Contracts Commons^™

Advancing A Surrogate-Focused Model Of Gestational Surrogacy Contracts, Catherine London

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the ethical, legal, and feminist implications of commercial surrogacy, arguing that the practice raises significant concerns about the commodification and exploitation of women and children. It critiques the current legal framework for its inconsistency and paternalistic approach, which often restricts women's reproductive freedom. The analysis advocates for a surrogate-focused contract model to address these issues, emphasizing the need to empower surrogates by granting them greater autonomy and bargaining power in surrogacy arrangements. This approach aims to balance the interests of all parties while minimizing the risk of exploitation.

"Reputations... A Lifetime To Build, Seconds To Destroy": Maximizing The Mutually Protective Value Of Morals Clauses In Talent Agreements, Sarah D. Katz

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note examines the effectiveness of morals clauses in contracts, emphasizing their value lies in the protection they offer to both talent and nontalent parties. However, their efficacy is contingent upon being tailored to the specific industry and parties involved. Generic clauses fail to account for these differences, leading to reduced predictability and, consequently, diminished value.

Outsourcing Incompetence: An Essay In Honor Of Paul Verkuil, Arthur J. Jacobson

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bar-On V. Knesset, Dorit Beinisch, Elyakim Rubinstein, Miriam Naor, Uzi Vogelman, Edna Arbel, Eliezer Rivlin, Asher Grunis

Translated Opinions

[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

Is it possible to circumvent a constitutional principle enshrined in a temporary provision set to remain in effect only for the duration of the current government’s administration term?

Background: on June 22, 2010 Basic Law: The State Budget (Special Provisions) (Temporary Provisions) (Amendment) (hereinafter: “Basic Law Temporary Provision” or “the Law”) was passed to set the budget for years 2011 and 2012, as a …

The Case Against Allowing Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (Mers) To Initiate Foreclosure Proceedings, Nolan Robinson

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Demise Of Class Actions Will Not Be Televised, Benjamin Sachs-Michaels

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

As evidenced by two recent Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution articles, class action waivers in arbitration clauses are currently a hot topic in the field of conflict resolution. With increasing frequency, arbitrators and courts are presented with class action waivers in compulsory arbitration agreements prohibiting the aggregation of claims. This Note argues that some courts have reversed course in their treatment of class action waivers contained in arbitration clauses. There is a new movement to find class waivers, and the arbitration clauses that harbor them, unenforceable. This Note further argues that while plaintiffs uniformly oppose class action waivers, defendants widely …

Salary Caps In Professional Sports: Closing The Kovalchuk Loophole In National Hockey League Player Contracts, Simon Bernstein

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Equitable Estoppel To Compel Arbitration In New York: A Doctrine To Prevent Inequity, Matthew Berg

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Arbitration, as a favored alternative to court systems, finds its validity in both state and federal law. The Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") was enacted in 1925 unopposed, reflecting a strong favored alternative by the federal government to the Article III courts. This presumption was established in Section 2 of the FAA, which provides that contracts that include an arbitration clause "shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable" unless a court finds "grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract [or clause]."

The Use Of The Intent Doctrine To Expand The Rights Of Intended Homosexual Male Parents In Surrogacy Custody Disputes, Perri Koll

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note advocates for the expansion of parental rights for homosexual male couples through surrogacy by promoting the intent doctrine and amending existing laws. It highlights the inconsistency in legal approaches across states and suggests that recognizing intended parenthood, regardless of sexual orientation, is essential for equality. The proposed solutions include adopting the intent doctrine nationwide and revising the Uniform Parentage Act to include same-sex couples.

Misclassifying The Insurance Policy: The Unforced Errors Of Unilateral Contract Characterization, Hazel Beh, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sheleg Lavan V. Ashkelon Municipality, Edmond E. Levy, Edna Arbel, Neal Hendel

Translated Opinions

Facts: The respondent, the Ashkelon municipal government, issued a tender for the provision of cleaning services. The tender documents set a minimum bid price in accordance with the exact amount of the wages for cleaning workers as determined in a government circular establishing a national standard for such wages. Respondent 2 submitted the lowest and ultimately winning bid. As part of the tender process, respondent 2 explained its ability to pay the minimum wage while also covering expenses and earning a profit by noting its expectations that a percentage of its workers at any given time would not have acquired …

Comparison And Analysis Of Korea And Japan Status Of Forces Agreements And Their Implications For Iraq's Sofa, Jiyoung Cha

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note examines the tension between protecting U.S. military personnel's rights and respecting host nations' sovereignty through Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs), focusing on cases from Korea, Japan, and Iraq. It argues that while SOFAs are designed to protect U.S. soldiers, they often infringe on host countries' sovereignty, leading to diplomatic tensions. The analysis highlights the imbalance in SOFAs, favoring the U.S. and undermining host nations' sovereignty, as perceived by citizens and governments. The author suggests that the U.S. needs to adjust its SOFA approach to avoid diplomatic tensions, recommending a more balanced jurisdictional framework.

Bargains Bicoastal: New Light On Contract Theory, Geoffrey P. Miller

Cardozo Law Review

Recent research has shown that large companies select New York law and New York courts to govern disputes under commercial contracts. Because these parties make choice-of-law and forum selection decisions before conflicts arise, there is reason to believe that their preference for New York reflects an effort to select efficient terms. This Article compares New York's contract law with that of its most natural competitor, California. It turns out that New York strictly enforces bargains and displays little tolerance for efforts to rewrite deals ex post. California, in contrast, more willingly reforms contracts for reasons of fairness, equity, morality, or …

Proving Fair Use: Burden Of Proof As Burden Of Speech, Ned Snow

Cardozo Law Review

Courts have created a burden of proof in copyright that chills protected speech. The doctrine of fair use purports to ensure that copyright law does not trample rights of speakers whose expression employs copyrighted material. Yet those speakers face a burden of proof that weighs heavily in the fair use analysis, where factual inquiries are often subjective and speculative. Failure to satisfy the burden means severe penalties, which prospect quickly chills the free exercise of speech that constitutes a fair use. The fair-use burden of proof is repugnant to the fair use purpose. Today, copyright holders are exploiting the burden …

The Fugitive In Flight: Law, Freedom, And Liberalism In A Classic Tv Show, Stanley Fish

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Inherent Tension Between Value Creation And Value Claiming During Bargaining Interactions, Charles B. Craver

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This article will discuss the inherent tension present in almost all legal and commercial negotiations between value creation and value claiming. How should interactants use integrative techniques to discover areas for potential joint gains, and how should they determine the actual value of the gains achieved? The article will then explore the way in which proficient negotiators employ distributive tactics to claim a greater share of the surplus for themselves. Before we examine those issues, however, we must consider different negotiator styles and the ways in which those styles influence value creation and value claiming.

Protecting Free Speech For Unequivocal Fair Users: Rethinking Our Interpretation Of The §512(F) Misrepresentation Clause, Jordan Koss

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Keep Arbitration Alive: Why The Fairness In Nursing Home Arbitration Act Should Not Be Passed, Margaret Baumer

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Like it or not, arbitration agreements are part of our lives. Most cell phone and credit card companies include arbitration agreements in their customer contracts. Furthermore, many consumer complaints regarding trades through the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) are resolved through arbitration. However, despite their pervasiveness, consumers generally remain ignorant of arbitration agreements until a dispute arises, whereupon they discover that they must submit to arbitration proceedings, rather than sue sellers. Often, arbitration carries with it the added disappointment of high fees and perceived arbitrator bias in favor of the business entity. The same is true of a nursing …

Blues Lives: Promise And Perils Of Musical Copyright, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Reverse-Morals Clause: The Unique Way To Save Talent's Reputation And Money In A New Era Of Corporate Crimes And Scandals, Porcher L. Taylor Iii, Fernando M. Pinguelo, Timothy D. Cedrone

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Grapes Of Wrathful Heirs: Terminations Of Transfers Of Copyright And "Agreements To The Contrary", Michael J. Bales

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Right Of Publicity Licensing In A New Age: No Doubt V. Activision Publishing, Inc., Marta Baffy

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Informed Choices And Uniform Decisions: Adopting The Aba's Self-Enforcing Administrative Model To Ensure Successful Surrogacy Arrangements, Christine Metteer Lorillard

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

Non-traditional families are on the rise in America today, with more and more same-sex couples raising families together. Yet, all same-sex partners seeking to become parents must make use of some assisted reproductive technique ("ART'), as must some heterosexual married couples. Despite the growing number of people who want to create families, including those that resort to ARTs to have genetically-related children, there are significant moral, economic, and legal obstacles in their way. What has long been needed is a codified roadmap for a successful surrogacy agreement that delineates the rights and obligations of the parties involved, as well as …

The Disordered And Discredited Plaintiff: Psychiatric Evidence In Civil Litigation, Deirdre M. Smith

Cardozo Law Review

This Article examines civil defendants' use of evidence of a plaintiff's alleged current or prior psychiatric diagnosis or treatment by analyzing and critiquing the three primary rationales offered in support of the relevancy of such evidence: (1) to suggest an alternative cause of the plaintiff's alleged psychological injuries; (2) to impeach the plaintiff's credibility by asserting that a mental illness interferes with the plaintiff's ability to recount or to perceive events accurately; and (3) to reveal certain propensities that inform how the plaintiff likely acted with respect to the events at issue in the litigation. While attaching a label of …

Terms Subject To Change: Assent And Unconscionability In Contracts That Contemplate Amendment, Daniel Watkins

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Market For Contracts, Geoffrey P. Miller, Theodore Eisenberg

Cardozo Law Review

Recent empirical work has established that New York supplies the law and forum in nearly half the material commercial contracts of public firms. In this respect New York plays a role for commercial contracts analogous to the role played by Delaware with respect to corporate charters. Is the revealed preference for New York law and forum merely the result of choices made by the contracting parties, or does New York actively compete for this business? This paper describes ways in which New York seeks to attract and retain corporate contracts in competition with other potential providers of law and forum. …

The Flight To New York: An Empirical Study Of Choice Of Law And Choice Of Forum Clauses In Publicly-Held Companies' Contracts, Theodore Eisenberg, Geoffrey P. Miller

Cardozo Law Review

We study choice of law and choice of forum in a data set of 2,882 contracts contained as exhibits in Form 8-K filings by reporting corporations over as six month period in 2002 for twelve types of contracts and a seven month period in 2002 for merger contracts. These material contracts likely are carefully negotiated by sophisticated parties who are well-informed about the contract terms. They therefore provide evidence of efficient ex ante solutions to contracting problems. In prior work examining merger contracts, acquiring firms incorporated in Delaware tended to select Delaware law or a Delaware forum to govern disputes …

Arguments In Favor Of The Triumph Of Arbitration, Thomas E. Carbonneau

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Organized discussions among legal scholars rarely instigate roiling controversies. Truth be told, it is generally deemed an achievement to maintain a wakeful state during these enclaves. The Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution Conference gauging the future of arbitration was exceptional in a number of respects. The topics and presentations were invigorating. Several practitioners, in particular, delivered outstanding papers. The sponsoring student journal demonstrated nimble managerial skills. No stone of accommodation or convenience was left unturned for the participants. I was also very impressed with the young academic lawyers who are active in the area of arbitration. Their contribution and commentary …

An Unnecessary Convenience: The Assertion Of The Uniform Code Of Military Justice ("Ucmj") Over Civilians And The Implications Of International Human Rights Law, Dan E. Stigall

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The expansion of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to include jurisdiction over civilians during contingency operations raises significant legal and human rights concerns, particularly regarding due process and equality under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). While the UCMJ aims to maintain military order, its application to civilians may not meet the ICCPR's requirements for necessity and fairness, potentially undermining the U.S.'s international reputation. However, proponents argue that military jurisdiction can sometimes advance human rights and accountability, suggesting a need for balanced solutions.

Class Action Arbitration, William H. Baker

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Class action arbitrations are a relatively recent phenomenon in the United States, but the number of such arbitrations is expanding at a rapid rate. As of August 2008, the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") has administered 246 class action arbitrations and Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. ("JAMS"), another major U.S. arbitral institution, has also administered a substantial number of class arbitrations.