Contracting Law
second edition
Amy Hilsman Kastely
Deborah Waire Post
Sharon Kang Hom
Carolina Academic Press
Durham, North Carolina
Copyright © 1996, 2000
Amy Hilsman Kastely, Deborah Waire Post, and Sharon Kang Hom
All Rights Reserved
ISBN 0-89089-831-6
LCCN 00-106263
Carolina Academic Press
700 Kent Street
Durham, NC 27701
Telephone (919) 489-7486
Fax (919) 493-5668
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Personal Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Table of Cases
Other Texts
xvii
xix
xxiii
xxvii
Chapter One: Introduction to Contract Law
3
A. The Study of Contract Law
Note — On the History of Contract Law
H.J. Coolidge vs. Pua‘aiki and Kea
Note — Anatomy of a Judicial Decision
3
5
12
15
B. Three Principles of Contract Law
1. The Bargain Principle
Kirksey v. Kirksey
O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), The Gift of the Magi
John Elemans, The Gift Economy
Note — On Markets and Market Ideologies
Note — Neo-Classical Economics and Contract Law
Curtis C. Flood v. Bowie K. Kuhn et al.
Statement of Ted Williams
Note — Baseball, Law, and the Market
Bargain and Injury
Vanessa Redgrave v. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
Note — On Bargain, Injury, and Expectation Damages
2. Reliance: Trust, Responsibility, Injury
Laurie Kuribayashi, Freeway Poem
Andrew Ricketts v. Katie Scothorn
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
State Bank of Standish v. Robert N. and Kathleen Curry
Note — On Farming in the United States
3. Restitution: Unjust Enrichment and the Duty
to Right Other Wrongs
Alasdair MacIntyre, A Disquieting Suggestion
Executor of the Estate of Enoch F. Sceva v. Fanny True
Howard E. Bailey v. Richard E. West
Enid Bagnold, National Velvet
Lyle Dews v. Halliburton Industries, Inc.
26
27
29
30
34
36
37
41
53
54
57
58
66
68
69
71
74
80
91
v
93
95
97
103
107
110
vi
CONTENTS
Chapter Two: Contract Formation
A. Difference and Meaning in Communication
1. The Objective Theory of Interpretation
Charles R. Embry v. Hargadine, McKittrick Dry Goods Co.
Arthur Miller, The Death of a Salesman
United Steelworkers of America, Local 1330 v.
United States Steel
Sue Doro, Blue Collar Goodbyes
In the Matter of the Estate of Virgil A. Steffes
Note — On Informal Contracts and the Objective Theory
Patricia J. Williams, Alchemical Notes
2. A Subjective Theory of Interpretation: The Doctrine of
Misunderstanding
Konic International Corp. v. Spokane Computer Services, Inc.
Bud Abbott & Lou Costello, Who’s on First?
Dr. Werner Oswald v. Jane B. Allen
Herlinda Marie Acedo v. State of Arizona, Department of
Public Welfare
Note — On Revocation of Consent to Adoption
S & J Associates v. Jay’s Trucking Co.
B. Offer and Acceptance: The Mechanics of Contract Formation
Note — On the Polarity of the Offer-Acceptance Model
Michael M. Normile and Wawie Kurniawan v.
Hazel Elizabeth Miller
1. Was There an Offer?
J. W. Southworth v. Joseph C. Oliver and Arlene G. Oliver
Ahmad Izadi v. Machado (Gus) Ford, Inc.
John Leonard v. Pepsico, Inc.
Note — On Interpretation and Context
2. The Assent Invited: Acceptance
Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. v. Nowlin Smith, Jr.
The Manner of Acceptance
Beard Implement Co. v. Krusa
Theodore B. Russell v. Texas Co.
Multicare Medical Center v. State of Washington
The Content of an Acceptance
Jom, Inc, d/b/a Chipco International, Ltd. v. Adell Plastics, Inc.
Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse Technology
Rich Hill et al. v. Gateway 2000, Inc.
Note — On Termination of an Offer and the Power to Accept
3. Revocation of the Offer Prior to Acceptance
George Dickinson v. John Dodds
State of Washington v. Richard Lee Wheeler
Note — On Revocation of Offers
Sharon Yvonne Holland v. Earl G. Graves Publishing Co.
Note — On offers “becoming irrevocable,”
Karl Llewellyn, Our Case-Law of Contract:
Offer and Acceptance
Drennan v. Star Paving Co.
113
113
114
114
118
120
125
126
137
140
143
143
146
150
151
155
157
160
161
161
165
165
172
176
188
188
189
191
192
196
198
203
204
213
223
227
227
227
231
233
235
239
240
241
CONTENTS
C. Complicating Assent: “Indefinite” Agreements
George A. Varney v. Isaac E. Ditmars
Community Design Corp. v. Joseph D. Antonell
Cobble Hill Nursing Home, Inc. v. Henry and Warren Corp.
Mary Gordon, Final Payments
Oglebay Norton Co. v. Armco, Inc.
Chapter Three: Consideration
A. The Consideration Doctrine
1. Origins of the Consideration Doctrine
The Early View of Consideration
A.W.B. Simpson, A History of the Common Law of Contract
The Classical Reformulation
The Reinterpretation of Consideration as
One among Many
An Emerging Use of Consideration as a Tool for Implementing
Fairness and a Variety of Other Public Policies
2. Applications of the Consideration Doctrine and Its
Corollary Rules
Langer v. Superior Steel Corp.
“Courts Will Not Inquire into the Adequacy of
Consideration”
Hamer v. Sidway
Carl Jessee v. Dana (Mrs. Larry) Smith
Note — Consideration and the Market
Myrna Greenfield, Alternative Trade:
Giving Coffee a New Flavor
“Nominal Consideration is Not Sufficient”
In re Greene
Clare Dalton, An Essay in the Deconstruction of
Contract Doctrine
“Illusory Promises” and “Mutuality of Obligation”
Agnes Maszewski v. John Piskadlo
John Prine, Hello in There
Ethel Lawrence et al. v. Ingham County Health
Department Family Planning/Pre-Natal Clinic et al.
Note — On Sovereign Immunity and Public Health Care
Paulette Childress White, Getting The Facts of Life
The “Pre-Existing Duty Rule” — A First Look
Angela White v. Village of Homewood
Profile: Engine Company Number Three
“Public Policy” and “Disfavored” Contract Terms
Jay H. Romack v. Public Service Company of Indiana, Inc.
Note — Romack Reversed and Reinterpreted — Controversy
and the Courts
Note — On the At-Will Employment Doctrine
Howard C. Ellis, Employment-at-Will and
Contract Principles
Richard E. Freeman v. The Duluth Clinic, Ltd.
vii
244
245
249
250
255
256
263
263
264
264
265
270
272
274
276
277
280
280
283
285
288
292
292
296
297
300
303
304
310
311
317
318
321
323
324
328
330
331
337
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CONTENTS
B. Promises Made in Recognition of Past Benefits
Mills v. Wyman
Joe Webb v. Floyd McGowin
Harrington v. Taylor
Realty Associates of Sedona v. Valley National Bank of Arizona
340
341
344
347
349
C. A Brief History of Jurisprudence
Bailey Kuklin & Jeffrey W. Stempel, Foundations of the Law
353
353
Chapter Four: Promissory Estoppel: Section 90
A. A History of Promissory Estoppel
Jay M. Feinman, Promissory Estoppel and Judicial Method
Allegheny College v. National Chautauqua County Bank
of Jamestown
Note — On Charitable Contributions and Contract Law
Richard B. Schmitt, Uncharitable Acts: If Donors Fail to Give
Laura Williamson, Nonprofit Organizations Face Cuts in Aid
B. Contemporary Applications of Promissory Estoppel: Promise and
Reasonable Reliance
The Promise
Joseph Hoffman v. Red Owl Stores, Inc.
Gillian K. Hadfield, Problematic Relations
Violet E. Neiss v. Kenneth E. Ehlers and Jill A. Ehlers
Dayton Malleable Clears $5 Million Capital Outlay
Abbington v. Dayton Malleable, Inc.
Barbara Kingsolver, Why I am a Danger to the Public
Reliance: Action or Forbearance on the Part of the Promisee
or a Third Person
Jo Laverne Alden v. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley and Vera Matson, Love Me Tender
General Aviation, Inc. v. The Cessna Aircraft Co.
371
371
372
376
382
382
386
387
388
388
395
405
413
414
424
427
427
431
432
C. Extending Reliance
Farash v. Sykes Datatronics, Inc.
Note — A Brief Introduction to Statutes of Frauds
Guy Kinoshita v. Canadian Pacific Airlines
437
437
443
447
D. Review of Bases of Liability in Contract and Restitution
William Edwin Van Brunt III v. Robert Rauschenberg
453
454
Chapter Five: Defenses: Explicit Political, Economic, and Moral
Controls on Contracting
A. Illegality and Violation of Public Policy
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
In the Matter Of Baby “M”
217 N.J. Super. 313, 525 A.2d 1128 (1987)
In the Matter Of Baby “M”
109 N.J. 396, 537 A.2d 1227 (1988)
Richard A. Posner, Sex and Reason
461
462
463
465
482
495
CONTENTS
A.C. v. C.B.
Donald L. DeMuth v. Daniel C. Miller
James B. Stewart, Gentleman’s Agreement
ix
500
505
516
B. Lack of Capacity
Children
Note — On Children’s Capacity to Contract
Don Oldenburg, Consummate Consumer; Children’s Business
James Halbman, Jr. v. Michael Lemke
Toshio Mori, Through Anger and Love
Brooke Shields v. Garry Gross
Mental Incapacity
Shoals Ford, Inc. v. Maxine Clardy
Oliver Sacks, Rebecca
519
522
522
523
526
532
535
542
542
548
C. Duress
United States for the Use of the Trane Co. v. Lorna D. Bond
Theodore Rosegarten, All God’s Dangers:
The Life of Nate Shaw
Note — On Wife-Beating, Financing Practices, and
Third Party Duress
Toni E. Sosnoff v. Jason D. Carter and Julia Vance Carter
552
553
560
D. Undue Influence
Nancy Ferguson v. John F. Jeanes
567
568
E. Misrepresentation and Failure to Disclose
Audrey E. Vokes v. Arthur Murray, Inc.
Robert W. Gordon, Unfreezing Legal Reality
Note — On the Aftermath of Vokes v. Arthur Murray
Flight Concepts Limited Partnership et al. v. Boeing Co.
Lawrence S. C. Kang v. W. Dewey Harrington
Michael I. Meyerson, The Reunification of Contract Law
Note — On the Duty to Disclose Information
Marcus Cicero, De Officiis, Book III
Warren G. Hill and Gloria R. Hill v. Ora G. Jones and
Barbara R. Jones
Jeffrey M. Stambovsky v. Helen v. Ackley and Ellis Realty
Fei Xiaotong, A World Without Ghosts
571
573
576
579
581
585
589
593
593
F. Unconscionability
Ora Lee Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.
Deborah Waire Post, The Square Deal Furniture Company
Muriel Morisey Spence, Teaching Williams v.
Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.
James Alan McPherson, A Loaf of Bread
Tony Brower v. Gateway 2000
Procedural Unconscionability
Brooklyn Union Gas Co. v. Rafael Jimeniz
In Re Marriage of Gene M. Gudmundson and
Geng Hui Gudmundson
Note — On the Many Languages Spoken by U.S. Citizens
561
563
595
601
606
609
610
616
617
621
628
633
633
636
638
x
CONTENTS
Substantive Unconscionability
Robert W. Ryan v. Norman D. Weiner
Nez Percé Tribe of Indians v. The United States
Sherman Alexie, Imagining the Reservation
Chapter Six: Content of the Contract
A. Implied Terms – Unspoken Understandings and Expectations
1. Trade Practices, Community Norms, and Other
Regular Routines
Nanakuli Paving and Rock Co. v. Shell Oil Co., Inc.
Fisher v. Congregation Bnai Yitzhok
2. Best Efforts, Good Faith, and Similar Communal Norms
Wood v. Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon
Meredith Etherington-Smith and Jeremy Pilcher,
The “IT” Girls
Atlantic Track & Turnout Co. v. Perini Corp.
Larese v. Creamland Dairies, Inc.
Peter Dalton v. Educational Testing Service
Amy Tan, Mother Tongue
Note — On the Existence and Definition of the Duty of
Good Faith
Paul Reid and Mary J. Reid v. Key Bank of
Southern Maine, Inc.
Note — On Legal Realism and the Duty of Good Faith
3. Interpretive Presumptions and Implied Terms
Mary Rowe v. Montgomery Ward & Co.
Louise Harmon, Privacy and the Parking Lot Faces
B. Interpreting Express Terms
1. Formal and Contextual Approaches
Formal Maxims
Edwin Patterson, The Interpretation and Construction
of Contracts
Contextual Meaning
Robert Braucher, Interpretation and Legal Effect in
the Second Restatement
John Cheever, Artemis, the Honest Well Digger
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. v. G. W. Thomas
Trident Center v. Connecticut General Life Insurance Co.
Frigaliment Importing Co. v. B.N.S. International
Sales Corp.
Note — On the United Nations Sales Convention
2. The Reasonable Expectation Doctrine and “Blanket Assent”—
Interpretation of Standard Form Contracts
Regional Bank of Colorado, N.A. v. St. Paul Fire and
Marine Insurance
Laurie Kindel Fett, The Reasonable Expectations Doctrine
Karl Llewellyn, The Form or Boiler-Plate “Agreement”
639
639
649
657
659
660
660
661
671
673
674
675
680
685
687
695
699
701
708
708
708
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723
723
723
723
725
725
726
729
732
737
742
744
745
749
750
CONTENTS
xi
C. Parol Evidence Rule
Betaco, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Co.
Kelly Merk et al. v. Jewel Food Stores
753
755
767
D. Categorizing Terms: Promises, Conditions, Promissory Conditions,
and Insignificant Terms
Promise, Condition, Promissory Condition, or Insignificant Term?
Internatio-Rotterdam, Inc. v. River Brand Rice Mills, Inc.
Conditions of Satisfaction: Objectivity Revisited
Incomm, Inc. v. Thermo-Spa, Inc
Terry and Robert Muzzy v. Chevrolet Division
775
777
779
782
783
787
Chapter Seven: Mistake of Fact, Changed Circumstances, and
Agreed Modifications
795
A. Mistake of Fact
Mutual Mistake
Beachcomber Coins, Inc. v. Ron Boskett, t/a R & B Coins
Major-League Dispute Kid who paid $12 for $1,200 baseball
card settles with shop owner
Piano tuner finds problem: stashed cash (1993)
Unilateral Mistake
Jeffery G. McWaters v. Thomas Lee Parker and
Creasy Trucking, Inc.
Jump-Rope Rhyme
First Baptist Church of Moultrie v. Barber Contracting Co.
E. Annie Proulx, The Shipping News
Note on Mistake in Expression
795
796
796
B. Changed Circumstances
Impossibility (or Impracticability) of Performance
Specialty Tires of America v. The CIT Group/Equipment
Financing, Inc.
Portland Section of the Council of Jewish Women v.
Sisters of Charity
Roy Cazares and Thomas Tosdal v. Phil Saenz
Frustration of Purpose
Raymond Carver, A Small Good Thing
Robert J. Howard v. Terry Nicholson and
George G. Nicholson
Brenner v. Little Red School House, Ltd.
Changed Circumstances in Different Legal Systems
812
813
C. Agreed Modifications and the Pre-Existing Duty Rule
Alaska Packers’ Ass’n v. Domenico et al.
Hiroshi Wagatsuma & Arthur Rosett, Cultural Attitudes
Towards Contract Law
Lester L. Quigley, Jr. and Veronna Kay Lovell v. Wilson
David Shribman, Iowa’s Story is America’s
Farm Equipment Store, Inc. v. White Farm Equipment Co.
Jane Smiley, A Thousand Acres
848
849
798
800
800
800
804
805
809
812
813
821
826
832
832
839
844
848
856
857
860
861
865
xii
CONTENTS
Chapter Eight: Breach of Contract
A. Constructive Conditions, Substantial Performance, and
the Rule of Perfect Tender
John M. Shaw v. Mobil Oil Corp.
Spivey and Self v. Highview Farms
Jacob & Youngs, Inc. v. George Edward Kent
Richard Danzig, The Capability Problem in Contract Law
O.W. Grun Roofing and Construction Co. v.
Mrs. Fred M. Cope
Peter Ho Davies, The Ugliest House in the World
Other Protections for Parties Who Must Perform First
On the Rule of Perfect Tender in the Uniform Commercial Code
Ernest Ramirez and Adele Ramirez v. Autosport
Note — Breach Provisions in the United Nations Convention
on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
B. Anticipatory Breach and Related Doctrines
H.B. Taylor v. Elizabeth and Ellwood Johnston
Song of the Horse
AMF, Incorporated v. McDonald’s Corp.
Chapter Nine: Remedies
A. Damages for Breach of Contract
1. Expectation Damages and Alternative Measures of
Restitution or Reliance
Alice Sullivan v. James H. O’Connor
Eric P. Nash, What’s A Life Worth?
Source Direct, Inc. v. Donald J. Mantell, M.D.
American Standard, Inc. et al. v. Harold Schectman et al.
Note on UCC Remedies
2. Three Limitations on Damages: Certainty, Foreseeability,
and Mitigation
Reasonable Certainty
Pauline’s Chicken Villa, Inc. v. KFC Corp.
Foreseeability
Hadley v. Baxendale
George Herbert, The Temple
Troxler Electronics Laboratories, Inc. v.
Solitron Devices, Inc.
Mitigation
Shirley MacLaine Parker v. Twentieth Century-Fox
Film Corp.
3. Non-Pecuniary Loss: An Additional Limitation on Damages?
Carla Deitsch et al. v. The Music Co.
Denise Chávez, The Wedding
Liberty Homes, Inc. v. Darniece B. Epperson and
Fred R. Epperson
bell hooks, Homeplace: A Site of Resistance
86 7
867
867
871
876
880
885
889
890
892
893
900
901
902
909
909
915
915
915
916
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929
933
935
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936
938
938
940
940
944
944
953
953
955
956
959
CONTENTS
4. Contract Terms Regarding Remedies
Liquidated Damage Clauses
Michael E. Kvassay, d/b/a Kvassay Exotic Foods v.
Albert Murray, et al.
Note — On Liquidated Damage Clauses
Limitation of Liability Clauses
Jimmie Elsken, Administrator v. Network Multi-Family
Security Corp.
5. Punitive Damages
Werner, Zaroff, Slotnick, Stern & Askenazy v.
Donald R. Lewis
Orlando Cabrera et al. v. Jeno Jakabovitz et al.
Jon C. Dubin, From Junkyards to Gentrification
B. Specific Performance
Lawrence F. Clark, Jr. v. Pennsylvania State Police
Douglas Laycock, The Death of the Irreparable Injury Rule
Madison Square Garden Boxing, Inc. v. Earnie Shavers
Beverly Glen Music, Inc. v. Warner Communications, Inc.
and Anita Baker
Lea S. VanderVelde, The Gendered Origins of
the Lumley Doctrine
Chapter Ten: Third Party Interests
A. Third Party Beneficiaries
Thomas Devine v. Roche Biomedical Laboratories
William F. Scarpitti, Jr. v. William Weborg
Henry Horner Mothers Guild v. Chicago Housing Authority
Dr. Erich Platzer et al. v. Sloan-Kettering Institute for
Cancer Research
Andrea Barrett, The Behavior of Hawkweeds
Third Party Beneficiary Doctrine in Promissory Estoppel
and Professional Malpractice Claims
Alvin Stangland and Bruce Kintschi v. Norman D. Brock
Charles Dickens, Bleak House
B. Assignment of Rights and Delegation of Duties
(and “Assignment of a Contract”)
1. Assignment of Rights
Evening News Association v. Peterson
Jill Schachner Chanen, Source of Comfort
Equico Lessors, Inc. v. A. Moneim Ramadan, M.D.
2. Delegation of Duties, including “Assignment of a Contract”
Sally Beauty Co., Inc. v. Nexxus Products Co., Inc.
Hunter Tract Improvement Co. v. S. H. Stone
Geyen v. Time Oil Co.
Regina Austin, “A Nation of Thieves”
xiii
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960
960
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964
964
968
969
971
977
987
987
990
992
995
996
1001
1001
1002
1005
1009
1014
1021
1024
1026
1033
1035
1035
1036
1042
1045
1048
1049
1059
1061
1064
xiv
CONTENTS
Appendix: Some Authoritative Texts in Contract Law
1067
A. Uniform Commercial Code
Article 1 General Provisions. — Selected Sections
Article 2 Sales. — Selected Sections
Article 9 Secured Transactions — Selected Sections on Assignment
1067
1067
1070
1092
B. United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International
Sale of Goods
1093
C. Restatement (Second) of Contracts (1981)
Chapter 1. Meaning of Terms
Chapter 2. Formation of Contracts — Parties and Capacity
Chapter 3. Formation of Contracts — Mutual Assent
Chapter 4. Formation of Contracts— Consideration
Chapter 5. The Statute of Frauds
Chapter 6. Mistake
Chapter 7. Misrepresentation, Duress and Undue Influence
Chapter 8. Unenforceability on Grounds of Public Policy
Chapter 9. The Scope of Contractual Obligations
Chapter 10. Performance and Non-Performance
Chapter 11. Impracticability of Performance and
Frustration of Purpose
Chapter 12. Discharge by Assent or Alteration
Chapter 13. Joint and Several Promisors and Promisees
Chapter 14. Contract Beneficiaries
Chapter 15. Assignment and Delegation
Chapter 16. Remedies
Index
1141
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1095
1096
1097
1103
1120
1120
1121
1124
1127
1132
1133
1134
1134
1134
1135
1136
Personal Acknowledgments
My deep thanks and appreciation to my CUNY colleagues for their generous
encouragement over the years. Special thanks to: Marylu Bilek, Sue Bryant, David
Nadvorney, Shirley Lum, and Cheryl Meyer for reading workbook drafts and giving helpful feedback, and most especially to Janice Weir for her careful review and
insightful suggestions on each draft; to all my contracts students who embraced,
resisted and critically engaged these interdisciplinary materials and approaches;
and to Pat Tynan for years of efficient good-natured secretarial support. I owe
gratitude to my family — the Homs at home — for keeping me grounded in the
daily noise and chaos, and to my son, James, for his computer expertise and his
humor and for teaching me the possibilities of raising a healthy, non-sexist, sensitive male child in these difficult times.
Sharon Kang Hom
I thank many classes of first-year law students at St. Mary’s University School
of Law and the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law for the
honor and joy of studying contract law with them, with special thanks to Francell
Mokihana Marquardt, Joyce McCarty, Jill Nunakawa, Mike Simpson, and
Shawna Soderstein. Thanks also to the secretarial staffs of St. Mary’s University
School of Law, particularly María Sánchez, Cecilia Aguilar, Nancy Meyer, Hortense D. Porter, and Aurelia Vincent, and of the University of Hawai’i School of
Law, particularly Jane Tanaka and Frieda Honda, for excellent work and kind
encouragement. I am indebted to the able and engaged research assistance of
Christine Dahilig, Bonnie Oppermann, Suzanna Meredith, Karen Corby, Judy
Saenz, Conry Davidson, Stephanie Hébert, and Laura Winfield. Among many generous colleagues I owe a special thanks to Yvonne Cherena Pacheco, and to Barbara Aldave, Carol Chomsky, Elise García, Maivân Clêch Lâm, Judy Scales-Trent,
Judy Weightman, Janice Weir, and participants in the Temporary Unofficial Committee on Contract Teaching of the AALS Section on Women in Legal Education. I
thank J. Kastely, Joe Kastely, and Christina Rose Kastely for engaging conversations and play and for understanding why “Amy never sleeps” and “Amy never
stops working.”
Amy Hilsman Kastely
xv
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the distance between vision and reality and the
work of those who helped close the gap between the two: Allan G. Chambers,
Tiombe Tallie-Russell, and Suzanne Darrow-Kleinhaus, whose efforts in obtaining
permission to reprint photographs and fiction, poetry, and interviews made this
book possible, and Kathleen Sullivan, whose skills as an editor and thoroughness
as an indexer improved this book in countless ways. I would also like to thank
both Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg School of Law, my home institution, and
Syracuse Law School (where I visited during the academic year 1994–1995) for
their financial support and all my colleagues at both institutions for their encouragement and moral support.
Deborah Waire Post
Acknowledgments
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale, Copyright © 1985 by O.W. Toad,
Ltd. First American Edition 1986. Excerpt reprinted with permission of Houghton
Mifflin Co. All rights reserved.
“The Behavior of Hawkweeds” from Ship Fever and Other Stories by
Andrea Barrett. Copyright © 1996 by Andrea Barrett. Reprinted by permission of
W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.
Robert Braucher, “Interpretation and Legal Effect in the Second Restatement
of Contracts” Copyright © 1981 by Columbia Law Review. Excerpt reprinted with
the permission of Columbia Law Review.
“A Small Good Thing” from Cathedral by Raymond Carver. Copyright ©
1983 by Raymond Carver. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf Inc.
Jill Schachner Chanen, “Source of Comfort-Viatical Deals Turn Insurance into
Cash for Terminally Ill” © 1995 by Jill Schachner Chanen reprinted with the permission of Jill Schachner Chanen.
Denise Chavez “The Wedding”, First published in Daughters of the Fifth
Sun: A Collection of Latina Fiction and Poetry, published by Riverhead
Books, a division of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, Copyright © 1995 by Denise
Chavez. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher and the author.
“Artemis, The Honest Well Digger” from The World of Apples by John
Cheever. Copyright © 1973 by John Cheever. Reprinted by permission of Alfred
A. Knopf Inc.
Marcus Cicero: De Officiis, Book III, translated by Walter Miller, © Harvard
University 1930. Excerpt reprinted by permission of the publishers and the Loeb
Classical Library.
Richard Danzig, “The Capability Problem in Contract Law” Copyright ©
1978 by The Foundation Press. Excerpt reproduced with permission of The Foundation Press.
Davies, P. H., The Ugliest House in the World. 1995 by Peter Ho Davies.
Excerpt reproduced with permission by publisher.
Sue Doro, Blue Collar Goodbyes Copyright © 1993 by Sue Doro Reprinted
with the permission of the author.
John C. Dubin, From Junkyards to Gentrification: Explicating a Right to Protective Zoning in Low-Income Communities of Color © 1993 by John C. Dubin.
Excerpt reproduced with permission by author and Minnesota Law Review.
Excerpt from John Elemans, “The Gift Economy” reprinted with the permission of John Elemans, jelemans@express.ca
Excerpt from “Employment-at-Will and Contract Principles” Copyright ©
1992 by Howard Ellis. Reproduced with permission of author and Dickerson Law
Review.
xvii
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The “IT” Girls: Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, The Courturiere ‘Lucile’,
and Ellinor Glyn, Romantic Novelist, copyright © 1986 by Meredith Etherington-Smith and Jeremy Pilcher, excerpt reprinted by permission of Harcourt
Brace & Co..
Jay Feinman, “Promissory Estoppel and Judicial Method” © 1984 by Jay M.
Feinman. Excerpt reprinted with permission by author and Harvard Law Review.
Laura Kindel “The Reasonable Expectations Doctrine: An Alternative to
Bending and Stretching Traditional Tools of Contract Interpretation” © 1992 by
Laura Kindel. Excerpt reproduced with permission of the author and William
Mitchell Law Review.
Mary Gordon, Final Payments Copyright © 1978 by Mary Gordon. Excerpt
reprinted by permission of Random House Inc.
Robert W. Gordon, “Unfreezing Legal Reality: Critical Approaches to Law”,
15 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 195 (1987) Copyright © 1987 by Florida State University
Law Review. Excerpt reprinted with permission of Florida State University Law
Review.
Myrna Greenfield, “Alternative Trade: Giving Coffee a New Flavor” from
Equal Exchange. © 1994 by Myrna Greenfield. Excerpt reproduced with permission by author and publisher.
Gillian K. Hadfield, “Franchising and the Law of Incomplete Contracts”, 42
Stan. L. Rev. 927 (1990) © 1994 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford
Junior University. Excerpt reprinted with the permission of Stanford Law Review
and Fred B. Rothman & Co.
Louise Harmon, “Privacy and the Parking Lot Faces” from Louise Harmon
and Deborah W. Post, Cultivating Intelligence. Copyright © 1996 by Louise
Harmon and Deborah W. Post. Excerpt reprinted with permission of the author.
bell hooks, “Homeplace: A Site of Resistance” reprinted from bell hooks,
Yearning. Excerpt reprinted with the permission of the publisher, South End
Press, 116 Saint Botolph Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
“Why I Am A Danger To The Public” (Edited) from Homeland and Other
Stories by Barbara Kingsolver. Copyright © 1989 by Barbara Kingsolver.
Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Bailey Kulkin and Jeffrey W. Stempel, Foundation of the Law: An Interdisciplinary and Jurisprudential Primer Copyright © 1994 West Publishing
Co..Excerpt reproduced with permission of the publisher.
Laurie Kuribayashi, “Freeway Poem”, from The Best of Bamboo Ridge, The
Hawaii Writers’ Quarterly edited by Erick Chock and Darrell H.Y. Lum, Bamboo
Ridge Press reprinted with permission of the author.
Douglas Laycock, “The Death of the Irreparable Injury Rule” Copyright ©
1990 Harvard Law Review Association Excerpt reproduced with permission of
Harvard Law Review.
Karl Llewellyn, “On Our Case-Law of Contract: Offer and Acceptance”
Excerpt reprinted by permission of The Yale Law Journal Co. and Fred B. Rothman & Co. from The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 48, pages 1-36.
Karl Llewellyn, “The Form or Boiler-Plate ‘Agreement’” from The Common
Law Tradition, Copyright © 1960 by Karl Llewellyn. Excerpt reproduced with
permission of Little Brown & Co.
James Alan McPherson, “A Loaf of Bread” 1979 by James Alan McPherson.
Excerpt reproduced with permission by author.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
xix
Arthur Miller, The Death of a Salesman. Copyright 1949, renewed © 1977
by Arthur Miller. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin
Books USA Inc.
Michael Meyerson, “The Reunification of Contract Law: The Objective Theory of Consumer Form Contracts” reprinted from The University of Miami Law
Review 47 U. Miami L. Rev. 1263 (1993), which holds copyright on this article.
Toshio Mori, Through Anger and Love. Copyright © 1993. Excerpt reproduced by permission of publisher.
Eric P. Nash, “What’s A Life Worth?” Copyright © 1994 by The New York
Times Co. Reprinted by Permission.
Don Oldenburg, “Consummate Consumer: Children’s Business; America’s $90
Billion-Plus Youth Market”. © 1993 by The Washington Post. Reprinted with permission.
Edwin Patterson, “The Interpretation and Construction of Contracts”. Copyright © 1964 by Directors of the Columbia Law Review Association, Inc. Reproduced with permission by Columbia Law Review.
Richard A. Posner, “Sex and Reason” reprinted by permission of the publishers from Sex and Reason by Richard A. Posner, Harvard University Press,Cambridge, Mass.: Copyright © 1992 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Presley, E. and V. Matson, Love Me Tender. 1956 by Elvis Presley and Vera
Matson. Excerpt reproduced with permission by publisher.
John Prine, Hello In There. 1972 by John Prine. Excerpt reproduced with permission by publisher.
E. Annie Proulx, The Shipping News. Copyright © 1993 by Annie E. Proulx.
Reprinted with the permission of Scribner, a Division of Simon & Schuster.
“Rebecca” reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster from The Man
Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. Copyright 1970, 1981,
1983, 1984, 1985 by Oliver Sacks.
Richard B. Schmitt, “Uncharitable Acts: If Donors Fail to Give, More NonProfit Groups Take Them to Court” Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street
Journal, © 1995 Dow Jones & Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
A. W. B. Simpson, A History of the Common Law of Contract: The Rise of the
Action of Assumpsit Copyright © 1975 Oxford University Press reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Muriel Morrissey Spence, “Teaching Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture
Co.” Copyright © 1994 by Muriel Morissey Spence. Excerpt reprinted with permission of the author and Temple Policy and Civil Rights Law Review.
Ronald Takaki, Plantation Life and Labor in Hawaii 1835–1920. Copyright ©
1983 by Ronald Takaki. Excerpt reproduced with permission by author.
Lea S. VanderVelde, “The Gendered Origins of the Lumley Doctrine: Binding
Men’s Consciences and Women’s Fidelity.” Copyright © 1992 The Yale Law Journal Co. Excerpt Reprinted with permission of The Yale Law Journal Co. and Fred
B. Rothman & Co. from The Yale Law Journal, Vol, 101, page 775.
Hiroshi Wagatsuma and Arthur Rosett. “Cultural Attitudes Towards Contract
Law: Japan and the United States Compared.” Copyright 1983 by Hiroshi Wagatsuma and Arthur Rosett. Excerpt reproduced with permission by authors.
Paulette Childress White, “Getting the Facts of Life” from Memory of Kin,
Stories About Family by Black Writers, edited by Mary Helen Washington, Copy-
xx
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
right © 1989 by Paulette Childress White. Excerpt reproduced with permission by
author.
Patricia Williams, “Alchemical Notes: Reconstructing Ideals from Deconstructed Rights” Copyright © 1987 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Excerpt reproduced with permission by Harvard Civil Rights Civil Liberties
Law Review.
Laura Williamson, “Nonprofit Organizations Face Cuts in Aid, Drop in Donations — The Challenge is to Raise Money Elsewhere, or Scale Back Services to the
Poor” Copyright © 1995 by Laura Williamson. Excerpt reproduced with permission by publisher.
Fei Xiaotong, “A World Without Ghosts” from David Arkush and Leo Lee,
Land without Ghosts: Chinese Impressions of America from the MidNineteenth Century Copyright© 1989 The Regents of the University of California. Reprinted with permission of the authors and University of California
Press.
Table of Cases
A.C. v. C.B., 500
AMF, Incorporated v. McDonald’s
Corp., 909
Abbington v. Dayton Malleable, Inc.,
414
Acedo v. Arizona, 151
Alaska Packers’ Ass’n v. Domenico,
849
Alden v. Elvis Presley, 427
Allegheny College v. National Chautauqua County Bank of
Jamestown, 376
American Standard, Inc. v. Schectman,
929
Atlantic Track & Turnout Co. v. Perini
Corp., 680
In re Baby M, 465, 482
Bailey v. West, 103
Beachcomber Coins, Inc. v. Ron
Boskett, t/a R & B Coins, 796
Beard Implement Co. v. Krusa, 192
Betaco, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Co.,
755
Beverly Glen Music, Inc. v. Warner
Communications, Inc. and Anita
Baker, 995
Brenner v. Little Red School House,
Ltd., 844
Brooklyn Union Gas Co. v. Rafael
Jimeniz, 633
Brower v. Gateway 2000, Inc., 628
Brunt v. Rauschenberg, 454
Cabrera et al. v. Jeno Jakabovitz, 971
Cazares v. Saenz, 826
Clark, Jr. v. Pennsylvania State Police,
987
Cobble Hill Nursing Home, Inc .v.
Henry and Warren Corp., 250
Community Design Corp. v. Joseph D.
Antonell, 249
Coolidge vs. Puáaiki, 12
Council of Jewish Women v. Sisters of
Charity, 821
Dalton v. Educational Testing Service,
687
Deitsch et al. v. Music Company, 953
DeMuth v. Daniel C. Miller, 505
Devine v. Roche Biomedical Laboratories, 1002
Dews v. Halliburton Industries, Inc.,
110
Dickinson v. Dodds, 227
Drennan v. Star Paving Co., 241
Elsken v. Network Multi-Family Security Group, 964
Embry v. Hargadine, 114
Equico Lessors, Inc. v. A. Moneim
Ramadan, M.D., 1045
Evening News Association v. Peterson,
1036
Farash v. Sykes Datatronics, Inc., 437
Farm Equipment Store, Inc. v. White
Farm Equipment Co., 861
Ferguson v. Jeanes, 568
First Baptist Church of Moultrie v. Barber Contracting Co., 805
Fisher v. Congregation Bnai Yitzhok,
671
Flight Concepts Limited Partnership v.
Boeing Co., 581
Flood v. Bowie K. Kuhn, 41
Freeman v. Duluth Clinic, Ltd., 337
Frigaliment Importing Co. v. B.N.S.
International Sales Corp., 737
General Aviation, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 432
xxi
xxii
TABLE OF CASES
Geyen v. Time Oil Co., 1061
In re Greene, 292
In re Gudmundson, 636
Hadley v. Baxendale, 938
Halbman, Jr. v. Michael Lemke, 526
Hamer v. Sidway, 280
Harrington v. Taylor, 347
Henry Horner Mothers Guild v.
Chicago Housing Authority, 1009
Hill v. Gateway 2000, Inc., 223
Hill v. Jones, 595
Hoffman v. Red Owl Stores, Inc., 388
Holland v. Graves Publishing Co., 235
Howard v. Nicholson, 839
Hunter v. Diocese of Wilmington, 442
Hunter Tract Improvement Co. v. S. H.
Stone, 1059
Incomm, Inc. v. Thermo-Spa, Inc, 783
Internatio-Rotterdam, Inc. v. River
Brand Rice Mills, Inc., 779
Izadi v. Machado (Gus) Ford, Inc.,
172
Jacob & Youngs, Inc. v. George
Edward Kent, 876
Jessee v. Smith, 283
Jom, Inc. d/b/a Chipco International,
Ltd. v. Adell Plastics, Inc., 204
Kang v. Harrington, 585
Kinoshita v. Canadian Pacific Airlines,
447
Kirksey v. Kirksey, 29
Konic International Corp. v. Spokane
Computer Services, Inc., 143
Kvassay, d/b/a Kvassay Exotic Foods v.
Murray, 960
Langer v. Superior Steel Corp., 277
Larese v. Creamland Dairies, Inc., 685
Lawrence v. Ingham County Health
Dept. Family Planning/Pre-Natal
Clinic, 304
Leonard v. Pepsico, 176
Liberty Homes, Inc. v. Epperson, 956
Madison Square Garden Boxing, Inc. v.
Earnie Shavers, 992
Maszewski v. Piskadlo, 300
McWaters v. Parker and Creasy
Trucking, Inc., 800
Merk v. Jewel Food Stores, 767
Mills v. Wyman, 341
Multicare Medical Center v. State of
Washington, 198
Muzzy v. Chevrolet, 787
Nanakuli Paving and Rock Co. v. Shell
Oil Co., Inc., 661
Neiss v. Ehlers, 405
Nez Percé Tribe of Indians v. United
States, 649
Normile v. Miller, 161
O. W. Grun Roofing and Construction
Co. v. Cope, 885
Oglebay Norton Co. v. Armco, Inc.,
256
Oswald v. Allen, 150
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. v. G. W.
Thomas, 729
Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. v.
Nowlin Smith, Jr., 189
Parker v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film
Corp., 944
Pauline’s Chicken Villa, Inc. v. KFC
Corp., 936
Platzer v. Sloan-Kettering Institute for
Cancer Research, 1014
Quigley v. Wilson, 857
Ramirez v. Autosport, 893
Realty Associates of Sedona v. Valley
National Bank of Arizona, 349
Redgrave v. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc., 58
Regional Bank of Colorado v. St. Paul
Fire and Marine Insurance Co.,
745
Reid v. Key Bank of Southern Maine,
Inc., 701
Ricketts v. Scothorn, 71
Romack v. Public Service Company of
Indiana, Inc., 324
Rowe v. Montgomery Ward & Co.,
708
Russell v. Texas Co., 196
Ryan v. Weiner, 639
S & J Associates v. Jay’s Trucking Co.,
157
Sally Beauty Co., Inc. v. Nexxus Products Co., Inc., 1049
Scarpitti v. Weborg, 1005
Sceva v. True, 97
Shaw v. Mobil Oil Corp., 867
TABLE OF CASES
Shields v. Gross, 535
Shoals Ford, Inc. v. Maxine Clardy,
542
Sosnoff v. Carter, 563
Source Direct, Inc. v. Donald J. Mantell, M.D., 924
Southworth v. Oliver, 165
Specialty Tires v. CIT Group/Equipment Financing, Inc., 813
Spivey and Self v. Highway Farms, 871
Stambovsky v. Ackley, 601
Stangland v. Brock, 1026
State of Washington v. Wheeler, 231
State Bank of Standish v. Curry, 80
In re Steffes’ Estate, 126
Step-Saver Data Systems, Inc. v. Wyse
Technology, 213
Sullivan v. O’Connor, 916
xxiii
Taylor v. Johnston, 902
Trane Co. v. Bond, 553
Trident Center v. Connecticut General
Life Insurance Co., 732
Troxler Electronics Laboratories, Inc. v.
Solitron Devices, Inc., 940
United Steelworkers of America, Local
1330 v. United States Steel, 120
Varney v. Ditmars, 245
Vokes v. Arthur Murray, Inc., 573
Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture
Co., 610, 611
Webb v. McGowin, 344
Werner, Zaroff, Slotnick, Stern &
Askenazy v. Lewis, 969
White v. Village of Homewood, 318
Wood v. Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, 674
Other Texts
Abbott, Bud and Lou Costello, Who’s on First? (1937), 146
Alexie, Sherman, Imagining the Reservation, 657
Atwood, Margaret, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), 462
Austin, Regina, A Nation of Thieves (1994), 1064
Bagnold, Enid, National Velvet (1949), 107
Barrett, Andrea, The Behavior of Hawkweeds (1995), 1021
Braucher, Robert, Interpretation and Legal Effect in the Second
Restatement of Contracts (1981), 725
Carver, Raymond, A Small Good Thing (1993), 832
Chanen, Jill Schachner. Source of Comfort (1995), 1042
Chavez, Denise. the Wedding (1995), 955
Cheever, John, Artemis, The Honest Well Digger (1974), 726
Cicero, Marcus, De Officiis, Book III (c45-43 B.C.), 593
Dalton, Clare, An Essay in the Deconstruction of Contract Doctrine (1985), 296
Danzig, Richard, The Capability Problem in Contract Law (1978), 880
Davies, Peter Ho, The Ugliest House in the World (1995), 889
Dickens, Charles, Bleak House (1853), 1033
Doro, Sue, Blue Collar Goodbyes (1993), 125
Dubin, Jon C., From Junkyards to Gentrification (1993), 977
Elemans, John, The Gift Economy (1990), 34
Ellis, Howard, Employment-at-Will and Contract Principles (1992), 331
Etherinton-Smith, Meredith and Jeremy Pilcher, The “IT” Girls (1986), 675
Feinman, Jay M., Promissory Estoppel and Judicial Method (1984), 372
Fett, Laurie Kindel, The Reasonable Expectations Doctrine (1992), 749
Gordon, Mary, Final Payments (1978), 255
Gordon, Robert W., Unfreezing Legal Reality: Critical Approaches to Law (1987),
576
Greenfield, Myrna, Alternative Trade: Giving Coffee a New Flavor (1994), 288
Hadfield, Gillian K., Problematic Relationships (1990), 395
Harmon, Louise, Privacy and the Parking Lot Faces (1996), 722
Herbert, George, The Temple (1633), 940
hooks, bell, Homeplace: A Site of Resistance (1990), 959
Kingsolver, Barbara, Why I am a Danger to the Public (1993), 424
Kuklin, Bailey and Jeffrey W. Stempel, Foundations of the Law (1994), 353
Kuribayashi, Laurie, Freeway Poem (1986), 69
Laycock, Douglas, The Death of the Irreparable Injury Rule (1990), 990
Llewellyn, Karl, Our Case-Law of Contract: Offer and Acceptance (1938), 240
Llewellyn, Karl, The Form or Boiler-Plate “Agreeement” (1960), 750
MacIntyre, Alasdair, A Disquieting Suggestion (1984), 95
xxv
xxvi
OTHER TEXTS
McPherson, James Alan, A Loaf of Bread (1979), 621
Meyerson, Michael I., The Reunification of Contract Law (1993), 589
Miller, Arthur, The Death of a Salesman 1949), 118
Mori, Toshio, Through Anger and Love (1993), 532
Nash, Eric P., What’s A Life Worth? (1994), 922
NBC Today Show, Profile: Engine Company Number Three, 321
O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), The Gift of the Magi (1905), 30
Oldenburg, Don, Consummate Consumer: Children’s Business (1993), 523
Patterson, Edwin, The Interpretation and Construction of Contracts (1964), 723
Posner, Richard A., Sex and Reason (1992), 495
Post, Deborah Waire, The Square Deal Furniture Company, 616
Presley, Elvis and Vera Matson, Love Me Tender (1956), 431
Prine, John, Hello In There (1972), 303
Proulx, Annie E., The Shipping News (1993), 809
Rosegarten, Theodore, All God’s Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw (1974), 560
Sacks, Oliver, Rebecca (1970), 548
Schmidt, Richard B., Uncharitable Acts (1995), 382
Shribman, David, Iowa’s Story is America’s, 860
Simpson, A.W.B., A History of the Common Law of Contract (1975), 265
Smiley, Jane, A Thousand Acres (1993), 865
Spence, Muriel Morisey, Teaching Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture (1994)
617
Steinbeck, John, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), 74
Stewart, James B., Gentlemen’s Agreement (1994), 516
Tan, Amy, Mother Tongue, 695
VanderVelde, Lea S., The Gendered Origins of the Lumely Doctrine (1992), 996
Wagatsuma, Hiroshi and Arthur Rosett, Cultural Attitudes Towards Contract Law
(1983), 856
Wall Street Journal, Dayton Malleable Clears $5 Million Capital Outlay, 413
White, Paulette Childress, Getting the Facts of Life (1989), 311
Williams, Patricia, Alchemical Notes (1987), 140
Williamson, Laura, Nonprofit Organizations Face Cuts in Aid, Drop in Donations
(1995), 386
Xiaotong, Fei, A World Without Ghosts (1943-44), 606