Category: Notes

Note

On Bankruptcy Appeals: Equitable Mootness as Gatekeeper to Plan Confirmation Review

Zachary R. Hunt

J.D., Cornell Law School, 2024. M.S. in Finance, University of South Florida, 2021. Senior Articles Editor, Cornell Law Review Vol. 109.

In bankruptcy appeals, the judge-made prudential doctrine of “equitable mootness” allows appellate courts to dismiss an appeal as moot when granting the requested relief would undermine the finality of a substantially consummated plan of reorganization. As applied, however, the doctrine of equitable mootness is neither mootness nor equitable. On the former, equitable mootness is not…

Dec 2024

Note

Payment as Punishment: Establishing College Athletes as Employees to Safeguard Athlete Welfare in the “Super Conference” Era

Haley Lukas

J.D., Cornell Law School, 2025; M.B.A., Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, 2025; B.S. (Business Administration) UC Berkeley, 2017. Prior to law school, Lukas captained the NCAA Division I UC Berkeley (California) women’s soccer team and played professional soccer in multiple top divisions across Europe.

This Note argues the increased profitability and shift toward “super conferences” in Division I college athletics does not comport with the NCAA’s “revered tradition of amateurism” and justifies college athletes’ classification as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Rather than making more traditional compensation arguments rooted in fairness or market value, employment status…

Dec 2024

Note

Takings and Homeowners’ Expectations in Times of Rapid Climate Change

Gijs de Bra

J.D. Candidate, Cornell Law School 2025; M.S., University of Amsterdam 2019.

This Note argues that courts should give more weight to climate change when assessing the reasonable investment-backed expectations that define the owner’s property interest. First, the owner’s expectations should be viewed dynamically, evolving over time, because government regulations—climate and disaster controls in particular—must also respond to changing circumstances. Currently, expectations are fixed at the time…

Sep 2024

Note

The Case For a Uniform Invention Assignment Agreement Act (UIAAA) 

Amanda Shoemaker

J.D., Cornell Law School, 2024; B.S., Marketing and Media Arts, Bentley University, 2021.

An invention is broadly defined as “anything that is created or devised.” As the Supreme Court once remarked, “the word cannot be defined in such manner as to afford any substantial aid in determining whether a particular device involves an exercise of the inventive faculty or not.” Today, most “inventors” are employees of a corporate enterprise…

Sep 2024

Note

How the Mitigation Doctrine Produces Protections Against Workplace Discrimination

Richard A Gagliardi, III

J.D. Candidate, Cornell Law School, 2024; Ph.D. in Politics, Princeton University, 2021; A.B. in Economics and Political Science, Brown University, 2015; Online Editor, Cornell Law Review Vol. 109. 

Employment discrimination weakens the American economy, contributes to inequality, and deprives individuals of career opportunities. Estimates place the annual cost of employment discrimination at over sixty-four billion dollars. Economic research further documents earnings differentials of more than thirty percent between members of different racial groups or genders. To combat employment discrimination, Congress enacted a series…

Aug 2024

Note

Neurosearches

Josh A. Roth

J.D. Candidate, Cornell Law School, 2024; Articles Editor, Cornell Law Review Vol. 109.

Neurotechnology is advancing exponentially, and the laws of data privacy and security cannot keep pace. Soon, governments will exploit this technology in criminal investigations with what this Note calls “neurosearches.” Scholars have argued against the compelled gathering of neurological evidence as a violation of the Fifth Amendment, likening it to testimony and thus barred as…

Aug 2024

Note

Collective Disagreement: The Uneasy Interaction of the FLSA and FRCP 4(k) After Bristol-Myers Squibb

Ronahn Clarke

J.D. Candidate, Cornell Law School, 2024; B.A., Philosophy and Classical Civilization, Colby College, 2021. 

 

Across the country, due to a circuit split over the meaning of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 4(k), federal courts are enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) inconsistently. This Note argues that, under the current state of the law, Rule 4(k) must be read to apply to out-of-state opt-in employee-plaintiffs’ claims and FLSA…

Apr 2024

Note

Dependent Contractors? The Case for Giving Non-Competes a Central Role in Worker-Classification Tests Under Federal Law

Cameron Misner

 J.D. Candidate, Cornell Law School, 2024; B.A. in Political Science, University of Indianapolis, 2021. 

As legal commentators and policymakers have taken greater notice of the harms that covenants not to compete (“noncompetes”) cause workers, they have offered numerous policy proposals seeking to curb those harms. Indeed, the Federal Trade Commission proposed an outright ban on non-competes on January 5, 2023. None of these policy proposals have yet become law…

Apr 2024

Note

Eliminating the Common Law Limitations on Force Majeure Clauses

Ben Luo

J.D. Candidate, Cornell Law School 2024; B.A., University of California, Berkeley 2020. 

This Note will argue that as a matter of law, courts should not apply common law limitations when interpreting catch-all provisions in contractual force majeure clauses. Instead, to properly limit the potential all-encompassing scope of force majeure catch-alls, courts should rely on the more general principles of contract interpretation. Part I of this Note will…

Feb 2024

Note

Regulating Crisis Pregnancy Centers: the State Attorney General Perspective

 Yue Wu

 J.D., Cornell Law School, 2024; B.A., Carleton College, 2019. 

This Note will discuss state AGs’ role in addressing CPC regulations and in fighting questionable CPC practices. Part I introduces CPCs and their history, describes some of the earlier efforts in combating deceptive CPC practices, and summarizes the supreme Court’s NIFLA ruling that invalidated legislation designed to curb CPC harm. Part II grapples with the…

Jan 2024