Commercial Contracts

The term commercial law describes a wide body of laws that govern business transactions. The primary authority that governs commercial transactions is the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). By definition, commercial contracts represent a combination of commercial and legal factors. For businesses and organizations, the key requirement is to ensure that the legal arrangements allow the full commercial benefits to be realized. This is FindLaw’s collection of Commercial Contracts articles, part of the Business Operations section of the Corporate Counsel Center. Law articles in this archive are predominantly written by lawyers for a professional audience seeking business solutions to legal issues. Start your free research with FindLaw.

Business Operations

Commercial Contracts Articles

Settlement or Trial?

More than 80% of all litigation ends in settlement short of a jury verdict. However, it is the risk of an unpredictable jury verdict that makes this high rate of compromise possible. In effect, most cases settle simply because neither the plaintiff ...
Read More »
Settlement Reached On PG&E Bankruptcy Reorganization

On June 19, 2003, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), its parent PG&E Corporation, and the staff of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced that they have reached a settlement of PG&E's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization ...
Read More »
Should I Hire An Attorney?

After an automobile accident, many ask, "Should I hire an attorney?" Some answer, "No, I can work a good deal with the other driver's insurance company." Others talk to friends or relatives they trust. Still others go on the Internet or buy ...
Read More »
Site Inspection Clause Limited

Most, if not all, public construction bid or proposal documents require that bidders visit and inspect the site prior to bidding on the project. Clearly the purpose of such a requirement is to hold the contractor to a higher level of knowledge in ...
Read More »
Size of D&O Settlements Exploding

Prior to a couple of years ago, it would have been difficult to identify any settlement or judgment of more than $100 million in a "typical" D&O lawsuit. For a variety of reasons, even the most dangerous cases for directors and officers to defend ...
Read More »
Sold a Lemon? Consider Your Options

September 1999The Lemon Law is a form of consumer protection created by the state legislature. The purpose of the legislation to protect a consumer when they purchase a new motor vehicle that develops repeated defects or lengthy unusable periods ...
Read More »
Sports Investment in Italy

Dykema Gossett represented in 1999 the first U.S. purchaser of a professional ("A1 Division") basketball franchise in Italy, and in the subsequent sale of a portion of the same franchise to Kobe Bryant, of the Los Angeles Lakers. Our client ...
Read More »
Squash the Y2K Bug!

There are less than 400 days left to the new millennium and already we have the first buzz word, Y2K. We have been avoiding that issue in our practice until we recently realized that the issue is not going away and, if anything, there seems to be ...
Read More »
State Offices Administering Franchise Disclosure Laws

Fifteen states have franchise investment laws that require franchisors to provide pre-sale disclosures, known as "offering circulars," to potential purchasers. Thirteen of these state laws treat the sale of a franchise like the sale of a security ...
Read More »
Statute of Frauds Bars Claim Under Software Agreement

Plaintiff sued to enforce an agreement that would have terminated four software development agreements and resolved the parties' disputes thereunder. The agreement was not reduced to a writing signed by the Defendant. Since the agreement required a ...
Read More »