Law Commons^™

But We Didn’T Agree To That!: Why Class Proceedings Should Not Be Implied From Silent Or Ambiguous Arbitration Clauses After Lamps Plus, Inc. V. Varela, Andrea Demelo Laprade

Catholic University Law Review

The application of class arbitrability when a contract is silent on the matter remains a mystery. The Supreme Court has not clarified its stance on class arbitrability and preemptive effects of the Federal Arbitration Act on state law when applied to determine if class arbitrability is available. The purpose of this Paper is to address how the Lamps Plus v. Varela decision created more confusion about the question of class arbitrability. It argues that the failure to address the particulars of the availability of class arbitration will perpetuate litigation on this issue. This Paper suggests that the FAA’s purpose supports …

Alex Lyon & Son, Sales Managers & Auctioneers V. Leach: Auction Contracts, Bidder Qualifications, Offer And Acceptance, Waiver, And The Fallacy Of Treating All Bidders The Same, George A. Michak

West Virginia Law Review Online

In Alex Lyon & Son, Sales Managers & Auctioneers v. Leach, 844 S.E.2d 120 (W. Va. 2020), the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia grappled with the contractual relationships among participants in an auction transaction and rendered an opinion that (i) misstates and misaligns the rights and obligations among auctioneers, sellers, bidders, and buyers, (ii) impedes the ability of an auctioneer to reasonably control the conduct of an auction, and (iii) threatens to artificially circumscribe the prerogative of sellers and auctioneers to assume greater risks relative to certain bidders in an effort to expand the bidder pool in …

Enforcing Outbound Forum Selection Clauses In State Court, John Coyle, Katherine Robinson

Indiana Law Journal

Forum selection clauses are a staple of modern business law. Parties agree, ex ante, on where they can sue one another and then rely on the courts to enforce these agreements. Although the number of contracts containing forum selection clauses has skyrocketed in recent years, there is a dearth of empirical information about enforcement practice at the state level. Are there any states that refuse to enforce them? How frequently are they enforced? Under what circumstances, if any, will these clauses be deemed unenforceable? The existing literature provides few answers to these questions.

This Article aims to fill that gap. …

Cartoon Contracts And The Proactive Visualization Of Law, Michael D. Murray

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Contracts have always relied on text first, foremost, and usually exclusively. Yet, this approach leaves many users of contracts in the dark as to the actual meaning of the transactional documents and instruments they enter into. The average contract routinely uses language that only lawyers, law-trained readers, and highly literate persons can truly understand. There is a movement in the law in the United States and many other nations called the visualization of law movement that attempts to bridge these gaps in contractual communication by using highly visual instruments. In appropriate circumstances, even cartoons and comic book forms of sequential …

Independent Craft Breweries Struggle Under Distribution Laws That Create A Power Imbalance In Favor Of Wholesalers, Daniel Croxall

William & Mary Business Law Review

Independent craft breweries are facing historic challenges under the COVID-19 pandemic. To make matters worse, many states prohibit a brewery from terminating a distribution contract with a wholesaler absent statutorily defined “good cause,” which typically means fraud, bankruptcy, or other illegal conduct. In this context, lagging sales or poor distribution performance are not grounds for a brewery to terminate a distribution contract. This means that it is nearly impossible, legally or financially, for an independent craft brewery to terminate a distribution contract with an unsatisfactory wholesaler. In essence, states have statutorily tipped the balance of power in favor of distributors …

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.