Contracts Commons^™

Beyond #Metoo: Addressing Workplace Sexual Misconduct Cases And The Targeted Use Of Non-Disclosure Agreements, Taylor Percival, Lane Gibbons

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Recent allegations against prominent figures have brought the targeted use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in sexual misconduct cases to public knowledge. NDAs have historically been used in a variety of ways in such cases, but situations of coercion and uneven power dynamics often leave victims with no real choice, and they end up losing their right to speak publicly about their experiences. This paper discusses the history of NDAs in sexual misconduct cases, explores when and why their enforcement is unlawful, and proposes the adoption of federal legislation like the BE HEARD Act to limit the inappropriate use of NDAs.

Two Visions Of Contract, Hanoch Dagan

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Justice in Transactions: A Theory of Contract Law. by Peter Benson.

Contractual Protections Against The Resource Nationalism Cycle In Zambia, Sangwani Patrick Ng'ambi

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in resource rich nations is typically fostered through concession or development agreements, which enable investors to explore and exploit the host State's natural resources. Under these agreements various incentives are offered to the investor by the host State, so as to attract their capital. However, once the investment is sunk, the investor becomes susceptible to the resource nationalism cycle. Investors are particularly vulnerable when the natural resource experiences a sustained upward trend. In such instances, the host State seeks to maximize the benefits accruingfrom the natural resource. This can either be accomplished through reversing the tax …

The Mdl Revolution And Consumer Legal Funding, Ronen Avraham, Lynn A. Baker, Anthony J. Sebok

Articles

Third-party consumer legal funding, where financial companies advance money on a nonrecourse basis to assist individual plaintiffs with living expenses, is an increasingly popular and controversial part of American litigation. And consumers with mass tort claims pending in Multi-District Litigations (MDLs) constitute the fastest growing sector of those seeking assistance from this billion-dollar funding industry. Policy makers, mass tort plaintiffs' lawyers, and scholars have increasingly raised concerns about exorbitant interest rates and have called for regulations to protect vulnerable consumers from “predatory lending.” To date, however, the policy debate has largely relied on anecdotes and speculation because flinders have not …

Improve Recitals And Consideration Clauses With Plain Language, David Spratt

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

As used in a "WHEREAS" clause, the term "whereas" simply means "considering that" or "that being the case." There is no legal effect to the word "whereas." It, like many other words used in standard contract boilerplate, is left over from some long-forgotten era of legal writing when lawyers used big words and legalese to impress clients with their intelligence and to justify their bills. These times have (or at least should have) passed. Today, documents must be accessible to those who use them: in most cases the clients for whom such documents are drafted.

Adapting Indian Copyright: Bollywood, Indian Cultural Adaptation, And The Path To Economic Development, Michael Goodyear

Articles & Chapters

Bollywood and the Indian film industry have enjoyed enormous success as one of the largest producers of movies in the world. Yet despite the bright image of Indian cinema producing over a thousand movies a year and selling billions of tickets, the industry has faced controversy over the practice of copying expression, sometimes practically scene for scene, in U.S. and other films and adapting them into a version that reflects Indian social and cinematic customs and mores (“Indian cultural adaptation”). A long-standing practice, Indian cultural adaptation in Bollywood has only attracted the attention of Hollywood studios in the past twenty …

Understanding Post-Employment Obligations Of Confidence And Confidentiality In Compilations Of Data, Cheng Lim Saw, Zheng Wen Samuel Chan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article closely examinesn two specific areas in the law of confidence. The first concerns erstwhile employer-employee relationships and the various obligations of confidentiality that may bind an employee-including individuals who find themselves in positions analogous to employees-after the contract of employment has come to an end.

A Strange Land And A Peculiar Problem: Using Local Knowledge To Resolve Ambiguous Property Descriptions In Appalachia, William L. Spotswood

William & Mary Law Review Online

Conveying property in Appalachia can be somewhat like a box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re gonna get.” Carved by ancient rivers and winding streams, the seemingly never-ending “hollers” and hills of Appalachia can disorient even the best navigator. Couple the region’s rugged topography with an already ambiguous demarcation system, and properties once mapped by metes and bounds descriptions become impossible to re-create with any sort of certainty. Thus, though rooted in a desire for clarity, the combination of mountainous terrain and imperfect demarcation results in a property system riddled with ambiguity. Due to this inherent definitional problem in …

Implikasi Atas Objek Perjanjian Yang Keliru Dalam Akta Pengakuan Utang Dan Kuasa Menjual Yang Dibuat Notaris Berdasarkan Putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 279 K/Pdt/2017, Hana Theresia Lamtarida

Indonesian Notary

Notaris memiliki kewenangan utama yakni untuk membuat suatu akta autentik. Akta yang dihasilkan Notaris mempunyai kekuatan pembuktian yang sempurna jika telah memenuhi suatu syarat autentisitas dan terpenuhinya syarat sahnya suatu perjanjian. Syarat objektif yang tidak terpenuhi oleh para pihak dalam syarat sahnya suatu perjanjian ini mengakibatkan kebatalan pada Akta Pengakuan Utang dan Kuasa Menjual serta kedudukan dari suatu Kuasa Menjual itu sendiri yang tidak tepat karena dijadikan sebagai suatu jaminan atas pelunasan utang piutang dalam kasus tersebut. Sebagai Notaris, seharusnya dapat menjalankan tugas dan jabatannya sesuai dengan sumpah jabatannya yang tertera dalam Undang-Undang Jabatan Notaris. Adapun rumusan masalah yang dibahas …

Benturan Kepentingan Dalam Transaksi Jual Beli Saham Antara Yayasan Dan Perseroan Terbatas (Analisis Terhadap Putusan Peninjauan Kembali Nomor 627/Pk/Pdt/2019), Agnes Wulandari

Indonesian Notary

Dalam rangka mendukung kegiatannya untuk mencapai maksud dan tujuan dari
Anggaran Dasarnya, Yayasan diperbolehkan oleh Undang-undang Yayasan untuk
mendirikan badan usaha. Hal tersebut menjadi dasar bagi suatu Yayasan untuk
melakukan penyertaan modal pada suatu Perseroan Terbatas. Penyertaan modal yang
dilakukan oleh suatu Yayasan dapat dilakukan dalam hal menjadi pemegang saham
dalam satu Perseroan Terbatas. Sebagai pemegang saham dalam perseroan, Yayasan
tentunya memiliki hak sebagaimana yang dimiliki oleh pemegang saham suatu
Perseroan Terbatas pada umumnya, salah satunya yaitu untuk menjual atau
mengalihkan saham yang dimilikinya. Namun, terdapat beberapa larangan dalam
kaitanya dengan pertanggungjawaban pengurus Yayasan untuk menghindari transaksi
afiliasi yang disebabkan …

Pengalihan Hak Atas Saham Dalam Pembentukan Holding Badan Usaha Milik Negara, Amelia Maulanasari

Indonesian Notary

The establishment of a holding is a government action in uniting the business lines of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) in Indonesia through the transfer of rights to shares with the participation of state capital which adopts the concept of acquisition of rights over shares in company law. Acquisition of rights over shares which are shareholders in this concept of ownership is the acquisition of rights over shares directly through shareholders, which is the State, in a SOE. The establishment of SOE holding resulting legal consequences of the birth of a new position which company as the holding company and subsidiary. The …

Konversi Utang Menjadi Saham Sebagai Kompensasi Tagihan Yang Mengakibatkan Dilusi Saham (Studi Kasus: Putusan Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia Nomor 118 Pk/Pdt/2017), Cyntia Catharina Junita

Indonesian Notary

Setiap pemegang saham memiliki hak untuk mendapatkan keuntungan dan manfaat dari penyertaannya dalam suatu perseroan sesuai dengan besaran kepemilikan sahamnya, dimana perseroan memiliki kewajiban untuk memenuhi hak masing-masing pemegang saham tersebut, termasuk pemegang saham minoritas. Suatu perseroan terbatas dapat melakukan penambahan modal sewaktu-waktu sebagaimana diperlukan. Perseroan terbatas wajib untuk menawarkan saham kepada para pemegang saham yang telah ada atas saham baru yang dikeluarkannya tersebut, atau dikenal dengan hak memesan efek terlebih dahulu. Atas kewajiban untuk menawarkan saham baru tersebut terdapat beberapa pengecualian, dimana salah satunya adalah dalam hal konversi utang menjadi penyertaan saham dalam perseroan terbatas yang telah disetujui oleh …

Perjanjian Kawin Selain Mengenai Harta Perkawinan Berdasarkan Asas Kebebasan Berkontrak (Studi Banding Dengan Negara Amerika Serikat), Raisa Fatnisary

Indonesian Notary

Penelitian ini membahas mengenai perjanjian kawin berdasarkan asas kebebasan berkontrak dengan pembanding negara Amerika Serikat. Pada dasarnya perjanjian perkawinan dapat merupakan sebuah solusi dari permasalahan yang mungkin dihadapi oleh suami atau isteri dalam menjalankan kehidupan perkawinan, terutama mengenai harta benda mereka. Kondisi masyarakat yang makin demokratis dan kritis membuat perjanjian kawin mengalami perkembangan. Isi yang diatur di dalam perjanjian kawin tidak hanya mengenai harta benda perkawinan, namun dapat juga seperti pembagian biaya keluarga, penyelesaian perselisihan dalam rumah tangga, kebiasaan mengoleksi barang langka yang tergolong mahal, hingga mengatur terhadap profesi masing-masing calon suami istri selama perkawinan berlangsung. Negara Amerika Serikat merupakan …

Kesiapan Indonesia Dalam Memenuhi Nationally Determined Contribution (Ndc) Seb Agaiimplement Asi Paris Agreement Terkait Restorasi Lahan Gambut, Bela Titis Gantika Br Panggabean

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Indonesia has stated its participation in one of the Climate Agreement, namely Paris Agreement, in the context of reducing GHG emission. In its implementation, Paris Agreement provides obligations for the Parties to conduct a Nationally Determined Contribution, in which there are targets to be achieved in an effort to reduce GHG emissions, in accordance with the domestic conditions of the participating countries. Undoubtedly, each state has different priorities in efforts to reduce GHG emissions, including Indonesia. Natural disasters such as forest and peatland fires that often occur in Indonesia are considered by the government to prioritize forest and peatland restoration …

The Role Of Courts In The Evolution Of Standard Form Contracts: An Insurance Case Study, Daniel Schwarcz

BYU Law Review

Standard form contracts are a pervasive feature of modern commercial life for ordinary consumers and big businesses alike. Yet remarkably little is currently known about how and when these contracts evolve in response to judicial decisions that interpret and apply them in individual disputes. Homeowners insurance policies offer a particularly fertile ground for studying this issue due to both the prominence of the insurance law doctrine that ambiguities are interpreted against the drafter and the historic standardization of insurance policies across different insurers. Utilizing a unique hand collected dataset, this Article empirically investigates the links between innovation in the dominant …

Hatton V. Falcon Coal: Breach Of Contract Or Trespass To Realty?, Kelly J. Hobbs

Journal of Natural Resources & Environmental Law

No abstract provided.

The Idea Of Contract In Japanese Law And Culture, Sara Landini

Japanese Society and Culture

The paper deals with contract law in Japan in the perspective of law and literature in order to better understand some basic concepts that actually are not a translation of western concept like good faith.

Contracting In The Age Of Smart Contracts, Farshad Ghodoosi

Washington Law Review

Smart contracts lie at the heart of blockchain technology. There are two principal problems, however, with existing smart contracts: first, the enforceability of smart contracts remains ambiguous. Second, smart contracts are limited in scope and capability barring more complex contracts from being executed via blockchain technology. Drawing from the existing literature on contracts and smart contracting, this Article suggests new approaches to address these two problems. First, it proposes a framework based on reliance-based contracting to analyze smart contracts. Second, the Article analyzes the seismic shifts in contractual disputes, and offers new insights into its features including decentralized decision-making, network-based …

Antitrust Policy Toward Patent Licensing: Why Negotiation Matters, Daniel F. Spulber

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Contract Interpretation Policy Debate: A Primer, Joshua M. Silverstein

Law Faculty Scholarship

Contract interpretation is one of the most significant areas of commercial law. As a result, there is an extensive academic and judicial debate over the optimal method for construing agreements. Throughout this exchange, scholars and courts have advanced a wide array of conceptual, theoretical, and empirical arguments in support of the two primary schools of interpretation— textualism and contextualism—as well as various hybrid positions. This Essay is intended to serve as a primer on those arguments.

Libor Phaseout: Litigation Is Coming, John Michael Neubert

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

This paper will explore the different steps market participants should take to make sure they are prepared when LIBOR is phased out in December 2021. Part I will focus on the actions market participants should do before going into negotiations that can increase their potential to reach a consensual agreement. Part II will explore what financial firms should be prepared for during the negotiation process and what claims may arise when no agreement is reached. The decision for how to handle any LIBOR-linked financial instrument in their portfolio should be left to the discretion of market participants themselves. This paper …

Assumption Of Risk In Consumer Contracts And The Distraction Of Unconscionability, Zahra Takhshid

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

For years, courts have struggled to determine when to enforce exculpatory clauses that would prevent personal injury victims from availing themselves of tort remedies under the doctrine of express assumption of risk. In the past, when courts declined to enforce these clauses, they did so on the ground that enforcing such a waiver for the activities in question was “against public policy.” Recently, however, many courts have addressed the issue through the contract doctrine of “unconscionability.” This change in focus has subtly but importantly altered the enforceability inquiry by emphasizing the conditions under which the plaintiff agreed to the contract, …

When The Rule Invites The Exceptions: How The Arizona Supreme Court's Attempt To Clarify The Economic Loss Rule In Flagstaff Affordable Housing Has Led To Discontinuity In Subsequent Application, Grant H. Frazier, Justin J. Larson

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contract's Influence On Feminism And Vice Versa, Martha M. Ertman

Faculty Scholarship

Feminist legal theory has both embraced and rejected contract. While contract-based conceptual and doctrinal tools have improved women’s economic and social status, feminists also critique contract-based reforms for colluding with hierarchies of gender, race and class. This chapter charts influential work on both sides of the contract debate and identifies a third approach that sees contract as a mechanism for law to move away from a hierarchal regime by stopping at a contractual way station en route to a more equal system of public ordering. It concludes by identifying ways that feminist legal theorists have injected feminist insights into traditional …

Protecting Third Parties In Contracts, Kishanthi Parella

Scholarly Articles

Corporations routinely impose externalities on a broad range of non-shareholders, as illustrated by several unsuccessful lawsuits against corporations involving forced labor, human trafficking, child labor, and environmental harms in global supply chains. Lack of legal accountability subsequently translates into low legal risk for corporate misconduct, which reduces the likelihood of prevention. Corporate misconduct toward non-shareholders arises from a fundamental inconsistency within contract law regarding the status of third parties: On the one hand, we know that it takes a community to contract. Contracting parties often rely on multiple third parties—not signatories to the contract—to play important roles in facilitating exchange, …

Oliver Wendell Holmes's Theory Of Contract Law At The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Daniel P. O'Gorman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Privacy Losses As Wrongful Gains, Bernard Chao

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Perhaps nowhere has the pace of technology placed more pressure on the law than in the area of data privacy. Huge data breaches fill our headlines. Companies often violate their own privacy policies by selling customer data, or by using the information in ways that fall outside their policy. Yet, even when there is indisputable misconduct, the law generally does not hold these companies accountable. That is because traditional legal claims are poorly suited for handling privacy losses.

Contract claims fail when privacy policies are not considered contractual obligations. Misrepresentation claims cannot succeed when customers never read and rely on …

A Paradigm Shift In Comparative Institutional Governance: The Role Of Contract In Business Relationships And Cost/Benefit Analysis, Juliet P. Kostritsky

Faculty Publications

Stewart Macaulay’s research on the ways that Wisconsin manufacturers transact debunked the centrality of contract law by revealing a disinclination to consult contract documents or invoke legal sanctions. This research revolutionized contracts scholarship, highlighting that a contract, instead of being viewed as an inevitable necessity of exchange, should be viewed as one of many institutions that might be available to parties as a solution to problems and a method for facilitating exchange. Macaulay’s research further revealed that the cost of legal sanctions, the importance of maintaining business relationships, and the desire for informal solutions actually push parties to conclude that …

A Feminist Economic Perspective On Contract Law: Promissory Estoppel As An Example, Orit Gan

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Economic analysis is a highly influential theoretical approach to contract law. At the same time, feminist analysis of contract law offers an important critical approach to the field. However, feminist economics, a prominent alternative approach to mainstream neo-classical economics drawing from both economic theory and feminist theory, has only been applied scarcely and sporadically to contract law. This Article seeks to bridge this gap and to apply the key features of feminist economics to an analysis of the doctrine of promissory estoppel. This Article uses promissory estoppel as an example to demonstrate a feminist economic analysis of contract law.

Marissa Jackson Sow’S “Whiteness As Contract”, Marissa Jackson Sow

Seattle University Law Review

Marissa Jackson Sow’s “Whiteness as Contract.”