Contracts Commons^™

The Race To Erase: Destruction Of Government Documents Undermines Freedom-Of-Information Laws, Frank D. Lomonte

Seattle University Law Review

In August 2019, reporters with Chattanooga’s daily newspaper, the Times Free Press, filed what seemed to be a routine request for access to emails and other public records held by their local county government. The seemingly unremarkable request set the newspaper’s staff on a months-long journey of unpleasant surprises. The first was a demand to pay the county $717 in advance before being allowed to inspect the documents. The second was that—during prolonged haggling over the fee assessment— the county attorney’s office simply destroyed almost all of the disputed records. Third, and most glaringly, the journalists discovered that Tennessee law …

When You’Re Arrested For A Felony In Seattle, You’Ll Meet Me., Austin Field

Seattle University Law Review

In this Essay, Austin Field, a practicing public defender, uses a first-person perspective to describe what it is like to meet a criminal defendant for the first time. He explains the process from start to finish, detailing everything from the way he introduces himself to how bail works.

"I’ll ask you for your name. Most of the time, you tell me. I check your name against my list. On any given day I’m supposed to interview between five and fifteen people. I have a lot of questions for you. We only have about ten minutes."

The Public Square In A Private-Property Obsessed Country: What New York City’S Pops Regulations Get Right And Why Other Cities Should (Mostly) Copy Them, Carson Mcgregor

Seattle University Law Review

When New York City (NYC) was first becoming the metropolitan monolith it is today, it had a problem: the city streets were chock full of skyscrapers, and sunlight, air, and usable open space were at a premium. In response, the City promulgated its first Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) regulations, which allowed developers to build skyward in exchange for providing public space on the street level. Unfortunately, in July of 2023, the New York Times (NYT) discovered that New Yorkers received only a fraction of what they were promised. Building owners received billions of dollars’ worth of added floor space, …

Modern Day Colonialism Through HawaiʻI’S Quiet Title And Partition Laws, Cheyann Fujii

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will attempt to highlight important aspects of Hawaiian history to provide readers with a clear picture on how Native Hawaiians are still impacted by colonialism, specifically when plaintiffs bring a quiet title or partition action against Native Hawaiian owners of kuleana lands. Before colonization, the concept of private land ownership did not exist in Hawai‘i, and Native Hawaiians adopted a feudal system by dividing land into geographical areas. Missionaries and businessmen brought Western ideas to Hawai‘i and influenced legislation such as the Great Māhele and the Kuleana Land Act of 1850, which solidified the concept of private property. …

Data Advantage And Merger Review: Can Entrenchment Theory Reform Antitrust Enforcement?, Shin-Ru Cheng

Seattle University Law Review

A merger involving giant digital companies is likely to dampen competition, as it allows those companies to combine and control data access, enabling them to entrench their dominant positions in relevant markets and extend those positions into related markets. While competition law in many jurisdictions aims to prohibit mergers that may substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly, arguably the review of digital mergers is failing because antitrust agencies lack an effective approach to identify data-generated anticompetitive harms. This Article demonstrates that entrenchment theory, recently reintroduced in the 2023 U.S. Merger Guidelines, would help reform the process of antitrust enforcement. …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Caution: Potholes In E-Scooter Data Collection, Dakota Rakestraw

Seattle University Law Review

Lime scooters keep ending up in major waterways in Washington state metro areas, a testament to the ubiquity of e-scooters in the metropolitan landscape. How they get there is unclear. Why they get there is even murkier. Perhaps the answer lies in the implications of modern geolocation data collection through e-scooters and gaps in current data collection regulation curbing individual liberties.

Since September 2020, electric scooters have run Seattle’s streets and have dramatically overtaken ridesharing bike trips. For example, from September 2020 to September 2021, there were about 1.4 million scooter and bike trips with September 2021 seeing 300,000 scooter …

Machinists Preemption In The New Administrative Law, Andrew J. Ziaja

Seattle University Law Review

This Article assesses Machinists preemption—a labor-specific form of implied field preemption—while freshly considering implications both for and of new developments in administrative law. The radical transformation of administrative law in the Supreme Court, particularly its newfound emphasis on clear-statement rules, provides opportunities to reconsider the Machinists rationale. Aligning with scholars who have called to question the doctrine’s “ossifying” influence on labor and employment policy, it argues that the modern-day version of Machinists preemption clashes with the Supreme Court’s newly constrained view of delegated power and its differing conceptions of the major questions doctrine.

On the other hand, Machinists preemption might …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Defining Deference: Impacts Of Abandoning Chevron On Emerging Technology Governance And Administrative Law, R. Aubrey Davis Iii

Seattle University Law Review

Emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), often lead to unforeseen legal outcomes. Notable abuses in areas such as facial recognition, employment bias, and housing discrimination are well known. However, legislative responses to these issues either have been largely reactive or there has been no legislative response at all. In lieu of legislation, agencies have sought to fill the gap. For example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently proposed a rule mandating voter notification for all AI-generated political phone calls citing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 as authority. However, the TCPA was originally passed to curtail telemarketing, not …

Intellectual Property Or Modern Folklore? The Problem With Open Gaming Licenses In Tabletop Gaming, Rosie Midget

Seattle University Law Review

This Note addresses how courts and legislatures should address “Open Gaming Licenses” commonly attached to tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), which game publishers use to promote a false image of accessibility—misleading consumers and building goodwill from the misunderstanding. Part I discusses what TTRPGs are, including the defining features of the hobby and culture surrounding it, as well as the unique interplay between publishers and players. Part II explores the question of which elements in a TTRPG system may be subject to copyright protection. Part III examines these elements in practice using Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons and Dragons TTRPG as a …

Exploring Contributions Of Partnerships Between Employers And Disability Organizations On Recruitment, Hiring, Training, Retention, And Accommodation Of Individuals With Disabilities In Mississippi, Peter Oluwadare Kalejaiye

Dissertations

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 provides equal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities (IWDs) by prohibiting discrimination in employment. However, one out of four IWDs face discrimination in employment in the United States (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). Additionally, despite establishing the Office of Disability Employment Policy and enacting the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to help integrate IWDs into the workforce, IWDs face barriers to equal and equitable employment (NASEM, 2017). Previous studies recommend partnerships between employers and disability organizations (DOs) to provide employment opportunities and benefits for IWDs through recruitment, hiring, training, retention, and …

The Role Of Medical-Legal Partnerships On Social Determinants Of Health For Vulnerable Populations In The Inland Empire, Sabrina C. Kinnally

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

San Bernardino and Riverside counties face significant challenges in addressing the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) for vulnerable populations, including housing instability, healthcare access, and food insecurity. This project examined the role of Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) in providing services to vulnerable populations. Through a systematic review, the study explored the current state of MLPs and their effectiveness in addressing SDOH to reduce health disparities. The other purpose is to assist Agape Legal Service, Inc. (AGAPE), a non-profit organization, in completing their strategic plan, which aims to address the legal needs of vulnerable populations within the Inland Empire. The systematic review …

Proving The Matrix: On The Admissibility And Use Of Prior Negotiation Evidence As An Aid To Contractual Interpretation, Daniele Bertolini

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article examines the relevance and admissibility of prior negotiation evidence in contract interpretation. According to a long-established common law rule (“exclusionary rule”), the evidence of pre-contract negotiations is not admissible as an aid to contract interpretation. This study argues that the exclusionary rule is unjustified and should be abandoned. Judges should be allowed to use prior negotiation evidence to support inferences about the existence of the empirical facts constituting the relevant factual matrix, while the use of such evidence should not be allowed to support interpretive inferences about the meaning of the contract language. The distinction between empirical and …

Melissa Benton, Et. Al, V. Lynn Linnane, Et. Al., Order On Pending Motions, Wesley B. Tailor

Superior Court of Fulton County: Metro Atlanta Business Case Division Opinions

No abstract provided.

A Unicorn No More? The No-Trade Clause And Its Potential To Reshape Nba Contractual Negotiations, Paul Gerstle

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The no-trade clause, which, in the simplest of terms, allows a player to block his organization from trading him, is somewhat of a unicorn in NBA contractual circles. It has been sparsely used in the National Basketball Association (NBA) history, and there are certainly some good reasons for this. Allowing a player to control his fate without any potential for a trade puts his team in a straitjacket. Thus, teams have long kept their distance from the no-trade clause, with only ten players in NBA history having a no-trade clause in their contract. Most of these players have been legends …

"Price Discrimination" Discrimination, Talia B. Gillis

Faculty Scholarship

Credit price personalization, where lenders set prices based on individual borrower and loan characteristics, is a common practice across many loan types, with conventional accounts of its harms focusing on the ways in which risk-based pricing, or setting prices based on borrowers’ credit risk, can lead to disparities for protected groups like racial minorities and women. This Article examines an often-overlooked yet potentially harmful form of price personalization — charging borrowers different rates based on their willingness-to-pay, known as price discrimination — and argues that this practice can exploit vulnerable borrowers, including protected groups like racial minorities and women, by …

Statutory Contracts, Jeff Gordon

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Private law offers a unique solution to the problem of long-term fiscal commitment. When Congress enacts a spending program that will take many years to reach fruition, there is a risk of a subsequent Congress or President cutting off funding in the interim. There is no escape from the problem within appropriations law itself One solution, however, is to entrust private sector allies as vessels of long-term commitment. As a matter of political economy, that solution draws on policy-feedback theory. As a matter of law, the solution rests on a mechanism that Congress already uses but has not recognized its …

Upaya Hukum Bagi Pembeli Akibat Penerbitan Sertipikat Pengganti Dalam Pengikatan Jual Beli (Studi Putusan Nomor 646/Pid.B/2023/Pn. Mtr.), Alda Anabela Adelina

Indonesian Notary

Penelitian ini meneliti tentang penerbitan sertipikat pengganti setelah akta Pengikatan Jual Beli dibuat oleh Notaris. Penerbitan sertipikat pengganti tersebut dilakukan dengan alasan hilang dengan menyerahkan surat keterangan dari kepolisian. Hal tersebut mengakibatkan terdapat 2 (dua) dokumen fisik yakni sertipikat tanah dengan nomor yang sama. Hal tersebut berakibat kerugian terhadap pihak pembeli yang menguasai fisik sertipikat pertama karena dengan penerbitan sertipikat pengganti membatalkan sertipikat terdahulu. Kasus tersebut yang terjadi dalam Putusan Nomor 646/Pid.B/2023/PN.Mtr. Penelitian ini menganalisis kedudukan akta Pengikatan Jual Beli yang kemudian terdapat penerbitan sertipikat pengganti berdasarkan Putusan Nomor 646/Pid.B/2023/PN.Mtr. dan menganalisis upaya hukum yang bisa dilakukan pembeli untuk memperjuangkan …

Keabsahan Perjanjian Perkawinan Yang Dicatatkan Debitor Setelah Dinyatakan Pailit Pasca Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia Nomor 69/Puu-Xiii/2015 (Studi Putusan-Putusan Pengadilan), Nadira Ratunanda Wirjono

Indonesian Notary

Penelitian ini mengkaji keabsahan perjanjian perkawinan yang dicatatkan debitor setelah dinyatakan pailit berdasarkan analisis dari beberapa putusan-putusan pengadilan. Fokus utama penelitian ini adalah analisis perubahan regulasi pencatatan perjanjian perkawinan pasca berlakunya Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 69 Tahun 2015, serta kekuatan mengikatnya perjanjian perkawinan yang dibuat sebelum debitor dinyatakan pailit namun belum dicatatkan terhadap kreditur yang mengajukan permohonan pailit. Untuk itu, penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan doktrinal, dimana analisis dilakukan terhadap putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 894 K/Pdt.Sus-Pailit/2019, putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 461 K/Pdt.Sus-Pailit/2019, dan putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 562 K/Pdt.Sus-Pailit/2021 dalam bentuk penelitian studi pustaka yang menggunakan data-data sekunder, yakni dari berbagai …