John F. Coyle

The Closely-Related-and-Foreseeable Test and Choice-of-Law Clauses

As a general rule, the law does not vest contractual rights in (or impose contractual obligations upon) persons who are not parties to an agreement. Over the past few decades, however, the courts have relaxed this rule for forum selection clauses. As previously discussed here and here and at great length here, many U.S. courts now hold that a…

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Thoughts on the Petitioner’s Brief in Great Lakes

In a prior post, I surveyed the facts, procedural history, and potential significance of Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC, an upcoming Supreme Court case about the enforceability of choice-of-law clauses in maritime insurance contracts. In this post, I offer some thoughts on the brief filed by the petitioner, Great Lakes Insurance…

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Summer Schedule

TLB is shifting over to its summer publishing schedule. Posts will appear three days a week (as opposed to the usual four) for the remainder of the summer. Happy Fourth of July!

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Some Thoughts on Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Great Lakes Insurance SE, Petitioner v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co., LLC during the 2023 Term. This case has the potential to change the way that federal courts evaluate the enforceability of choice-of-law clauses. Over the past few decades, these provisions have become ubiquitous. One study found…

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Waiving Choice of Law

When I teach Conflict of Laws, I tell my students that they must always perform a choice-of-law analysis when there is a conflict between the laws of two jurisdictions. This is sound advice for doing well on the final exam. It is not, however, strictly true. In fact, litigants waive this issue all the time….

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Microsoft’s Dispute Resolution Provisions Are a Mess

The Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) and its foreign subsidiaries buy goods and services from companies all around the world. To streamline the contracting process, Microsoft has drafted a purchase order that contains standard terms and conditions. This purchase order – viewable here – is used by Microsoft and its subsidiaries in 109 different countries. This agreement…

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Are State Courts Biased Against Foreign Forum Selection Clauses? A Look at the Data.

In a prior post, I discussed some data on the practice of state and federal courts in the United States relating to the enforcement of forum selection clauses. This dataset also provides a useful opportunity to determine whether state courts are more likely to enforce a clause selecting another U.S. court than they are to…

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Supreme Court Decides Twitter and Google Cases

The Supreme Court issued opinions this morning in Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh and Golzalez v. Google LLC. It held that the plaintiffs’ allegations that these social media companies had aided and abetted ISIS in terrorist attacks abroad failed to state a claim under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. More coverage soon on TLB.

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Data on the Enforcement of Forum Selection Clauses

The United States legal system is immensely complex. There are state courts and federal courts, state statutes and federal statutes, state common law and federal common law. When I imagine a foreign lawyer trying to explain this system to a foreign client, my heart fills with pity. This feeling of pity is compounded when I…

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New Scholarship on the Hague Service Convention

Thomas G. Vanderbeek recently published a note in the Vanderbilt Law Review that considers whether and to what extent parties should be permitted to “contract around” the Hague Service Convention (HSC). The conventional wisdom holds that the best way to avoid the HSC is to appoint a local agent to receive service of process. Once…

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Ingrid (Wuerth) Brunk

Vanderbilt Law School
ingrid.brunk@vanderbilt.eduEmail

William Dodge

George Washington University Law School
william.dodge@law.gwu.eduEmail

Maggie Gardner

Cornell Law School
mgardner@cornell.eduEmail

John F. Coyle

University of North Carolina School of Law
jfcoyle@email.unc.eduEmail

Robert Kry

MoloLamken LLP
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Rinat Gareev

Whitecliff Management
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León Castellanos-Jankiewicz

Institute for International and European Law
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Paul B. Stephan

University of Virginia School of Law
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Robin Effron

Brooklyn Law School
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Maryam Jamshidi

University of Colorado Law School
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Fikri Soral

Galatasaray University
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Gregg Cashmark

Vanderbilt Law School
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Hannah Buxbaum

Indiana University Maurer School of Law
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