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Full-Text Articles in Contracts

Demand Promissory Notes And Commercial Loans: Balancing Freedom Of Contract & Good Faith, George A. Nation Iii Nov 2014

Demand Promissory Notes And Commercial Loans: Balancing Freedom Of Contract & Good Faith, George A. Nation Iii

George A Nation III

Promissory notes are ubiquitous in commercial lending. The promissory note represents the borrowers promise to repay and is governed by the Uniform Commercial Code’s Article 3. Under Article 3, promissory notes are either demand instruments or time instruments. In general, the holder of a demand instrument may decide to demand payment at any time and for any reason, while the holder of a time note must wait for payment until the arrival of the specific repayment date or dates included in the note. For this reason, time notes usually contain an acceleration clause. An acceleration clause allows the holder to …


Theories And Practices Of Islamic Finance And Exchange Laws: Poverty Of Interest, Ahmed E. Souaiaia Oct 2014

Theories And Practices Of Islamic Finance And Exchange Laws: Poverty Of Interest, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

While Islamic scriptures clearly prohibit profiting from the poor, supposedly sharī'ah-compliant Islamic financial and exchange laws circumvent prohibitions and limitations on ribā, monopolism, debt, and risk while failing to address the fundamental purpose behind the prohibitions—mitigating poverty. This work provides a historical survey of the principles that shape Islamic finance and exchange laws, reviews classical and modern interpretations and practices in the banking and exchange sectors, and suggests a normative model rooted in the interpretation of Islamic sources of law reconstructed from paradigmatic cases. Financial systems that overlook the nexus between poverty and usury harm both the economy and poor …


Reconstructing Iraq: An Analysis Of, And Proposed Solutions To, The Financing Challenges Facing Iraqi Small And Mid-Sized Businesses, Timothy B. Mills Sep 2014

Reconstructing Iraq: An Analysis Of, And Proposed Solutions To, The Financing Challenges Facing Iraqi Small And Mid-Sized Businesses, Timothy B. Mills

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


Remembering The Bay Of Pigs: Using Letters Of Credit To Facilitate The Resolution Of International Disputes, Gerald T. Mclaughlin Sep 2014

Remembering The Bay Of Pigs: Using Letters Of Credit To Facilitate The Resolution Of International Disputes, Gerald T. Mclaughlin

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.


Mutui Bancari, Ammortamento Alla Francese E Nullità Delle Clausole Sugli Interessi Per Indeterminatezza, Valerio Sangiovanni Sep 2014

Mutui Bancari, Ammortamento Alla Francese E Nullità Delle Clausole Sugli Interessi Per Indeterminatezza, Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.


Limits Of Disclosure, Steven M. Davidoff, Claire A. Hill Jul 2014

Limits Of Disclosure, Steven M. Davidoff, Claire A. Hill

Steven Davidoff Solomon

One big focus of attention, criticism, and proposals for reform in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis has been securities disclosure. Many commentators have emphasized the complexity of the securities being sold, arguing that no one could understand the disclosure. Some observers have noted that disclosures were sometimes false or incomplete. What follows these issues, to some commentators, is that, whatever other lessons we may learn from the crisis, we need to improve disclosure. How should it be improved? Commentators often lament the frailties of human understanding, notably including those of everyday retail investors—people who do not understand or …


Summary Of Lavi V. Eighth Judicial District Court, 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 38, Danielle Barraza May 2014

Summary Of Lavi V. Eighth Judicial District Court, 130 Nev. Adv. Op. 38, Danielle Barraza

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined whether waiver of the “one-action rule” of NRS 40.430 terminates the procedural requirements for bringing a deficiency judgment action within six months of foreclosure under NRS 40.455.


Common Capital: A Thought Experiment In Cross-Border Resolution, Anna Gelpern May 2014

Common Capital: A Thought Experiment In Cross-Border Resolution, Anna Gelpern

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Cross-border bank resolution efforts focus on burden-sharing between bank owners, private creditors and the public. There is little talk of burden-sharing among governments, despite the rich history of governments trying to stick one another with the cost of financial conglomerate failures. There is an unspoken fear that acknowledging the need to allocate losses among governments would undermine post-crisis pledges of No More Bailouts. This symposium essay argues for making government stakes in private financial firms more transparent, and for using the contingent public share as a key to loss allocation among governments in cross-border banking crises.


Questioni Giuridiche Connesse All'emissione E All'uso Delle Carte Di Credito Revolving, Valerio Sangiovanni May 2014

Questioni Giuridiche Connesse All'emissione E All'uso Delle Carte Di Credito Revolving, Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.


Debt-Buyer Lawsuits And Inaccurate Data, Peter A. Holland Apr 2014

Debt-Buyer Lawsuits And Inaccurate Data, Peter A. Holland

Faculty Scholarship

Pursuant to secret purchase and sale agreements (also known as forward flow agreements), the accounts that banks sell to debt buyers are often sold “as is,” with explicit and emphatic disclaimers that the debts may not be owed, the amounts claimed may not be accurate, and documentation may be missing. Despite their full knowledge that the accuracy and completeness of the data has been specifically disclaimed by the bank, when they sue consumers, debt buyers tell courts that the information obtained from the bank is inherently reliable and accurate. In order to avoid a fraud on the courts, the contents …


Debt-Buyer Lawsuits And Inaccurate Data, Peter A. Holland Mar 2014

Debt-Buyer Lawsuits And Inaccurate Data, Peter A. Holland

Peter A. Holland

Pursuant to secret purchase and sale agreements (also known as forward flow agreements), the accounts that banks sell to debt buyers are often sold “as is,” with explicit and emphatic disclaimers that the debts may not be owed, the amounts claimed may not be accurate, and documentation may be missing. Despite their full knowledge that the accuracy and completeness of the data has been specifically disclaimed by the bank, when they sue consumers, debt buyers tell courts that the information obtained from the bank is inherently reliable and accurate. In order to avoid a fraud on the courts, the contents …


Contrastanti Orientamenti Nel Difficile Accertamento Della Natura Di Operatore Qualificato Nelle Operazioni Di Swap, Valerio Sangiovanni Mar 2014

Contrastanti Orientamenti Nel Difficile Accertamento Della Natura Di Operatore Qualificato Nelle Operazioni Di Swap, Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.


Prestazione Di Servizi Di Investimento, Valerio Sangiovanni Jan 2014

Prestazione Di Servizi Di Investimento, Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.


Boilerplate Shock, Gregory Shill Jan 2014

Boilerplate Shock, Gregory Shill

Gregory Shill

No nation was spared in the recent global downturn, but several countries in the Eurozone arguably took the hardest punch, and they are still down. Doubts about the solvency of Greece, Spain, and a number of their neighbors are increasing the likelihood of a breakup of the common European currency. Observers believe a single departure and sovereign debt default might set off a “bank run” on the euro, with devastating regional and global consequences.

What mechanisms are available to address—or ideally, to prevent—such a disaster?

One unlikely candidate is boilerplate language in the contracts that govern Eurozone sovereign bonds. As …


A People’S History Of Collective Action Clauses, Mark C. Weidemaier, Mitu Gulati Jan 2014

A People’S History Of Collective Action Clauses, Mark C. Weidemaier, Mitu Gulati

Faculty Scholarship

For two decades, collective action clauses (CACs) have been part of the official-sector response to sovereign debt crisis, justified by claims that these clauses can help prevent bailouts and shift the burden of restructuring onto the private sector. Reform efforts in the 1990s and 2000s focused on CACs. So do efforts in the Eurozone today. CACs have even been suggested as the cure for the US municipal bond market. But bonds without CACs are still issued in major markets, so reformers feel obliged to explain why they know better. Over time, a narrative has emerged to justify pro-CAC reforms. It …


Lawyers: Gatekeepers Of The Sovereign Debt Market?, Michael Bradley, Irving De Lira Salvatierra, Mitu Gulati Jan 2014

Lawyers: Gatekeepers Of The Sovereign Debt Market?, Michael Bradley, Irving De Lira Salvatierra, Mitu Gulati

Faculty Scholarship

The claim that lawyers act as gatekeepers or certifiers in financial transactions is widely discussed in the legal literature. There has, however, been little empirical examination of the claim. We test the hypothesis that law firms have replaced investment banks as the gatekeepers of the market for sovereign debt. Our results suggest that hiring outside law firms sends a negative signal to the market regarding the pending issuance; a finding that is inconsistent with the thesis that outside law firms primarily play a certification role in the sovereign debt market.


Bankers And Chancellors, William W. Bratton, Michael L. Wachter Jan 2014

Bankers And Chancellors, William W. Bratton, Michael L. Wachter

All Faculty Scholarship

The Delaware Chancery Court recently squared off against the investment banking world with a series of rulings that tie Revlon violations to banker conflicts of interest. Critics charge the Court with slamming down fiduciary principles of self-abnegation in a business context where they have no place or, contrariwise, letting culpable banks off the hook with ineffectual slaps on the wrist. This Article addresses this controversy, offering a sustained look at the banker-client advisory relationship. We pose a clear answer to the questions raised: although this is nominally fiduciary territory, both banker-client relationships and the Chancery Court’s recent interventions are contractually …


Santa Anna And His Black Eagle: The Origins Of Pari Passu?, Benjamin Chabot, Mitu Gulati Jan 2014

Santa Anna And His Black Eagle: The Origins Of Pari Passu?, Benjamin Chabot, Mitu Gulati

Faculty Scholarship

One of the most debated issues in international finance is the meaning of the pari passu clause in sovereign bonds. The clause is ubiquitous; it is in almost every single foreign-law sovereign bond out there. Yet, almost no one seems to agree on its meaning. One way to cut the Gordian knot is to track down the origins of the clause. Modern lawyers may have simply copied the clause from the documents of their predecessors without understanding its meaning. But surely the people who first drafted the clause knew what it meant. Four enterprising students at Duke Law School may …


Indiana Jones, Contracts Originalist, W. Mark C. Weidemaier Dec 2013

Indiana Jones, Contracts Originalist, W. Mark C. Weidemaier

W. Mark C. Weidemaier

The process of drafting a contract can be routine, almost automated. Over a long enough time, lawyers may stop paying attention to contract language or even forget why it is there. The problem is acute with standard-form contracts and perhaps especially so with financial contracts such as sovereign bonds. How should courts interpret contract language when neither the parties, nor their lawyers, nor any other relevant player in the market can credibly explain what it does? This essay addresses this question in the context of one of the most contested interpretive questions in modern international finance: the meaning of the …


Gambling On Our Financial Future: How The Federal Government Fiddles While State Common Law Is A Safer Bet To Prevent Another Financial Collapse, Brian M. Mccall Dec 2013

Gambling On Our Financial Future: How The Federal Government Fiddles While State Common Law Is A Safer Bet To Prevent Another Financial Collapse, Brian M. Mccall

Brian M McCall

Many politicians and commentators agree that credit default swaps (CDS) played a significant role in the financial crisis of 2008. Yet, few who observe this role are aware that CDS were set loose on the economy by the federal pre-emption of thousands of years of public policy. Since the time of Aristotle law, philosophy and public policy have been hostile to gambling. Viewed as a socially unproductive zero sum wealth transfer, the law has generally refused to permit parties to use the courts to enforce wagers. Courts and legislatures worked in harmony to control and in some cases punish financial …