John Coyle
University of North Carolina School of Law
John F. Coyle is the Reef C. Ivey II Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. He is a past chair of the AALS Section on Conflict of Laws and is currently an Adviser for the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Third) of Conflict of Laws. His articles on choice-of-law clauses, forum selection clauses, cross-border dispute resolution, and international commercial contracts have appeared in journals such as the Notre Dame Law Review, the William & Mary Law Review, the North Carolina Law Review, and the Iowa Law Review. Before entering the academy, he worked as a transactional attorney at Covington & Burling LLP and clerked for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Transnational Employment Disputes and Forum Non Conveniens
When a company headquartered in the United States enters into an employment contract with an individual working abroad, both parties generally expect the relationship to be mutually beneficial. In most cases, these expectations are realized. In a small number of cases, however, the relationship collapses into acrimony. When this occurs, the U.S. employer may bring…
Continue ReadingIs the Closely Related Doctrine a Creature of State or Federal Law?
The closely related doctrine, discussed here and here and here, posits that a non-signatory to a contract may be bound by a forum selection clause in that contract if the non-signatory is so “closely related” to a signatory that it was “foreseeable” that it would be bound. Robin Effron and I have argued that using…
Continue ReadingA Drafting Catastrophe
While on vacation at the Breathless Montego Bay Resort and Spa in Jamaica, Jacqueline Williams slipped and fell. Upon returning home to Wisconsin, Williams filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Illinois alleging negligence against five companies that allegedly owned or operated the resort. The corporate defendants moved to dismiss based on forum non…
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