Corporate & Securities Law

More on Judge Pirro

Posted on August 28, 2008
Earlier this week, we reported on Eileen Klapak, who was to appear on the "Judge Pirro" show but was unhappy with the way the taping went and is trying to prevent the episode from being aired. In that post, we...

More on Judge Pirro

Posted on August 28, 2008
Earlier this week, we reported on Eileen Klapak, who was to appear on the "Judge Pirro" show but was unhappy with the way the taping went and is trying to prevent the episode from being aired. In that post, we...

Is the Word "Paid" Ambiguous?

Posted on August 27, 2008
The 8th Circuit recently addressed this question in Henning v. Mainstreet Bank. Here are the facts, as told by the 8th Circuit: Henning was a principal and officer in several businesses that borrowed money from Mainstreet. In July 2003, Henning,...

Verizon/Google Deal

Posted on August 27, 2008
What do you get when you cross the number 2 wireless communications provider with the number 1 internet search engine? According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon is hoping to get "a wide-ranging partnership" and "a much-needed jolt for the...

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Class Action Against Amex for Gift Card Charges

Posted on August 26, 2008
Newsday reports that a class action has been filed against American Express, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment based on its gift card policy. Namely, Amex apparently charges $10 for a cardholder to obtain anything below a $5 balance...

What's In a Name? $5 Million, for Instance

Posted on August 25, 2008
Jim Morrison is dead. That's his grave at left. So, you would think that if a band plays a tour in the 21st Century under the banner "The Doors of the 21st Century," nobody would be fooled and think they...

Business Associations Limerick of the Week: Barlow

Posted on August 25, 2008
If you are wondering why you are reading a Business Associations Limerick on the Contracts Profs Blog, there are a few answers: 1. I ran out of Contracts Limericks 2. I couldn't find any other place to post my Business...

Contracts Limerick of the Week: Borat

Posted on August 25, 2008
We here at the Contracts Blog object to accusations that we are obsessed with "Borat." True, we did report on controversies relating to the release signed by participants in the film here, here, here and here. But hey, we were...

Formation Issue before "Judge" Pirro

Posted on August 25, 2008
Today is the first day of a new academic year here in Valparaiso, and the local newspaper, the Post-Tribune, is on board with an article about contract formation. That's not how they put it, of course, but a contracts issue...

Court Addresses Class Action Waiver in Commercial Contract

Posted on August 22, 2008
Plaintiff advertisers commenced a class action suit against Yahoo!, alleging that Yahoo! breached its advertising agreement in numerous ways. For example, plaintiffs alleged that Yahoo! promised to place plaintiffs' advertisements in a way that targeted plaintiffs' likely customers but, instead,...

Innovative Teachers' Contracts in Danger in Denver

Posted on August 19, 2008
The Wall Street Journal reports that school teachers in Denver do not like the pay for performance concept. They are staging sick-out and there is talk of a strike. According to the Journal, the Denver School District district is willing...

NY Codifies "Professor Review Copy Not for Resale"

Posted on August 18, 2008
I vaguely recall a discussion on the Contracts Listserv about the legal weight (if any) of the publisher's stamp on textbooks proclaiming: "Professor Review Copy Not for Resale." Well, New York has passed the Textbook Access Act, the central purpose....

Back To School...

Posted on August 18, 2008
Here at ContractsProf Blog, we tend to shy away from sartorial advice. That is, unless it is back to school time. In the past, we have recommended this t-shirt for the first day of school: Here's yet another fine possibility...

Now in Print

Posted on August 18, 2008
- Dara K. Newman, Note, If You Can't Build It, They Won't Come: Condominium Construction Moratoria and Gentrification, 35 B.C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 593-623 (2008). - Jennifer Young, Case Note, Contracts: The Price of Dignity is $3.19: Should Mutual...

Limerick of the Week: Sea-Land

Posted on August 18, 2008
Sea-Land Services v. Pepper Source is another delightful case, a real joy to read. I knew it would be a good one when Chief Judge Bauer began his opinion by calling it "spicy." The case involves one Mr. Marchese (also...

Contract Issue in "A Series of Unfortunate Events"

Posted on August 14, 2008
If you are the sort of blog reader who prefers posts about happy resolutions to unsolved mysteries or about dutiful litigants winning large judgments or about smart people doing smart things smartly, you might want to continue your web surfing....

Open Source Software: Why the Difference between Conditions and Covenants Matters

Posted on August 14, 2008
Yesterday, on the Electronic Frontier Foundation?s Deeplinks Blog, Michael Kwun keenly asked and addressed the following questions: Imagine that you write some code, and offer it to the public under an open source license that requires that if someone distributes...

Ohio Sues E-Voting Machine Company for Breach of Contract

Posted on August 13, 2008
Ohio has waged a countersuit against e-voting machine maker Diebold (now known as Premier Election Solutions), seeking damages caused by malfunctioning machines in the swing state's 2004 and 2006 elections. The Diebold machines are infamous for losing hundreds of votes...

The Favre Contract

Posted on August 12, 2008
It is surprising that the New York Jets have gone to so much trouble to sign the washed-up actor, Brett Favre, who didn't even get the girl (Cameron Diaz, pictured left) in his most successful film There's Something about Mary....

California Supremes' Sweeping Ruling Invalidates Non-competes

Posted on August 11, 2008
Robert J. Ambrogi of Legal Blog Watch beat us to it, and did it perfectly, so here's his summary: In a ruling sure to send shudders through corporate legal departments up and down the west coast, the California Supreme Court...

Limericks of the Week: Walkovsky v. Carlton

Posted on August 11, 2008
Walkovsky v. Carlton is a great case. It always generates a good discussion of the public policy issues surrounding the limited liability protections attendant to the corporate form. The facts are simple; the law is complex. Guy gets hit by...

Moral Damages Awarded in International Arbitration

Posted on August 11, 2008
In a recent NYLJ article, Emmanuel Gaillard provides a nice overview of the arbitration award in Desert Line Projects LLC, which granted an Omani company US $1 million in moral damages in a breach of contract dispute against the Yemen...

Shameless Self-Promotion: Medellin & Originalism

Posted on August 11, 2008
Months ago, I posted and posted and posted and posted about the Medellin v. Texas case and my concerns that if the U.N. Charter is non-self-executing and therefore without force as a matter of domestic law, the same might be...

Now in Print

Posted on August 09, 2008
Now available in print: - Nicholas C. Dranias, Consideration as Contract: A Secular Natural Law of Contracts, 12 Tex. Rev. L. & Pol. 267-327 (2008). From Symposium: Intellectual Property, Trade and Development: Accommodating and Reconciling Different National Levels of Protection,...

Court Allows Associate's Claim to Proceed for Nominal Damages Only Because Damages (for Not Making Partner) are Too Speculative

Posted on August 07, 2008
In 1999, plaintiff Patrick Hoeffner ("Hoeffner") began working in Orrick's New York office as an associate in the IP group. In 2002, two of Orrick's New York IP partners left for Chadbourne & Park. Hoeffner was solicited by the departing...

Second Circuit Certifies Contract Modification Question to New York Court of Appeals

Posted on August 07, 2008
The Second Circuit has certified a contract question to the New York Court of Appeals in Israel v. Chabra. In that case, Michael and Steven Israel sued to recover a bonus for services rendered to AMC Computer Corp. The Israels...

Grain Contracts: Floods and Price Fluctuations

Posted on August 06, 2008
What is a grain farmer obligated to do when a flood causes loss of a crop? Is the farmer still obligated to deliver grain under forward contracts? If the flood causes the market price of grain to increase, can the...

Limerick of the Week: Owen v. Cohen

Posted on August 05, 2008
Owen v. Cohen is a highly Limerick-worthy case. First off, since it is about a failed partnership to operate a bowling alley, it, along with Escott v. BarChris, is part of my business associations course's running bowling theme. Second, the...

Blame it on the Lawyers: NDA for iPhone Application Developers

Posted on August 04, 2008
iPhone enthusiasts may have noticed that many of the applications available in Apple's much-hyped "app store" fall short. Many of the applications are buggy and have stability and crashing issues. Blame it on the lawyers! Many application developers would tell...

Limerick of the Week: Lawlis

Posted on August 02, 2008
I didn't get to post a Limerick last week as we were driving cross country. visiting, inter alia, Devil's Tower. Cross-country trips, I have learned, leave little time for anything but sight-seeing, eating and recovering. So, I will post a...

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