Roger Traynor Quote On Contracts and Risk Allocation
The late California Supreme Court Justice Roger Traynor wrote about contract risk allocation over 60 yeas ago. Other than my shortening the periods in his prose, this is what he said:
-- Roger Traynor, Lloyd v. Murphy (Cal. 1944)
The purpose of a contract is to place the risks of performance upon the promisor. And the relation of the parties, terms of the contract, and circumstances surrounding its formation must be examined to determine whether it can be fairly inferred that the risk of of the event that has supervened to cause alleged frustration was not reasonably foreseeable. If it was foreseeable, there should should have been provision for it in the contract. And the absence of such a provision gives rise to the inference that the risk was assumed.
-- Roger Traynor, Lloyd v. Murphy (Cal. 1944)
Construction Law Today is a legal blog about construction contracts, disputes, finance, and the people whose job it is to deal with them.
