Category Archives: Contract
Robert Stevens, ‘The Scope of Restraint of Trade’
ABSTRACT A short paper explaining why Lord Reid was correct as to the proper scope of restraint of trade in Esso Petroleum v Harper’s Garage, and why the UK Supreme Court were wrong to depart from his view in Penninsula Securities v Dunnes Stores (Bangor) Ltd. Stevens, Robert, The Scope of Restraint of Trade (January […]
Susan Bright, ‘Escalating Ground Rents in Residential Leases and Consumer Protection’
ABSTRACT Escalating ground rents in long residential leases (rents that double or are adjusted by reference to an index at regular intervals) have been described as onerous and can prevent property sales. This article considers whether they are legally enforceable under consumer protection legislation. Although litigation would be needed both to clarify the application of […]
John Land, ‘Company Contracting in New Zealand after Autumn Tree’
ABSTRACT This article examines the decision of the New Zealand Court of Appeal in Bishop Warden Property Holdings Ltd v Autumn Tree Ltd. The Autumn Tree case reaffirms the danger of relying on the ability of one director (on a board of more than one) to contract on behalf of a company. The decision also […]
Nicola Searle, ‘Uncertainty in Knowledge Value and Employee Restrictions’
ABSTRACT Knowledge held by firms is a driver of firm performance and value. Knowledge protection mechanisms seek to protect this value by imposing restrictions on employees, leading to concerns about the balance between firm interests and employee rights. While past research has investigated this balance, the pivotal role of knowledge value has largely been overlooked. […]
Weisbord and Sterk, ‘Joint Bank Accounts: Who Needs Them?’
ABSTRACT Joint bank accounts, once known as a ‘poor man’s will’, emerged more than a century ago as a probate avoidance device. This Article contends that joint accounts no longer serve a useful estate planning function, and they pose an unacceptably high risk to banking consumers because the legal framework governing lifetime ownership rights is […]
‘Two Universities Defeat COVID Claims’
For years now, we have been following cases in which students sue their universities alleging breach of contract or unjust enrichment based on the universities’ decisions to close their campuses because of the COVID pandemic in the Spring of 2020. The cases have become a useful teaching tool for me. Not all relationships are contractual. […]
Jeff Gordon, ‘Statutory Contracts’
ABSTRACT 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. […]
D’Onfro and Hwang, ‘Tortious Interference Revisited’
ABSTRACT Tortious interference with contract has bedeviled legal commentators for over a century. It can provide relief in some situations where straightforward contract breach cannot reach. But these claims have also been derided for threatening competition, at-will employment, free speech, and important guardrails on other private law claims. The doctrine is also difficult to square […]
Choi and Triantis, ‘Designing Contract Modification’
ABSTRACT For long-term commercial contracts, modification tends to be the norm rather than the exception. While modification often takes place in response to an arrival of new information, contracting parties frequently modify the terms in response to a shift in bargaining power. In this paper, we explain how the flexibility to renegotiate in response to […]
Kodama, Kambayashi and Izumi, ‘Non-Compete Agreements: Human Capital Investments or Compensated Wages?’
ABSTRACT Non-Compete Agreements (NCAs) restrict workers from joining or forming rival companies, which impacts labor market dynamics. Theoretical perspectives on NCAs are varied: they can lead to increased employer investment and higher wages by reducing labor turnover, or they might simply raise wages to compensate for the restriction on workers’ post-employment choices. Alternatively, NCAs could […]