This week we consider another view on the issue of whether some contractual breaches are such that additional remedies should be imposed by the courts, beyond the traditional damages for breach of contract. In other words, Is some conduct sufficiently wrongful that a court should have the right to impose additional damages to deter such [...]
Let’s continue the discussion regarding rules of fault in contract law. This series is from a law review article written by Professor George M. Cohen, who first notes that: “The economic justification starts from the same premise as the traditionalist justification – that courts should enforce agreements according to the parties’ mutual intentions. [Thus,] the [...]
Let’s continue with the discussion of fault and breach in contract law. We are starting to see that the law treat different kinds of contracts differently. Meaning that, with a “relational contract,” being one in which the duties and obligations extend over time, the law imposes higher standards than in a “one-shot” contract. Professors Oren [...]
Journalist and attorney Lloyd Carter questions whether the benefits of subsidized water outweigh the social costs. The undisputable fact is that the west side of Fresno County is one of the poorest regions in all of America. Does current water policy help or does it simply compound the misery? The Cost for West Side Agriculture [...]
Water supplies for West Side agriculture have been major news items in the past few years. Many residents, including this writer, are proud of our agricultural heritage and bounty, and have questioned decisions that threaten water supplies for agriculture. Journalist and attorney Lloyd Carter has penned a provocative article that probes the financial integrity of [...]
This posting continues the question of whether fault should be considered in evaluating a claim for breach of contract, specifically, whether the courts should weigh the “fault” of the non-breaching party. When would such “fault” by the non-breaching party arise? It would seem that three time frames could be considered: Before (i.e., during the formation [...]
Continuing his recent discussion of fault in contract law, Judge Posner explains that, “The idea of ‘good faith’ is an example. We generally want people to be honest and aboveboard in their dealings with others. But there is no general duty of good faith in contract law. If you offer a low price for some [...]
Judge Richard A. Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals contributed his thoughts at a symposium on the rationale for liability for breach of contract. One of his points is a sound analytic distinction between tort liability and contract liability, a concept which is sadly muddled in California cases. Writes Judge Posner, “Here is [...]
I read a recent article in the Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report about bankruptcy filings after the 2005 reform act. The author (Jon Ann H. Giblin) compared 2006 filings with 2007 filings (in her table). I asked myself – Which states have more filings, on a percentage basis? (This, of course, begs the question of [...]
Relationship-based fiduciary duties (as counterposed with contract-based fiduciary duties) arise in many different situations. I recently came across an extension of the fiduciary concept in the field of charitable solicitations. Specifically, California Business and Professions Code section 17510.8 states, “There exists a fiduciary relationship between a charity or any person soliciting on behalf of a [...]