sierra David Sterkin

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment explores the California scheme for dealing with adhesion contracts, and proposes a change to the existing legal structure. Part I describes how California courts define adhesion contracts, examines the theories California courts have adopted to allow consumers to challenge adhesion contracts, and considers how jurisdictions outside California handle adhesion contracts. Part II focuses on when California courts will consider a contract adhesive and unenforceable. Part III compares California's system of dealing with adhesion contracts with systems established in jurisdictions outside California in order to determine whether there is truly any substantive difference. Part IV suggests changes to improve …

Defining Hospitality Entities In Contracts And Statutes: A Proactive And Preventative Approach, Andrea Bastian, Stephen Barth

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment serves as a guide to contracting parties and legislative drafters to initially, in an accurate and descriptive manner, define the scope of the entity, and thus, avoid litigation. Additionally, the factors enumerated through permissive uses and restrictive covenants (such as a dancing or minimum stay requirement) if utilized, will enhance the enforceability of the statutes and contractual restrictive covenants.

A Pig In The Parlor: An Examination Of Legislation Directed At Obscenity And Indecency On The Internet, Andrew Spett

Golden Gate University Law Review

The Internet, or ARPAnet, was originally developed by the U.S. Defense Department to support military research. As academics were invited to use the system, word of the system's research utility quickly spread. As the popularity of the computer increased, public consumer demand for access to the Internet increased. Consequently, the Internet quickly became a household word, no longer confined to government or academic circles. Currently, the Internet accommodates million users, and the numbers increase daily. In light of the expanse and growing importance of the Internet, this Comment will discuss the history and application of obscenity laws. This Comment will …

Contract Law, Suheil Joseph Totah

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Seaman's Direct Buying Service, Inc. V. Standard Oil Co.: Scaling The Stonewall Tort, Alisa J. Kim

Golden Gate University Law Review

In Seaman's Direct Buying Service, Inc. v. Standard Oil CO., the California Supreme Court affirmed its position that an insurance carrier may risk tort liability for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in addition to contract damages. Moreover, Seaman's enabled the court to explore such liability in the context of an ordinary commercial contract in which "parties of roughly equal bargaining power are free to shape the contours of their agreement." The Seaman's majority deemed it unnecessary to find tort liability on the breach of the implied covenant issue. Instead the court created a more …

Wolf And Wilhelmina: Giving Entertainers A License To Breach Their Contracts, Mark Conrad

Golden Gate University Law Review

Parts I and II of this article will discuss the Wolf and Wilhelmina cases. Part III will describe the equitable contract remedies of specific performance and injunctions for breach of a personal services contract. Part IV will discuss a proposed new standard to permit the award of special damages that may provide a more effective remedy for future breaches of contract.

Trends On The Harmonization Of Contract Law In Africa, Salvatore Mancuso

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Taking into consideration both the need for domestic legal reform in commercial matters and the importance of promoting harmonized commercial solutions for Africa, in this paper I first review the concept of legal harmonization in general and with particular reference to the situation in Africa. I then provide an overview of OHADA and COMESA, the two main initiatives of regional integration in Africa having implications in the harmonization of commercial law in general, and in the law of contract in particular. I conclude by affirming the interest of further exploring the possibilities related to the harmonization/uniformization of the law of …

A Study Of The Significant Aspects Of German Contract Law, Manfred Pieck

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Contract Law

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stevens V. Publicis: The Rise Of "No E-Mail Modification" Clauses?, Stephanie Holmes

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

E-mails occupy an ambiguous space between informal oral conversation and formal written documents. Their legal significance in contract modification is, however, becoming increasingly clear. In April 2008, the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, decided Stevens v. Publicis, S.A. and in the process, raised the legal status of e-mail exchanges in the context of contract modification. Before Stevens v. Publicis, S.A., an e-mail could constitute a “signed writing” under New York law, thus satisfying the statute of frauds. An e-mail exchange could also amend a contract if, for instance, it had been validated by the parties’ reliance on …

Breach Is For Suckers, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, David A. Hoffman

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article presents results from three experiments offering evidence that parties see breach of contract as a form of exploitation that makes disappointed promisees into "Suckers." In psychology, being a sucker turns on a three-part definition: betrayal, inequity, and intention. We used web-based questionnaires to test the effect of each of the three factors separately. Our results support the hypothesis that when breach of contract cues an exploitation schema, people become angry, offended, and inclined to retaliate even when retaliation is costly. This theory offers a useful advance because it explains why victims of breach demand more than similarly situated …

"If You Poison Us Do We Not Die?" - A Critical Analysis Of The Legality Of Poison Puts In The Wake Of San Antonio Fire And Police Pension Fund V. Amylin, Inc., Marcus Kai Hintze

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

2009 Government Contract Law Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Daniel P. Graham, Jon Burd, Tracye Winfrey Howard, Brian Walsh, W. Barron A. Avery

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Consumer Assent To Standard Form Contracts And The Voting Analogy, Wayne Barnes

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Filling In The Blank: Defining Breaches Of Contract Excepted From Discharge As Willful And Malicious Injuries To Property Under 11i U.S.C. § 523(A)(6), Bryan Hoynak

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contracts, Custom, And The Common Law: Towards A Renewed Prominence For Contract Law In American Wrongful Discharge Jurisprudence, Timothy J. Coley

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Do Liquidated Damages Encourage Breach? A Psychological Experiment, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

Michigan Law Review

This Article offers experimental evidence that parties are more willing to exploit efficient-breach opportunities when the contract in question includes a liquidated-damages clause. Economists claim that the theory of efficient breach allows us to predict when parties will choose to breach a contract if the legal remedy for breach is expectation damages. However, the economic assumption of rational wealth-maximizing actors fails to capture important, shared, nonmonetary values and incentives that shape behavior in predictable ways. When interpersonal obligations are informal or underspecified, people act in accordance with shared community norms, like the moral norm of keeping promises. However, when sanctions …

Rewarding Trespass & Other Enigmas: The Strange World Of Self-Exclusion & Casino Liability, Emir Aly Crowne-Mohammed, Meredith A. Harper

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

In this paper, the authors address many of the tortious and contractual issues associated with the liability of casinos to problem gamblers. The issues in tort are analyzed through the traditional elements of the action – duty of care, standard of care, proximity, and recognizable loss. Under contract law, the authors examine the problems associated with consideration and mental capacity when problem gamblers sign a contractual undertaking to be excluded from casinos and other gaming venues.

Many of the references cited in this work relate to the Province of Ontario because an earlier article (and report) on the issue of …

Safeguarding "The Precious": Counsel On Law Journal Publication Agreements In Digital Times, 28 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 217 (2010), Michael N. Widener

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Heaping scholarship fills the academic print and online press about where legal scholars should publish and how to have one’s paper accepted for publication. But there is scarce writing about the contractual relationship between the law journal and the author of an accepted paper. This may be due in part to broadly misconstrued or ignored publication agrees, or perhaps that the business relationship is unworthy of scholarly attention. Regardless, this paper introduces a pragmatist’s perspective on evaluating and revising publication agreements, and informs student editors how publication agreements accomplish a journal’s objectives, based on current copyright law. Finally, this paper …

The United States Guest Worker Program: The Need For Reform, Elizabeth Johnston

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Although often marginalized, guestworkers are an integral part of the United States economy. In 2006 alone, the U.S. government certified visas for 18,736 temporary workers. The program expanded in subsequent years and continues to grow each year. Despite its broad scope, huge impact on the labor force, and the extensive existing legislation regarding it, the guestworker program has permitted most employers of guestworkers to eschew the regulations or find loopholes, resulting in a system that is largely exploitative. Abuse of workers begins in their home countries, intensifies during the period of employment, and often continues even after employment terminates. Workers …

All Dogs Go To Heaven... Or Divorce Court: New Jersey Unleashes A Subjective Value Consideration To Resolve Pet Custody Litigation In Houseman V. Dare, Eric Kotloff

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.