ContractsProf Blog

Lipshaw on Concept, Metaphor and the Synergy of Teaching and Scholarship

Jeffrey Lipshaw has a characteristically thoughtful post over at the Faculty Lounge about how his scholarship is informing his teaching of contracts and a "nascent article" on that topic.  He's even illustrated his thoughts in diagrams.

As always, interesting stuff - go check it out.

[Meredith R. Miller]

People's Court: Contract Dispute at the Flaming Hearth

One of my former contracts students brought this People's Court dispute to my attention because of its eerie (and coincidental) similarity to the fact pattern on my Spring 2010 exam.  Though, I had the added issue of a supervening referendum that (re)banned same-sex marriage.  

Short of it: Plaintiff put down a $1000 deposit on a wedding reception venue called the Flaming Hearth.  She was only required to put down a $500 deposit.  She decided the dance floor wasn't big enough ("cause it's all about dancing to me") and reneged on the contract, asking for the extra $500 back.  The owner of the Flaming Hearth refused to return any portion of the deposit, stating that the dance floor was big enough and the plaintiff was in breach of contract.

Here's the dispute:

Here's the "Judge's" "ruling":

Do you agree with the result?  

[Meredith R. Miller h/t Cynthia Motschmann]

Now in Print

Lord Justice Richard Aikens, The Post-contractual Duty of Good Faith in Insurance Contracts: Is There a Problem that Needs a Solution?, [2010] J. Bus. L. 379.

Laura K. Bailey, Note, The Demise of Arbitration Agreements in Long-term Care Contracts, 75 Mo. L. Rev. 181 (2010).

Maree Chetwin, Beyond Fuller and Perdue's Classification: Welcome Steps or Troublesome Taxonomy?, 26 J. Contract L. 271 (2010).

Sarah Coleman, Note, Enforcing International Framework Agreements in U.S. Courts: A Contract Analysis, 41 Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 601 (2010).

Brian Coote, Contract as Assumption and Remoteness of Damage, 26 J. Contract L. 211 (2010).

Christopher R. Drahozal & Stephen J. Ware, Why Do Businesses Use (or Not Use) Arbitration Clauses?, 25 Ohio St. J. Disp. Resol. 433 (2010).

Michelle Shenker Garrett, Note, Efficiency and Certainty in Uncertain Times: The Material Adverse Change Clause Revisited, 43 Colum. J.L. & Soc. Probs. 333 (2010).  

B.E. Harris, The EC REACH Regulation and Contractual Supply Obligations, [2010] J. Bus. L. 394.

Laura Heymann, Reading the Product: Warnings, Disclaimers, and Literary Theory, 22 Yale J.L. & Human. 393 (2010).

Hila Keren, Considering Affective Consideration, 40 Golden Gate U. L. Rev. 165 (2010).

Nancy S. Kim & Chii-Dean Lin, Arbitration's Summer Soldiers Marching Into Fall: Another Look at Eisenberg, Miller, and Sherwin's Empirical Study of Arbitration Clauses in Consumer and Nonconsumer Contracts, 34 Vt. L. Rev. 597 (2010).

Susanna Lopez-Bayon y Manuel Gonzalez-Diaz, Indefinite Contract Duration: Evidence from Electronics Subcontracting, 30 Int'l Rev. L. & Econ. 145 (2010).

Graham S. McBain, Abolishing the Statute of Frauds 1677 Section 4, [2010] J. Bus. L. 420.

Daniel Markovits, Arbitration's Arbitrage: Social Solidarity at the Nexus of Adjudication and Contract, 59 DePaul L. Rev. 431 (2010).

Sue Payne, Teaching Contract Drafting to First-Year Law Students in Three Hours or Less, 18 Perspectives 145 (2010).

James Gray Pope, Contract, Race, and Freedom of Labor in the Constitutional Law of "Involuntary Servitude," 119 Yale L.J. 1474 (2010).

Porcher L. Taylor, III, Fernando M. Pinguelo & Timothy D. Cedrone, The Reverse-Morals Clause: The Unique Way to Save Talent's Reputation and Money in a New Era of Corporate Crimes and Scandals, 28 Cardozo Arts & Ent. L.J. 65 (2010).

Doron Teichman, Old Habits Are Hard to Change: A Case Study of Israeli Real Estate Contracts, 44 L. & Soc'y Rev. 299 (2010).

Brian Vito, A Carrot From Any Other Farmer Will Still Go in the Soup: Uniqueness and Casebook Contract Law, 9 Fla. St. U. Bus. L. Rev. 103 (2010).

[Keith A. Rowley]

Sarah Palin’s CSU Contract (and Speaking Fee) Revealed

Sarah Palin was hired by California State University Stanislaus to appear at a June Fundraiser.  When a non-profit government transparency group sought to find out her speaking fee through a public information request, the University refused to reveal the information.  Last week, a California judge ordered the University to disclose the details.

Now that the contract is public record (you can read it in its entirety here), it reveals that Palin received $75,000 for three hours' work, in two payments of $37,500. The University was also on the hook for her accommodations and travel expenses, which included two first class tickets and two unrestricted coach tickets.  Among other interesting tidbits, we learn that Palin requires bendable straws, wooden lecterns and skirted tables:

A spotlight directly on the Speaker should be avoided. Unopened bottled still water (2 bottles) and bendable straws are to be placed in or near the wooden lectern. A representative of WSB [Washington Speakers Bureau] or the Speaker's party will open the water at an appropriate time prior to the Speaker's participation in the program.

 * * *

No Plexiglass or thin lecterns, please. If Speaker is seated on-stage at a table (sic) customer to ensure that the table is skirted.

Guess this confidentiality clause could not insulate the government entity from transparency:

The Parties agree that the terms of this Agreement, including its compensation terms, ("Confidential Information") are confidential and should be held in confidence by each party. The Parties shall not publicly disclose any Confidential Information and acknowledge that any breach, negligent or intentional, of this confidentiality shall be deemed a material breach of this Agreement for which the breaching party will be held liable.

[Meredith R. Miller]