It has become an orthodoxy in some quarters that fiduciary duties are only proscriptive, forbidding certain actions, and never prescriptive, requiring positive action. I argue that this is a misunderstanding. The argument begins by attempting to explain how this orthodoxy arose, and then by...

This article was written as a contribution to the Fordham Law Review Symposium entitled Moore Kinship. It examines the various Supreme Court opinions in Moore v. City of East Cleveland to show how they foreshadow the tension between the growing desire of individuals to define “family” in...

This Article explores the inheritance rights of individuals situated at the fringes of marital relationships—fiancés, spouses who are in the process of divorcing, and permanently separated spouses. The Article examines whether these categories of individuals ought to enjoy rights to forced...

This chapter considers the landmark status of the House of Lords in Thorner v Major [2009] UKHL 18, understanding it as an example of story-telling in the law. The chapter explores the issues surrounding the equitable doctrine of proprietary estoppel, as it applies in particular in the context...

This article shows that parties to trusts currently enjoy easier access to judicial avoidance of voluntary dispositions resulting from mistakes and inadequate decision-making than other persons. The principal doctrinal basis for this advantage has shifted from the rule in Re Hastings-Bass to...

Few economic indicators have more salience and pervasive financial impact on everyday lives in the United States than poverty measures. Nevertheless, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and legislators generally do not understand the details of poverty measure mechanics. These detailed...

This Article considers one aspect of the ongoing debate about the moral limits of markets—namely, the purported harmful effects of market transactions on particular relations, goods, services, or society at large, due to an inappropriate valuation. In other words, the argument is that some...

Our laws have sought to promote “and enforce a sense of morality in the business community. Well-settled laws regulating fraud, undue influence, fiduciary relationships, confidential information, truth-in-advertising, fair reporting practices, etc., have their origins in moral codes and...

A deeply entrenched principle in the law of fraud and negligent misrepresentation provides that damages can be recovered only upon a showing of reliance. To prevail, plaintiffs must not only establish the mere falsity of a statement, but also show that they had acted upon the statement and...