About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

42 Ind. L. Rev. 285 (2009)
Opting Only in: Contractarians, Waiver of Liability Provisions, and the Race to the Bottom

handle is hein.journals/indilr42 and id is 289 raw text is: Indiana Law Review
Volume 42                         2009                        Number 2
ARTICLE
OPTING ONLY IN: CONTRACTARIANS, WAIVER OF
LIABILITY PROVISIONS, AND THE RACE TO THE BOTTOM
J. ROBERT BROWN, JR.*
SANDEEP GOPALAN**
ABSTRACT
This paper will test the core claim of scholars in the nexus of
contracts tradition-that private ordering as a process of bargaining
creates optimal rules. We do this by analyzing empirical evidence in the
context of waiver of liability provisions. These provisions allow
companies to eliminate monetary damages for breach of the duty of care
through amendments to the articles of incorporation. With all states
allowing some form of these provisions, they represent a good laboratory
to examine the bargaining process between management and
shareholders.   The contractarian  approach  would   suggest that
shareholders negotiate with management to obtain agreements that are in
their best interests. If a process of bargaining is at work as they claim,
the opt-in process for waiver of liability provisions ought to generate a
variety of approaches.   Shareholders wanting a high degree of
accountability would presumably not support a waiver of liability. In
other instances, shareholders might favor them in order to attract or retain
qualified managers. Still others would presumably want a mix, allowing
waiver but only in specified circumstances.
Our analysis reveals that the diversity predicted by a private ordering
model is not borne out by the evidence with waiver of liability provisions
for Fortune 100 companies. All states permit such provisions and in the
Fortune 100, all but one company has them. Moreover, they are
remarkably similar in effect, waiving liability to the fullest extent
* Professor of Law, University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Professor Brown operates
a blog that addresses corporate governance topics, The Race to the Bottom, http://www.theracetothe
bottom.org (last visited Oct. 14, 2008). Special thanks to Jamie Boyd, my research assistant, who
put together all of the empirical data used in this paper. We are also grateful to Professor Doug
Branson for his insightful comments and suggestions. Errors and omissions are our own.
** Reader (Associate Professor) in Law, University of Reading, United Kingdom. Professor
Gopalan also contributes to the blog, The Race to the Bottom, http://www.theracetothebottom.org
(last visited Oct. 14, 2008).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most