Contracts Commons^™

Summary Of Kourafas V. Basic Food Flavors, Inc., 120 Nev. Adv. Op. 22, Hilary Barrett Muckleroy

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Appeal from a district court order dismissing appellant’s breach of contract claim and awarding attorney’s fees and costs to respondent.

Summary Of Nolm, Llc V. County Of Clark, Matt Wagner

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Clark County (“the County”) wanted to sell the remnants of two parcels of land after finishing constructing five lanes at the Desert Inn Arterial. The combined acreage of the two parcels totaled .49 acres. At a public auction, the County advertised the land under the former legal description, which described the property as being .92 acres. Neil Ohriner, the sole owner of Nolm, LLC, realized the legal property description was incorrect. He then bid on the parcels, winning them for $340,000.00. The Grant, Bargain, and Sale Deed delivered to escrow likewise incorrectly described the property as .92 acres. After escrow …

Summary Of Traffic Control Services V. United Rentals, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 19, Christopher Carson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Philip A. Burkhardt and his employer, Traffic Control Services (Traffic Control) appealed the issuance of a preliminary injunction enforcing a noncompetiton covenant in favor of United Rentals (United), the purchaser of the corporate assets of NES Trench Shoring (NES), Burkhardt’s former employer. The main issue on appeal was Burkhardt’s contention that the covenant not to compete he made with NES could not be assigned during a corporate sale absent some consideration. Burkhardt, Traffic Control, United, and NES all specialize in renting and selling trench shoring equipment to underground construction contractors in the greater Las Vegas area. During 1999 and 2000 …

Summary Of Zhang V. Eighth Judicial Dist. Ct., 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 104, Christopher Carson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

On February 1, 2004, Lanlin Zhang contracted to buy former realtor Frank Sorichetti’s Las Vegas home for $532,500. On February 3, 2004 Sorichetti told Zhang that he was terminating the sale “to stay in the home a little longer.” Sorichetti then stated that he would sell Zhang the home if she paid more money. Zhang agreed and another contract was drafted that same day reciting a sales price of $578,000. On February 16, 2004, Sorichetti notified Zhang that a murder had occurred in the home several years earlier, and that Zhang could cancel the sales contract if she desired. Subsequently, …

You Asked For It, You Got It . . . Toy Yoda: Practical Jokes, Prizes, And Contract Law, Keith A. Rowley

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

You Asked For It, You Got It … Toy Yoda: Practical Jokes, Prizes, And Contract Law, Keith A. Rowley

Scholarly Works

For what seemed to be a simple contract dispute, Berry v. Gulf Coast Wings Inc. garnered an unusual amount of attention in both the legal and popular press. Former Hooters waitress Jodee Berry sued her ex-employer for breaching its promise to award a new Toyota to the winner of an April 2001 sales contest. Berry alleged that her manager, Jared Blair, told the waitresses at the Hooters where she worked at the time that whoever sold the most beer at each participating location during April 2001 would be entered in a drawing, the winner of which would receive a new …

Anticipatory Repudiation Of Letters Of Credit, Keith A. Rowley

Scholarly Works

Letters of credit play a vital role in financing international transactions, and are becoming increasingly popular domestically as substitutes for more traditional secured financing. As such, they deserve substantially more scholarly attention than they receive outside of specialized treatises and banking trade publications. Moreover, as unilateral promises by issuers of the letters of credit to pay money to their beneficiaries, the fact that Article 5 of the Uniform Commercial Code and pre-UCC common law recognize the right of a beneficiary to sue for anticipatory repudiation is at odds with the prevailing rule in this country that a promisee cannot sue …

Summary Of Harris Assoc. V. Clark County Sch. Dist., Beth Rosenblum

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Appeal from a judgment by the Eighth Judicial District Court, State of Nevada, denying the appellant’s motion to compel arbitration.

Nevada's Employee Inventions Statute: Novel, Nonobvious, And Patently Wrong, Mary Lafrance

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Nevada's Failure To Secure Its Future: An Analysis Of The Omission Of U.C.C. § 9-318(A) And Its Effect On Asset Securitization, Cari Ehrlich Waters

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Tracing Principles In Revised Article 9 § 9-315(B)(2): A Matter Of Careless Drafting, Or An Invitation To Creative Lawyering?, William Stoddard

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Judicial Broken-Field Running Perl V. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., John F. Dobbyn

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Crisci V. Security Insurance Co.: The Dawn Of The Modern Era Of Insurance: Bad Faith And Emotional Distress Damages, Jeffrey E. Thomas

Nevada Law Journal

I have chosen Crisci v. Security Insurance Co. as "my favorite insurance case" for this symposium issue because it typifies the doctrine of "bad faith," one of the most interesting and important contributions of insurance law to the general body of law. It "typifies" the doctrine with its classic, if somewhat extreme, fact pattern, and with its reliance on the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing3 for the recognition of a cause of action that sounds in tort. Yet it also represents a potential for bad faith law that has not yet been fulfilled: the promise of …

Insurer Or Policyholder Control Of The Defense And The Duty To Fund Settlements, James M. Fischer

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Civil Liability And Remedies In Ohio Securities Transactions, Keith A. Rowley

Scholarly Works

The Ohio Securities Act (“OSA”) was enacted in 1913 to “guard [ ] investors against fraudulent enterprises, to prevent sales of securities based only on schemes purely speculative in character, and to protect the public from swindling peddlers of worthless stocks in mere paper corporations.” The OSA, which is administered by the Ohio Division of Securities (“Division”) and enforced by both the Division and private litigants, regulates the sale and purchase of securities in Ohio. The OSA and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to it by the Division are designed both to encourage compliance by those who might otherwise …

Beware Of The Dark Side Of The Farce, Keith A. Rowley

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Favorite Insurance Cases Symposium, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

Insurance law scholars and teachers sometimes feel, with a mixture of paranoia and justification, that insurance law simply does not receive its proper respect in the hierarchy of legal education and law generally.

Consider the law school curriculum. In none of America’s nearly 200 ABA-approved law schools in insurance law a required course. Nor is it considered a course that, although not required, prudent students “must” be sure to take before they graduate (e.g. Evidence, Corporations). Enrollments may be respectable but the class is seldom oversubscribed, even where the law school is located in an insurance hub city. Although other …

Timeless And Ahead Of Its Time: Lach's V. Fidelity & Casualty Of New York, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

The publication of Judge Keeton's important article “inventing” the reasonable expectations doctrine in 1971 is notable for infusing a good deal of intellectual energy into the study of insurance law, particularly judicial decisions about insurance coverage. Keeton's article, which deduced from cases the principle that courts tended to interpret policies to vindicate the objectively reasonable expectations of the insured, has rightly been viewed as a milestone. It clarified an area of law long seen as inconsistent or result-oriented. It spurred additional important scholarship in the area and elevated insurance caselaw from something of a backwater to at least a respectable …

The Insurance Aftermath Of September 11: Myriad Claims, Multiple Lines, Arguments Over Ocurrence Counting, War Risk Exclusions, The Future Of Terrorism Coverage, And New Issues Of Government Role, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

September 11, 2001, is an unforgettable date for many reasons. In addition to its political, social, and historical importance, it may mark a watershed of insurance history as well. The value of the insurance losses due to the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers is estimated to total at least $35 billion and perhaps $75 billion. In addition, most of the people killed by terrorism were covered by life insurance. Many business operations were affected, invoking possible business interruption coverage. The airplanes that became weapons of destruction carried passengers whose estates are likely to press claims against the …

A Tale Of Two Creditors Under The Desultory Lien Creditor And Future Advances Provisions Of Revised Article 9, Natalie Cox

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Doctors, Hmos, Erisa, And The Public Interest After Pegram V. Herdrich, Jeffrey W. Stempel, Nadia Von Magdenko

Scholarly Works

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 was enacted in the wake of highly publicized pension disasters in order to protect employee pension rights. Born as a piece of pro-worker legislation, it initially was criticized by business groups as a cause of bureaucratic arteriosclerosis that was worse than the disease of pension failures. Even worse, it prompted many employers to consider dispensing with pension plans altogether rather than struggle with the administrative and financial obligations of ERISA. Business, labor, and the public all complained about the law's complexity. It even became something of a national joke as regulators took …

An Inconsistently Sensitive Mind: Richard Posner's Celebration Of Insurance Law And Continuing Blind Spots Of Econominalism, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner is well known for bringing economic analysis to bear on a host of issues, including infamously controversial notions such the market for baby sale. Not surprisingly, Posner's insurance law opinions reflect economics, but perhaps not to the degree one would expect. A review of Posner's 20 years of opinions relating to insurance issues reviews his pragmatic jurisprudence as well. Decisions frequently reflect not only economics but also situational context and considerations of business reality as well as a sophisticated grasp of basic insurance doctrine and contract law. As a general matter, Posner also displays considerably …

Recent Case Developments, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

Recent case developments in Insurance Law in the years 2000 and 2001.

Recent Case Developments, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

Recent case developments in Insurance Law in the years 2000 and 2001.

A Brief History Of Anticipatory Repudiation In American Contract Law, Keith A. Rowley

Scholarly Works

This article traces the evolution of the doctrine of anticipatory repudiation from its foundations laid years before the landmark case of Hochster v. De la Tour, 118 Eng. Rep. 922 (Q.B. 1853), through Hochster, its growing acceptance by American courts in the late-1800s and early-1900s, its canonization in the first Restatement of Contracts (despite the Restatement's principal Reporter's personal objections to the doctrine), its codification in the Uniform Commercial Code, its standardization in the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, and its inclusion in the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. This article devotes considerable attention not only …

Recent Case Developments, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

Recent case developments in Insurance Law in the years 1999 and 2000.

Fighting Arbitration Clauses In Franchisor Contracts, Jean R. Sternlight

Scholarly Works

Purporting to serve justice, efficiency, and freedom of contract, business interests are increasingly attempting to use binding arbitration clauses to secure unfair advantages over unknowing parties. Courts seemingly have been eager to enforce arbitration clauses that appear in franchise agreements. This article discusses courts’ enforcement of arbitration clauses, undermining protections to the franchisee, and how franchisees can create a more level playing field.

Protecting Franchisees From Abusive Arbitration Clauses, Jean R. Sternlight

Scholarly Works

This article sets out a number of legal arguments that franchisees can potentially use to defeat arbitration clauses that seek to accomplish ends that would not be permissible in litigation. Drawing from decisions protecting consumers and employees from unfair arbitration clauses, as well as from opinions in the franchise context, this article analyzes arguments that can be based on the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, state statutes, and common law. By way of this analysis, it suggests that some courts are misapplying arbitration precedents and preemption arguments to support decisions that allow franchisors to effectively exempt themselves from legislation and even …

Recent Case Developments, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

Recent case developments in Insurance Law in the years 1999 and 2000.

Unreason In Action: A Case Study In The Wrong Approach To Construing The Liability Insurance Pollution Exclusion, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

For more than twenty-five years, a significant component of the scholarly commentary on insurance law has focused on the so-called “reasonable expectations doctrine” enunciated by then-Professor (now Judge) Robert Keeton in his justly celebrated 1970 article. The reasonable expectations principle made a seemingly sudden emergence with the appearance of Keeton's article and has held particular attraction to academics while simultaneously prompting resistance from elements of the bench and bar, and particularly from the insurance industry. The doctrine's life to date can be described as one of early growth followed by subsequent retreat and dilution, with continuing controversy.

However, despite the …