Please join us for the Annual Emeritus Luncheon

Monday, June 4, 2012

The University Club of Chicago
76 East Monroe Street
Chicago, Illinois

11:30 a.m. Reception
12:00 noon Lunch

Revisiting Hamer v. Sidway

Presented by Douglas Baird, Harry A. Bigelow Distinguished Service Professor of Law

Every case tells a different story. In first-year contracts, the story of Hamer v. Sidway is among the most familiar. An uncle promises his fifteen-year-old nephew that he will give him $5,000 on his twenty-first birthday if he promises in return not to smoke, drink, or play cards or billiards for money until then. The legal question the case presents is straightforward: If the nephew keeps his end of the bargain, is the uncle legally obliged to pay? Can the nephew, in other words, sue the uncle if he breaks his promise? This question has been a central preoccupation of contracts professors for more than a hundred years. In his talk, Douglas Baird will revisit this case, put the case in its historical context, and explore why this case, one that seems to involve an issue of no great moment, has cast such a long shadow.

There is no charge for this event. Please RSVP to Alison Coppelman at (773) 834-8652 or acoppelman@uchicago.edu by Monday, May 28. Business or business casual attire required.