Perspectives on Contract Law

by Barnett, Randy E.

• ISBN13: 9780735519626
• ISBN10: 0735519625
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Wolters Kluwer

Summary

Flexible enough to be used with any casebook, The Second Edition of this popular reader brings coherence and clarity to contract law Every element of this book strengthens student understanding: noted author Randy Barnett brings first-hand knowledge of what works in the classroom, As well as his recognized legal scholarship logical, modular organization makes sense to students and allows instructors to use any Contracts coursebook short, one-paragraph Study Guides focus on central themes and stimulate student thought What's included in the Second Edition? the author responds to user freedback in revising and updating the book Study Guides are refreshed and honed footnotes are reduced to keep the book manageable and concise Use the reader that supplies the background students need for a complete understanding of Contract Law - PERSPECTIVES ON CONTRACT LAW, Second Edition.

Table of Contents

Preface	xix
Acknowledgments	xxiii
I Enforcing Private Agreements	1	(90)
How Should Damages for Breach of Contract Be Measured?	3	(44)
The Reliance Interest in Contract Damages	5	(17)
Lon L. Fuller
William R. Perdue, Jr.
The Phantom Reliance Interest in Contract Damages	22	(15)
Michael B. Kelly
Beyond Fuller and Perdue?	37	(10)
Richard Craswell
Are Some Breaches of Contract Efficient?	47	(12)
Fundamental Principles of Contract Damages	48	(4)
Richard A. Posner
The Efficient Breach Fallacy	52	(7)
Daniel Friedman
When Should Courts Order Specific Performance?	59	(32)
Efficiency Concerns	60	(1)
Specific Performance	60	(2)
Richard A. Posner
The Case for Specific Performance	62	(8)
Alan Schwartz
Moral Concerns	69	(1)
Contract Remedies and Inalienable Rights	70	(11)
Randy E. Barnett
Liberty and Contractual Empowerment	81	(10)
Christopher T. Wonnell
II Mutual Assent	91	(92)
Does a Promise Differ From an Offer?	93	(18)
On the Nature of Offer, Acceptance, and Promise	94	(17)
Peter Meijes Tiersma
Is There a Duty to Negotiate a Contract in Good Faith?	111	(16)
Enforcing the Contract to Bargain	112	(15)
Charles L. Knapp
When Should Parol Evidence of Contracting Parties' Intentions Be Considered by a Court?	127	(14)
``Meaning'' in the Law of Contracts	128	(13)
E. Allan Farnsworth
How Should Courts Use Business Norms to Construe Written Terms?	141	(16)
The Theory of Legally Unenforceable Agreements	142	(15)
Lisa Bernstein
How Has Modern Technology Affected Mutual Assent?	157	(26)
Autistic Contracts	158	(25)
James J. White
III Enforceability	183	(118)
Which Commitments Should be Enforced?	185	(14)
The Basis of Contract	186	(13)
Morris R. Cohen
Does the Doctrine of Consideration Have a Function?	199	(32)
Consideration and Form	200	(22)
Lon L. Fuller
The Ideological Subtext of ``Consideration and Form''	222	(9)
Duncan Kennedy
Should the ``Intention to Create Legal Relations'' Be a Criterion of Enforceability?	231	(26)
A Consent Theory of Contract	233	(12)
Randy E. Barnett
The Regulatory Role of Contract Law	245	(12)
Jean Braucher
Is the Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel About Protecting Reliance?	257	(44)
The Promissory Basis of Section 90	259	(16)
Edward Yorio
Steve Thel
The Last Promissory Estoppel Article	275	(13)
Jay M. Feinman
The Four Evolutionary Stages of Promissory Estoppel	288	(13)
Eric Mills Holmes
Performance and Breach	301	(38)
What Constitutes Good Faith Performance?	303	(20)
Breach of Contract and the Common Law Duty to Perform in Good Faith	304	(12)
Steven J. Burton
The General Duty of Good Faith --- Its Recognition and Conceptualization	316	(7)
Robert S. Summers
When Is a Breach Material?	323	(16)
A New Look at Material Breach in the Law of Contracts	324	(15)
Eric G. Andersen
V Defenses to Contractual Obligation	339	(119)
When Should a Court Refuse to Enforce a Contract?	341	(62)
Duress, Undue Influence, and Unconscionability	342	(1)
Unconscionability: A Critical Reappraisal	343	(11)
Richard A. Epstein
The Bargain Principle and its Limits	354	(15)
Melvin Aron Eisenberg
Contracts of Adhesion	368	(1)
Contracts of Adhesion: An Essay in Reconstruction	369	(17)
Todd D. Rakoff
Unilateral Mistake and the Duty to Disclose	386	(1)
Mistake, Disclosure, Information, and the Law of Contracts	386	(9)
Anthony T. Kronman
The Duty to Disclose Information and the Liberal Conception of Fraud	395	(8)
Randy E. Barnett
Should Courts Adjust Contract Terms to Handle Changed Circumstances?	403	(42)
Contracts as Insurance	404	(7)
Richard A. Posner
Court Adjustment of Long-Term Contracts	411	(12)
Robert A. Hillman
Relation-Preserving vs. End-Game Norms	423	(5)
Lisa Bernstein
The Case for Formalism in Relational Contract	428	(17)
Robert E. Scott
What Is the Relational Theory of Contract?	445	(13)
Relational Contract Theory in Context	446	(12)
Jay M. Feinman
Why There is No Law of Relational Contracts	458
Melvin A. Eisenberg