Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Author! Author!

In a 50 page opinion issued today, the Maryland Court of Appeals reversed a trial court determination (affirmed by the Court of Special Appeals) that author Tom Clancy had breached his fidiciary duties in his dealings with his ex-wife. The court's majority opinion quotes at length from the Seinfeld "Wigmaster" episode (the one where Jerry returns a jacket he had purchased for "spite"). The court holds that Clancy's contractual rights trumped his fiduciary duties to a partnership entity created with his ex-wife during their marriage, conceding that the author had not acted in good faith. The majority relies on the work of Larry Ribstein in support of its conclusions.

A dissent would uphold the lower court's judgment. (Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2008/08/in-a-50-page-op.html

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» Sienfeld v. Shakespeare. Clancy v. King (MD 2008) from Unincorporated Business Law Prof Blog
posted by Gary Rosin The difference between the Maryland and the Delaware judiciaries? Seinfeld and Shakespeare. The recent opinion by Chancellor Chandler in R R Capital, LLC v. Buck Doe Run Valley Farms, LLC (discussed here and here) began and [Read More]

Tracked on Aug 26, 2008 10:03:23 PM

» "Seinfeld" Episode Used to Illustrate Duty of Good Faith from Lowering the Bar
Admitting he was perhaps an unlikely legal illustrator, the Maryland Court of Appeals recently cited Jerry Seinfeld to illustrate the contractual and fiduciary duty of good faith. The case, Clancy v. King, is not especially notable otherwise, except ma... [Read More]

Tracked on Sep 30, 2008 5:00:19 AM

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