|
|
|||||||||
Instructor: Prof. Avery Katz, 638 Jerome Greene Hall (854-0066, ak472@columbia.edu.) My regular conference hours for the Fall 2008 term will be announced during the first week of the term, but students enrolled in my classes are generally welcome on a walk-in basis. To make an appointment at other times, just call or e-mail me. Should you need to contact my faculty assistant, she is Amara Levy-Moore, 600/4 Jerome Greene Hall (854-0064, alevym@law.columbia.edu.)
There are also two teaching assistants for the course, Dorian Berger (dorianberger@gmail.com) and Rachel Hughes (rah2120@columbia.edu), who will be holding weekly discussion sections and will be available for additional consultation relating to the course. They will contact you regarding an organizational meeting during the first week of the term.
Class meets: Monday through Thursday from 11 am –noon, location to be announced. Please check the official CLS curriculum guide for the most up-to-date schedule information.
Readings: There are two required texts: Fuller and Eisenberg, Basic Contract Law, 8th ed. (West Group: 2006), and Burton and Eisenberg, Contract Law: Selected Source Materials, (West Group, 2007 edition, any edition after 2001 is also acceptable). These books should be available at the university student bookstore. There is also a required coursepack consisting of supplementary cases and readings, available from Printing Services (located between the law school and the School of International and Public Affairs) and also available online to registered students (you will need your network ID and password to access it from the law school server).In addition, students who desire additional background reading on legal doctrine are encouraged to consult Chirelstein, Concepts and Case Analysis in the Law of Contracts, 5th ed. (Foundation Press: 2006) or the one–volume student edition of Farnsworth on Contracts (Aspen Law & Business, 4th ed. 2004). Students interested in additional reading on conceptual and policy issues are encouraged to consult Craswell and Schwartz, Foundations of Contract Law (Foundation Press: 1994). All these books, along with others I will occasionally refer to or recommend, can be found on course reserve at the law library.
Online resources: A copy of this syllabus, as well as copies of reading assignments, handouts and other class-related materials as they become available, and an online discussion group can be found on the official course page on the Columbia server, at http://www.columbia.edu/~ak472/contracts. You may also send e-mail to the class at mail_07F_L6105_002@equinox.law.columbia.edu.
Format and requirements: The class format will combine lecture and discussion, with a primary focus on the latter. Students are expected to attend all class meetings, and to prepare for and participate in class discussion on a regular basis. In addition, each student will be assigned to submit two short memos (150-300 words) to the online discussion group. Further administrative details regarding these assignments will be provided in the first week of the term.Grading: Grades will be primarily based on an 8-hour take–home final exam, and secondarily based on student contributions to class discussion. Specifically, students who make significant positive contributions to class discussion over the course of the semester will have their grades raised (e.g., from B+ to A-); while those whose participation or attendance has been delinquent will have their grades lowered.
Reading assignments: The following is a tentative schedule of reading assignments for the first month of the term. Please note that the assignments may be modified, delayed, or accelerated as the semester goes along. Weekly updates will be posted on the announcement page of the website; specific assignments for each class will be announced in the preceding class. Some cases will be omitted; these also will be announced in class.
Page numbers refer to the Fuller and Eisenberg casebook; bracketed numbers refer to the supplementary coursepack; relevant sections of the UCC and other statutes can be found in the statutory supplement by Burton and Eisenberg. Whenever a statutory section is referenced in the casebook or coursepack, you will need to look up that section in the supplement and read it with care.
Tuesday, September 4 Class #1 Donative promises. 1–13, [1]. Wednesday, September 5 Class #2 The principle of form. 13-23, [2]. Thursday, September 6 Class #3 The principle of reliance. 23-46 [omitting Stout v. Bacardi] . Monday, September 10 Class #4 The principle of bargain. 47-63. Tuesday, September 11 Class #5 Continue with prior material. Wednesday, September 12 Class #6 The principle of benefit. 504-07, 151-162. Thursday, September 15 No class meeting [Rosh Hashana] Monday, September 17 Class #7 Unconscionability and related limits on freedom of contract. 63-86, [3, 4]. Tuesday, September 18 Class #8 Mutuality of consideration. 86-106, [5, 6]. Wednesday, September 19 Class #9 Modification of contracts. 107-127. Thursday, September 20 Class #10 Modification and waiver. 138-150. Monday, September 24 Class #11 Continue with prior material. Tuesday, September 25 Class #12 The limits of contract law. 163-187 [omitting T.F. v. B.L.? ]. Wednesday, September 26 Class #13 Contract without law. [7, 8, 9]. Thursday, September 29 No class meeting [Legal Methods study day] Monday, October 1 Class #14 Continue with prior material. Tuesday, October 2 Class #15 Introduction to damages for breach of contract. 190-216, [10]. Wednesday, October 3 Class #16 Measuring damages from breach. 217-236, [11]. Thursday, October 4 No class meeting [visit of Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit] Monday, October 8 Class #17 The duty to mitigate damages. 237-241, 266-279, [12]. Tuesday, October 9 Class #18 Measuring damages in sales cases. 241-247. Wednesday, October 10 Class #19 Measuring damages in sales cases, continued. 253-266. Thursday, October 11 Class #20 Forseeability as a limit on damages. 279–292, [13, 14]. Monday, October 15 Class #21 Contracting over damages. 308-323]. Tuesday, October 16 Class #22 The remedy of specific performance. 324-340, [15,16]. Wednesday, October 17 Class #23 Tortious interference with contract. [17, 18, 19]. Thursday, October 18 Class #24 Damages in private arbitration. [20, 21]. Monday, October 22 Class #25 Reliance and restitution damages in a bargain context. 341-355. Tuesday, October 23 Class #26 Restitution damages, continued. 355-365. Wednesday, October 24 Class #27 Introduction to interpretation. 368–384, 393–396, [22]. Thursday, October 25 Class #28 Interpretation, continued. 397-405. Monday, October 29 Class #29 Formation of contracts. 413-429. Tuesday, October 30 Class #30 Formation of contracts, continued. 430-448. Wednesday, October 31 Class #31 Estoppel in preliminary negotiations. 448-455, 478-488, [24, 25]. Thursday, November 1 Class #32 Modes of acceptance. 456-469, 475-478, and 491-501. Monday, November 5 Class #33 Implied contracts. 508-535, [26]. Tuesday, November 6 Class #34 Indefiniteness in preliminary negotiations. 557-583. Wednesday, November 7 Class #35 Parol evidence and interpretation. 584-607, 615-637 (selections). Thursday, November 8 Class #36 Interpreting standard form contracts. 692-712, [23] Monday, November 12 Class #37 Formation of standard form contracts. 664-691. Tuesday, November 13 Class #38 Formation of standard form contracts, continued. 641-664. Wednesday, November 14 Class #39 Unilateral mistake. 714-731. Thursday, November 15 Class #40 Mutual mistake. 732-750. Monday, November 19 Class #41 Nondisclosure and reformation. 750-764. Tuesday, November 20 Class #42 Change of circumstance. 765-783, [26]. Wednesday, November 21 Class #43 Performance in good faith. 886-914. Thursday, November 22 No class meeting [Thanksgiving] Monday, November 26 Class #44 Substantial performance. 915-933. Tuesday, November 27 Class #45 Conditions and excuse. 934-941, 945-961, and 965-974. Wednesday, November 28 Class #46 Breach and response. 975-996. Thursday, November 29 Class #47 Anticipatory breach and insecurity of performance. 997-1002, 1005-1012, and 1016-1022. Monday, December 3 Class #48 To be announced. Tuesday, December 4 Class #49 Review of prior material.