Negotiating Contractual Indemnity in M&A Deals
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Parol Evidence Rules and the Mechanics of Choice
Georgetown University Law Center Scholarship @ GEORGETOWN LAW 2019 Parol Evidence Rules and the Mechanics of Choice Gregory Klass Georgetown University Law Center, [email protected] This paper can be downloaded free of charge from: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/2048 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3150616 Gregory Klass, Parol Evidence Rules and the Mechanics of Choice, 20 Theoretical Inq. L. 457 (2019). This open-access article is brought to you by the Georgetown Law Library. Posted with permission of the author. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub Part of the Contracts Commons, and the Evidence Commons 457 Parol Evidence Rules and the Mechanics of Choice Gregory Klass* Scholars have to date paid relatively little attention to the rules for deciding when a writing is integrated. These integration rules, however, are as dark and full of subtle difficulties as are other parts of parol evidence rules. As a way of thinking about Hanoch Dagan and Michael Heller’s The Choice Theory of Contracts, this Article suggests we would do better with tailored integration rules for two transaction types. In negotiated contracts between firms, courts should apply a hard express integration rule, requiring firms to say when they intend a writing to be integrated. In consumer contracts, standard terms should automatically be integrated against consumer- side communications, and never integrated against a business’s communications. The argument for each rule rests on the ways parties make and express contractual choices in these types of transactions. Whereas Dagan and Heller emphasize the different values at stake in different spheres of contracting, differences among parties’ capacities for choice — or the “mechanics of choice” — are at least as important. -
Project-Finance-Second-Edition-Boj.Pdf
The BOOK of JARGON ® Project Finance The Latham & Watkins Glossary of Project Development, Acquisition and Finance Slang and Terminology Second Edition Latham & Watkins operates worldwide as a limited liability partnership organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (USA) with affiliated limited liability partnerships conducting the practice in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Singapore and as affiliated partnerships conducting the practice in Hong Kong and Japan. Latham & Watkins practices in Saudi Arabia in association with the Law Office of Salman M. Al-Sudairi. In Qatar, Latham & Watkins LLP is licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority. Under New York’s Code of Professional Responsibility, portions of this communication contain attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each representation. Please direct all inquiries regarding our conduct under New York’s Disciplinary Rules to Latham & Watkins LLP, 885 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022-4834, Phone: +1.212.906.1200. © Copyright 2013 Latham & Watkins. All Rights Reserved. 2 The purpose of this publication is to assist the newest members of the project finance community in learning to talk the talk of project finance. It is intended to be a “Berlitz Course” for recent law school and business school graduates seeking initiation into the industry, and a desktop reference for not-so-recent graduates. In this book, you will find the key to the secret verbal handshakes that make up the code of the project finance community. We love this stuff. The PF Book of Jargon is one of a series of practice area-specific Books of Jargon published by Latham & Watkins. -
In the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Case 2:09-cv-03532-JCJ Document 17 Filed 01/26/10 Page 1 of 15 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA CLARET CAPITAL NOMINEES, et al., : : Plaintiffs, : CIVIL ACTION : v. : No. 09-cv-3532 : JOHN BENETT, et al., : : Defendants. : MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Joyner, J. January 25, 2010 This case is now before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 8). For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and judgment is entered in favor of Plaintiffs in the amount of $3,449,000. Factual Background The factual background of this case has been set forth in detail in this Court’s Memorandum of November 30, 2009 (Doc. No. 12), denying Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. We will, therefore, only provide a brief overview that will include any additional facts provided by the parties in their summary judgment filings. In the summer of 2008 the parties were involved in litigation before this Court. The parties settled the case and signed a Settlement Agreement, which gives rise to their present dispute. Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and a Promissory Note, both signed on December 15, 2008, Defendants were to pay 1 Case 2:09-cv-03532-JCJ Document 17 Filed 01/26/10 Page 2 of 15 Plaintiffs $5 million in $1 million installments. On December 23, 2008, the parties also executed an Intercreditor and Subordination Agreement (“ISA”) between themselves and the Wilmington Savings Fund Society (“WSFS”). The ISA made all of the settlement loan documents subordinate to loans made by WSFS to Defendants. -
Unit 6 – Contracts
Unit 6 – Contracts I. Definition A contract is a voluntary agreement between two or more parties that a court will enforce. The rights and obligations created by a contract apply only to the parties to the contract (i.e., those who agreed to them) and not to anyone else. II. Elements In order for a contract to be valid, certain elements must exist: (A) Competent parties. In order for a contract to be enforceable, the parties must have legal capacity. Even though most people can enter into binding agreements, there are some who must be protected from deception. The parties must be over the age of majority (18 under most state laws) and have sufficient mental capacity to understand the significance of the contract. Regarding the age requirement, if a minor enters a contract, that agreement can be voided by the minor but is binding on the other party, with some exceptions. (Contracts that a minor makes for necessaries such as food, clothing, shelter or transportation are generally enforceable.) This is called a voidable contract, which means that it will be valid (if all other elements are present) unless the minor wants to terminate it. The consequences of a minor avoiding a contract may be harsh to the other party. The minor need only return the subject matter of the contract to avoid the contract. if the subject matter of the contract is damaged the loss belongs to the nonavoiding party, not the minor. Regarding the mental capacity requirement, if the mental capacity of a party is so diminished that he cannot understand the nature and the consequences of the transaction, then that contract is also voidable (he can void it but the other party can not). -
Beyond Unconscionability: the Case for Using "Knowing Assent" As the Basis for Analyzing Unbargained-For Terms in Standard Form Contracts
Beyond Unconscionability: The Case for Using "Knowing Assent" as the Basis for Analyzing Unbargained-for Terms in Standard Form Contracts Edith R. Warkentinet I. INTRODUCTION People who sign standard form contracts' rarely read them.2 Coun- sel for one party (or one industry) generally prepare standard form con- tracts for repetitive use in consecutive transactions.3 The party who has t Professor of Law, Western State University College of Law, Fullerton, California. The author thanks Western State for its generous research support, Western State colleague Professor Phil Merkel for his willingness to read this on two different occasions and his terrifically helpful com- ments, Whittier Law School Professor Patricia Leary for her insightful comments, and Professor Andrea Funk for help with early drafts. 1. Friedrich Kessler, in a pioneering work on contracts of adhesion, described the origins of standard form contracts: "The development of large scale enterprise with its mass production and mass distribution made a new type of contract inevitable-the standardized mass contract. A stan- dardized contract, once its contents have been formulated by a business firm, is used in every bar- gain dealing with the same product or service .... " Friedrich Kessler, Contracts of Adhesion- Some Thoughts About Freedom of Contract, 43 COLUM. L. REV. 628, 631-32 (1943). 2. Professor Woodward offers an excellent explanation: Real assent to any given term in a form contract, including a merger clause, depends on how "rational" it is for the non-drafter (consumer and non-consumer alike) to attempt to understand what is in the form. This, in turn, is primarily a function of two observable facts: (1) the complexity and obscurity of the term in question and (2) the size of the un- derlying transaction. -
Demand Promissory Notes and Commercial Loans: Balancing Freedom of Contract & Good Faith George A
Nebraska Law Review Volume 94 | Issue 1 Article 5 2015 Demand Promissory Notes and Commercial Loans: Balancing Freedom of Contract & Good Faith George A. Nation III Lehigh University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr Recommended Citation George A. Nation III, Demand Promissory Notes and Commercial Loans: Balancing Freedom of Contract & Good Faith, 94 Neb. L. Rev. 151 (2015) Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol94/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law, College of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Nebraska Law Review by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. George A. Nation III* Demand Promissory Notes and Commercial Loans: Balancing Freedom of Contract & Good Faith TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction .......................................... 151 II. Background ........................................... 153 A. The Reger Case ................................... 153 B. The Problems Associated with Using Demand Notes in Commercial Loans .............................. 158 III. Analysis .............................................. 161 A. Old and Continuing Problems ..................... 161 B. Recognition of Demandable Notes: A Step Toward a Solution ........................................... 167 C. Revised Article 3—More Ambiguities .............. 170 D. Achieving Balance ................................. 173 E. Freedom of Contract.............................. -
Securitisation 2020
Securitisation 2020 A practical cross-border insight to securitisation work 13th Edition Featuring contributions from: Allen & Overy LLP Macfarlanes LLP Roschier Advokatbyrå AB Brodies LLP Maples Group Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP Cuatrecasas Mayer Brown Shearman & Sterling LLP Freshfields Bruckhaus McMillan LLP Sidley Austin LLP Deringer LLP Nishimura & Asahi VdA GSK Stockmann Oon & Bazul LLP Walder Wyss Ltd. King & Wood Mallesons Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Europe) Waselius & Wist Loyens & Loeff Luxembourg S.à r.l. LLP ISBN 978-1-83918-046-0 ISSN 1745-7661 Published by 59 Tanner Street London SE1 3PL United Kingdom Securitisation 2020 +44 207 367 0720 [email protected] th www.iclg.com 13 Edition Group Publisher Rory Smith Editor Jane Simmons Senior Editor Contributing Editor: Sam Friend Rupert Wall Head of Production Suzie Levy Sidley Austin LLP Chief Media Officer Fraser Allan CEO Jason Byles Printed by Stephens & George Print Group Cover image www.istockphoto.com ©2020 Global Legal Group Limited. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction by any means, Strategic Partners digital or analogue, in whole or in part, is strictly forbidden. PEFC Certified Disclaimer This product is from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources This publication is for general information purposes only. It does not purport to provide comprehen- PEFC/16-33-254 www.pefc.org sive full legal or other advice. Global Legal Group Ltd. and the contributors accept no responsibility for losses that may arise from reliance upon information contained in this publication. This publication is intended to give an indication of legal issues upon which you may need advice. Full legal advice should be taken from a qualified professional when dealing with specific situations. -
Ratings Reform: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Columbia Law School Scholarship Archive Faculty Scholarship Faculty Publications 2011 Ratings Reform: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly John C. Coffee Jr. Columbia Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Banking and Finance Law Commons, and the Law and Economics Commons Recommended Citation John C. Coffee Jr., Ratings Reform: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 1 HARV. BUS. L. REV. 231 (2011). Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/615 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Publications at Scholarship Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholarship Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RATINGS REFORM: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY JOHN C. COFFEE, JR.* Although dissatisfaction with the performance of the credit rating agencies is universal (particularlywith regard to structuredfinance), reformers divide into two basic camps: (1) those who see the "issuer pays" model of the major credit ratings firms as the fundamental cause of inflated ratings, and (2) those who view the licensing power given to credit ratings agencies by regulatory rules requiring an investment grade ratingfrom an NRSRO rating agency as creating a de facto monopoly that precludes competition. After reviewing the recent em- pirical literature on how ratings became inflated, this Article agrees with the former school and doubts that serious reform is possible unless the conflicts of interest inherent in the "issuer pays model" can be reduced.Although the licens- ing power hypothesis can explain the contemporary lack of competition in the ratings industry, increasedcompetition is more likely to aggravate than alleviate the problem of inflated ratings. -
What Does Your Contract Say?
3 SANCTUARY BOULEVARD SUITE 201 MANDEVILLE, LOUISIANA 70471 TELEPHONE: (985) 819-8400 FACSIMILE: (985) 819-8484 WHAT DOES YOUR CONTRACT SAY? BY: MICHAEL F. WEINER MARK W. FRILOT August 3, 2011 INTRODUCTION “What does the contract say?” That is the question most of you have heard numerous times from your attorneys in response to a question regarding particular rights or obligations on a project. That is because, under well-settled Louisiana law, the contract is the law between the parties. LA. CIV. CODE ANN ART. 1983 (2010). It is essential that contracting parties know and understand all of the terms of their contract, as well as the practical consequences thereof. Indeed, “knowledge is power”, and a keen understanding of contractual provisions and their effects might provide a strategic edge in the negotiation process, or in the least provide a roadmap of landmines to avoid. Further, without knowledge of the terms, parties can inadvertently create disputes by failing to honor all obligations to which they have agreed or may fail to exercise all rights that they have been given. Although not intended as a comprehensive enumeration of all potential contractual clauses and issues that might arise, the purpose of this presentation is to highlight some provisions of which contracting parties should “be aware”. Otherwise, your contract provisions may become something you will “beware”. I. CONTRACT SCOPE AND HIERARCHY Likely the most elementary of the crucial contractual provisions are those that are sometimes overlooked – What is to be performed and by whom? Ignorance of those essential provisions can be catastrophic. A. What Is Included in Your Contract? Since the contract is the “law between the parties”, the contract documents provide the text of those laws. -
The Economics of Deferral and Clawback Requirements∗
The economics of deferral and clawback requirements∗ Florian Hoffmanny Roman Inderstz Marcus Oppx June 2, 2021 Abstract We analyze the effects of regulatory interference in compensation contracts, fo- cusing on recent mandatory deferral and clawback requirements restricting incen- tive compensation of material risk-takers in the financial sector. Moderate deferral requirements have a robustly positive effect on equilibrium risk-management effort only if the bank manager's outside option is sufficiently high, else, their effectiveness depends on the dynamics of information arrival. Stringent deferral requirements unambiguously backfire. We characterize when regulators should not impose any deferral regulation at all, when it can achieve second-best welfare, when additional clawback requirements are of value, and highlight the interaction with capital reg- ulation. Keywords: compensation regulation, clawbacks, bonus deferral, short-termism, moral hazard, principal-agent models with externalities. JEL Classification: D86 (Economics of Contract: Theory), G28 (Government Pol- icy and Regulation), G21 (Banks, Depository Institutions, Mortgages). ∗This paper benefited significantly from comments by the co-editor Philip Bond, an anonymous associate editor, and, two anonymous referees. We also thank Vish Viswanathan, Elu von Thadden, and Mark Westerfield for excellent discussions, as well as Yakov Amihud, Peter DeMarzo, Alex Edmans, Sivan Frenkel, Willie Fuchs, Nicolae Garle^anu, Ben H´ebert, Gustavo Manso, John Morgan, Andrzej (Andy) Skrzypacz, Jan Starmans, Steve Tadelis, Jean Tirole, and Jeffrey Zwiebel for valuable insights. We are also grateful for comments from seminar participants at Stanford, University of Washington (Seattle), Tel Aviv University, Washington University Corporate Finance conference, FTG Madrid, Barcelona GSE, the Paul Woolley Centre Conference at LSE, the conference in honor of Doug Diamond at the University of Chicago, and the Stockholm School of Economics. -
Side Letters, Incorporation by Reference and Construction of Contractual Relationships Memorialized in Multiple Writings Royce De R
University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository Faculty Publications Fall 2012 Side Letters, Incorporation by Reference and Construction of Contractual Relationships Memorialized in Multiple Writings Royce de R. Barondes University of Missouri School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/facpubs Part of the Contracts Commons Recommended Citation Royce de R. Barondes, Side Letters, Incorporation by Reference and Construction of Contractual Relationships Memorialized in Multiple Writings, 64 Baylor L. Rev. 651 (2012) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository. SIDE LETTERS, INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE AND CONSTRUCTION OF CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS MEMORIALIZED IN MULTIPLE WRITINGS Royce de R. Barondes* I. Introduction..................................652 II. Incorporation by Reference................... ....... 657 A. Language of Incorporation .............. ...... 657 B. Problematic Consequences of Drafting with Incorporation ........................ ...... 661 C. Limits on Incorporation by Reference .................. 664 1. Insurance Certificates........... ..... ...... 667 2. Certificated Debt Securities and No-action Clauses..670 3. Additional Cases Involving Reference Problematic for Lack of Notice.........................672 -
Assignment of Receivables in Financing Transactions
Article Assignment of receivables in financing transactions Truly a sale or funding in disguise? Anita Baid Finserv [email protected] 03.01.2018 Check at: http://vinodkothari.com/staff- publications.html for more write ups. Copyright: This write up is the property of Vinod Kothari Consultants P. Ltd and no part of it can be copied, reproduced or distributed in any manner. Disclaimer: This write up is intended to initiate academic debate on a pertinent question. It is not intended to be a professional advice and should not be relied upon for real life facts. Assignment of receivables in financing transactions Article Introduction In legal interpretation, whether a document, manifestly reading like a transfer agreement, has the true effect of transferring an asset or merely leading to a disguised funding transaction, is always a matter of dispute before Courts. Everything is fine in good times, but the so-called sale was documented to be of help during financial distress or bankruptcy; so in distress or bankruptcy, questions are raised as to whether the purported sale is a sale or financing transaction. A number of so-called “sales” may be really garbed funding transactions, in which case a Court may re-characterise such transactions as funding transactions. If the transaction is treated as a financing transaction, the very purpose that the sale documentation tried to achieve will be frustrated. Worse still, the transaction may be regarded as unsecured funding, since security documentation may not have been done. The question of “true sale” is, therefore, a question as to whether a documented sale will be regarded as truly achieving the objective of a sale, and will be respected as such in bankruptcy or similar situation.