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Interpreting Contracts In A Regulatory State, Aditi Bagchi Jan 2020

Interpreting Contracts In A Regulatory State, Aditi Bagchi

Faculty Scholarship

Some scholars would limit courts to the text of written agreements when interpreting contracts on the theory that parties meant what they said, and said what they meant. Other scholars would have courts take into account the factual context surrounding contract formation. Both sides of this debate assume that contract interpretation is largely limited to reconstructing contracting parties’ intentions.

This assumption is mistaken. Since the overturning of Lochner v New York, contracting parties no longer have exclusive authority over contracts. State authority to regulate contract came at the expense of unbridled private authority. A more limited conception of contracting …

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Recalling The Lawyers: The Nhtsa, Gm, And The Chevrolet Cobalt, Bernard W. Bell Apr 2016

Recalling The Lawyers: The Nhtsa, Gm, And The Chevrolet Cobalt, Bernard W. Bell

Fordham Law Review

This Article summarizes product safety and vehicle safety law and recounts General Motors Company’s (GM) response to the Cobalt ignition switch defect, paying particular attention to the actions of GM’s in-house and outside counsel. This Article then considers the legality and prudence of a regulatory agency’s imposition of gatekeeping responsibilities on such counsel.

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The Laws Of Agency Lawyering, George M. Cohen Apr 2016

The Laws Of Agency Lawyering, George M. Cohen

Fordham Law Review

The great variety of agency rules governing lawyers raises interesting questions that are worth exploring. This Article begins that exploration. Part I lays the groundwork by briefly examining how the ABA Model Rules treat regulatory lawyering to raise the question of what regulatory gaps the agency rules might be expected to fill. Part II sets forth several possible theories of agency rule variation. Part III compares agency rules along a number of dimensions, examines some similarities and differences across agencies as well as between the agency rules and the Model Rules, and offers speculations about what may be driving the …

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The Odyssey Of Palazzolo: Public Rights Litigation And Coastal Change, Laura J. Hatcher, Ph.D. Jan 2009

The Odyssey Of Palazzolo: Public Rights Litigation And Coastal Change, Laura J. Hatcher, Ph.D.

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The question of whether the state has the right to “take” (in the form of regulation) land in its coastal zones is a much more complex question that the courts, to date, have not been able to manage adequately. The problems faced along the coasts are difficult problems, and will likely not be settled by asking judges to determine the “rightness” of claims made through an adversarial process that tends to oversimplify situations in the process of constructing winnable legal arguments. Nor can we rely simply on administrative agencies or legislatures to protect the rights of individuals or protect them …

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Securities Regulation In Low-Tier Listing Venues: The Rise Of The Alternative Investment Market, Jose M. Mendoza Jan 2008