Law Commons^™

Tort Law—Tortious Interference With Business Expectancy – A Trap For The Wary And Unwary Alike, Larry Watkins

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

Despite remaining stable and unchanged over the last decade, tortious interference has also remained problematic in Arkansas. Although tortious interference with contract in Arkansas suffers from many ailments, this note focuses on interference with business expectancy, discussing interference with contract only as necessary. Specifically, the note argues that tortious interference in Arkansas should be formally separated into two distinct rules—interference with contract and interference with business expectancy—in order to keep courts from mixing terms and standards from both rules when addressing only one cause of action. This note further proposes that the improper element of tortious interference in Arkansas should …

Bareboat Charters: Can A Shipowner Limit Liability To Third Parties? Answers For Owners Attempting To Navigate The Unsettled Waters In The Eleventh Circuit, John W. Chitty

Georgia State University Law Review

A bareboat charter is a contractual agreement akin to the lease of a vessel whereby most of the “customary liabilities” of the owner are shifted to the charterer. Some courts have raised concerns over bareboat charters—also referred to as a demise charter—regarding the ability of owners to use the bareboat device as a means to limit liability to injured third parties.

In Baker v. Raymond International, Inc. the Fifth Circuit brought force to this concern; the court held a bareboat charter would no longer shield owners from personal liability for third party injuries caused by the unseaworthiness of a vessel, …

"Expanded" Judicial Review Revisited: Kyocera Overturns Lapine, Eric Van Ginkel

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Just when you thought you could validly add a clause to your client's arbitration agreement providing that the losing party may take an appeal from the award to the district court having jurisdiction over the parties, think again. What was the law of the Ninth Circuit since December 1997, when a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided LaPine Technology Corporation v. Kyocera Corporation ("LaPine I"), has just been reversed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc. In its decision, on a rehearing of what the court refers to as " …

The Limits Of Limiting Liability In The Battle Of The Forms: U.C.C. Section 2-207 And The "Material Alteration" Inquiry, Colin P. Marks

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Third Party Non-Signatory's Ability To Compel International Commercial Arbitration: Doing Justice Without Destroying Consent , James M. Hosking

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article analyzes the legal theories and other mechanisms employed in international commercial arbitration to achieve a workable compromise among the above-cited propositions. In so doing it touches on larger, more complex questions like the position of third parties in contract law, the jurisdictional foundations of arbitration, and the role of choice-of-law issues in determining the validity of the arbitration agreement. However important these broader concerns may be, they should not undermine the importance of the issue in its own right.

Keeping Faith: The United States Military Enlistment Contract And The Implementation Of Stop-Loss Measures, Hannah Dyer

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Compulsory Pre-Dispute Arbitration Clauses In The Employment Context After Eeoc V. Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps , Maria Wusinich

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

In EEOC v. Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, decided in 2003, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals aligned its view with its sister circuits and with the Supreme Court regarding the enforceability of arbitration agreements in employment discrimination cases. The court held that an employee's agreement to arbitrate a claim arising under federal anti-discrimination law is enforceable. At first glance, it would appear that as far as the judicial branch is concerned, the longstanding issue of the validity of mandatory arbitration agreements in the employment context is now settled. This article, in contrast, posits that the courts will be …

Looking Into A Crystal Ball: Courts' Inevitable Refusal To Enforce Parties' Contracts To Expand Judicial Review Of Non-Domestic Arbitral Awards, Eric Chafetz

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article will first discuss the legislative history of the NY Convention in general and the history of its vacatur provisions in particular. Second, it will summarize certain federal court decisions that address the Expansion Issues and reach the Consensus. Third, it will argue that the Expansion Issues were resolved incorrectly, because the courts addressing them do not recognize how the operative/material language in section 207 of Ch. 2 of the FAA and section 9 of Ch. 129 of the FAA has a virtually identical meaning, and therefore should have been construed and applied in the same manner. Fourth, this …

Unwrapping Shrinkwraps, Clickwraps, And Browsewraps: How The Law Went Wrong From Horse Traders To The Law Of The Horse, Cheryl B. Preston, Eli W. Mccann

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

This Article starts with the famous "horse trades" (typically between A and B and for 10£) from early discussions of contract law, and proceeds through Judge Burrough's enduring "unruly horse" and Karl Llewellyn's Across Sales on Horseback and The First Struggle to Unhorse Wares, to provide background for a critique of the recent judicial liberality in enforcing online contracts. We then focus on role of Judge Frank Easterbrook, who has personally insulted the place of the horse in law, and his infamous opinion in ProCD v. Zeidenberg. This case fueled the enforcement of clickwrap and browsewrap contracts by decaying assent …

This Much I Know Is True: The Five Intangible Influences On Collective Bargaining, Nicholas Digiovanni

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

Studies of collective bargaining have often centered on technique, style and the economic data that each side can use in bargaining a labor contract. Often overlooked, however, are the more subtle factors that influence the outcome of a round of bargaining. This article will reflect upon five of those intangible influences, namely, 1) the role of history; 2) the setting of expectations; 3) the nature and character of the people in the process; 4) the aspects of timing in negotiations and 5) the element of catharsis. The author has noted these five factors in his long career at the bargaining …

A Fighting Chance: The Proposed Servicemembers Access To Justice Act & Its Potential Effects On Binding Arbitration Agreements, Sean M. Hardy

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

In August 2008 a bill was introduced in the United States Senate that clearly states Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights of 1994 (USERRA) claims supersede any preexisting arbitration clauses in employment agreements. This bill, known as the Servicemembers Access to Justice Act (SAJA), would restore full access to the federal court system for USERRA plaintiffs. This paper examines the SAJA and its potential effects on the USERRA. It begins with a survey of the history behind the passage of the USERRA, as well as the FAA. Next, it describes the two federal circuit court decisions that have led to …

Economical Litigation Agreements: The "Civil Litigation Prenup" Need, Basis, And Enforceability , Daniel B. Winslow, Alexandra Bedell-Healy

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article identifies the basis and limits of the parties' abilities to define and enforce discovery in an ex ante contract. Despite the deficiencies of litigation, the free, public dispute resolution forum of the civil justice system provides significant value in commercial disputes. That value can be used to maximum mutual advantage only if parties replace the infinite discovery permitted in conventional litigation with the finite discovery contracted in Economical Litigation Agreement (ELA) litigation. This article will help parties to understand the benefit and enforceability of the ELA.

Getting To Yes In Specialized Courts: The Unique Role Of Adr In Business Court Cases, Bejamin F. Tennille, Lee Applebaum, Anne Tucker Nees

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The assumed compatibility between ADR and specialized courts is largely unexamined. Without being able to statistically validate the motivations and preferences of individual disputants in a manner to draw generalized conclusions, this article examines the relationship between ADR and specialized business courts by looking at how the two are structurally intertwined through existing procedural rules and implementation practices. Part I of this article describes the foundational structures and concepts behind both ADR and specialized business courts, as well as the similarities and differences between them. Part II explores the existing formal structural relationship between ADR and specialized courts by examining …

An Unnecessary Consternation: An Analysis Of The Future Of Eu Arbitration In The Wake Of The West Tankers Decision, Mark G. Materna

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article proposes that, despite the West Tankers decision, parties are still not free to breach the terms of an arbitration agreement. On the contrary, there has been a strong trend by English courts to find ways of preventing parties from breaching such agreements. In short, this article serves to quell the panic and elucidate that the West Tankers decision is not a nail in the coffin, but rather a mechanism to reiterate European courts' dedication to ensuring that arbitration provisions remain a potent force against economic infidelity. Part II of this article will provide a brief background of anti-suit …

Arbitration Hurdles Facing Foreign Investors In Russia: Analysis Of Present Issues And Implications, Elliot Glusker

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Russia has come a long way since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but there are still some structural reforms that need to take place in order to increase investor confidence. In 2007, one hundred billion dollars was invested in Russia from overseas, which represents a record for a developing market economy. However, direct foreign investment in Russia is still low compared to other European nations. Foreign investment is one of Russia's main strategies for improving the long-term health of the economy. There is a lot of promise for future economic growth, but some recent actions by the …

Waiving Rights Goodbye: Class Action Waivers In Arbitration Agreements After Stolt-Nielsen V. Animalfeeds International , Diana M. Link, Richard A. Bales

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article first argues that to determine the enforceability of a class action waiver, courts should take a "totality of the circumstances" approach rather than adopting a bright-line rule. A set of defined factors that also allows courts to consider real-world issues facing litigants will provide a substantial framework for courts to interpret this area of the law and will lead to more consistent and well-reasoned outcomes in the future. These factors include: the probable size of each class member's individual recovery, the potential for retaliation against class members, the awareness of potential class members that their rights have been …

The Assault Of Jamie Leigh Jones: How One Woman's Horror Story Is Changing Arbitration In America, Jeffrey Adams

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This article examines Jones v. Halliburton Co., the "Al Franken Amendment" to the 2010 U.S. Defense Department Budget (Franken Amendment) that was created in response to Jones, and the impact that both could have on mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts in the future. Part II recounts the troubling events that led to Jones and the inclusion of the Franken Amendment in the 2010 Defense Department Budget. Part III details the arguments made for and against the inclusion of the Franken Amendment. Part IV analyzes the impact that the Franken Amendment could have on mandatory arbitration clauses in contacts in …

The Implied Covenant Of Good Faith In Contract Interpretation And Gap-Filling: Reviling A Revered Relic, Harold Dubroff

St. John's Law Review

No abstract provided.

Explaining Adversarial Boilerplate Language In The Battle Of The Forms: Are Consequential Damages In The U.C.C. Gap Fillers A Penalty Default Rule?, Ryan Griffee

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

In this article, game theory is applied to the battle of the forms and related scenarios to explain Daniel Keating’s observations, reported in the article “Exploring the Battle of the Forms in Action,” 98 MICH. L. REV. 2678 (2000). The first of the two major findings in this article is that there is a game-theoretic reason drafters of boilerplate language should use adversarial, U.C.C. § 2-207(1) proviso-conforming language, namely, to ensure that clients receive terms that are no worse than the default U.C.C. gap fillers. The second major finding is that there is a penalty default rule in contract law. …

Manifest' Destiny: The Fate Of The 'Manifest Disregard Of The Law' Doctrine After Hall Street V. Mattel, Karly A. Kauf

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

The Federal Arbitration Act was enacted in 1925 in reaction to widespread judicial resistance to arbitration. While it is difficult to imagine that the drafters of this legislation could have envisioned how prominent arbitration would become in the United States, it is clear that their intention was to ensure that contracts to arbitrate would be enforced and that the intent of the parties would be maintained. In the more than eighty years since the passage of the Act, courts have repeatedly been called on to interpret the Act in order to determine its effect on real world situations. Recently, the …

It's Time For A Good Hard Look In The Mirror: The Corporate Law Example, John A. Barrett, Jr.

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This Article asserts that the move from the industrial age to the

information age represents a fundamental change to our society on

such a widespread basis that the legal order must reexamine the

premises about how our society functions, assessing whether

foundational elements of U.S. Common Law remain valid. This

Article first confronts briefly the continuing acceptance of certain

foundational premises in contract and intellectual property law,

illustrating that such premises are no longer supported by the

realities of modern society. With fundamental change challenging

multiple areas of law in the information age, this problem is worthy

of widespread inquiry …

Balancing The Scales: Reforming Georgia's Common Law In Evaluating Restrictive Covenants Ancillary To Employment Contracts, Alan F. Pryor

Georgia Law Review

Crafting effective and enforceable restrictive covenants
ancillary to employment contracts has befuddled and
vexed attorneys, courts, and businesses in Georgia for
decades. Tracing its development through more than four
hundred years of judicial decisions, Georgia's common law
has grown increasingly contradictory, confusing, and
convoluted. Until the passage of the Restrictive Covenant
Act, Georgia judges grew increasingly hostile to restrictive
covenants; however, they failed to maintain a coherent set
of guidelines for evaluating such covenants. The
Restrictive Covenant Act marks a turning point in Georgia
employment law, and this Note provides a defense of the
Act.
The Restrictive Covenant Act is …

Liberty Over Death: Seeking Due Process Dimensions For Freedom Of Contract, Michael Pillow

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Ball Is In Congress's Court: Contract Support Costs Following Ramah, James J. Linhardt

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Dog That Didn't Bark: Private Investment Funds And Relational Contracts In The Wake Of The Great Recession, Robert C. Illig

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

In the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis, the contract rights of numerous hedge funds and venture capital funds were breached. These contracts were complex and sophisticated and had been negotiated at great time and expense. Yet despite all of the assumptions of neo-classical contracts theory, nothing happened. Practically none of these injured parties sued to enforce their rights. Professor Illig uses this dearth of litigation to conduct a form of natural experiment as to the value of contract law. Discrete market participants contracted before the crash and then pursued their rights in court afterwards, while relational market participants contracted …

Using Contract Terms To Get Ahead Of Prospective Ediscovery Costs And Burdens In Commercial Litigation, Jay Brudz, Jonathan M. Redgrave

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

During the course of the twentieth century, American and international businesses reacted to the increasing costs and uncertainties of the American civil legal system by trying to create certainty through contractual provisions wherever possible. In particular, businesses developed contractual provisions that set forth procedural boundaries to potential disputes for the purpose of providing greater certainty as to where the dispute would be heard, who would hear it, and what laws would apply. For example, choice of venue and choice of law provisions became commonplace. In addition, clauses dictating the use of alternative dispute resolution procedures were also widely adopted. Substantively, …

A Brave New World: Credit Default Swaps And Voluntary Debt Exchanges, 45 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1227 (2012), Mark Swantek

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Do-Not-Track" As Contract, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Support for enforcement of a do-not-track option in browsers has been gathering steam. Such an option presents a simple method for consumers to protect their privacy. The problem is how to enforce this choice. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could enforce a do-not-track option in a consumer browser under its section 5 powers. The FTC, however, currently appears to lack the political will to do so. Moreover, the FTC cannot follow the model of its successful do-not-call list since the majority of Internet service providers (ISPs) assign Internet addresses dynamically--telephone numbers do not change, whereas Internet protocol (IP) addresses may …

Private Transfer Fees: Developer Exploitation Or Legitimate Financing Vehicle, Burke T. Ward, Jamie P. Hopkins

Villanova Law Review

A private transfer fee (PTF) is typically created when a developer or homeowner decides to attach a covenant to the title of the home. This covenant, the PTF covenant, attaches the PTF to the real property. These covenants require payment of a fee—typically stated as one percent of the property's sale price—upon each resale or transfer of the property and often survive for a period of ninety-nine years. The recipients or owners of the PTF (PTF beneficiaries) can be almost anyone, including property developers, PTF developers, home owner associations (HOA), private investors, state governments, and non-profit charities. Usually, the PTF …

The Effect Of Franchisor Bankruptcy On Executory Supply Contracts: Does The Franchisee Have A Remedy?, Matthew J. Burne

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.