Course description (3 units. Graded.)

The first half of the course examines the law governing the sale of goods within the United States (Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code) with occasional comparison to the law governing the sale of goods between parties located in different countries (United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods) and to the law governing leases within the United States (Article 2A of the Uniform Commercial Code). Specific topics include contract formation, warranty, delivery, payment, and other performance obligations, risk of loss, and remedies for breach of obligation.

The second half of the course examines the law governing consensual security interests in personal property and fixtures (Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code). Specific topics include creation and perfection of security interests, priority disputes between competing claimants to property, rights and remedies of creditor and debtor upon default, and the rights of the secured party in bankruptcy.

1.  Selected Commercial Statutes (West 1999) (or any statutory compendium containing Articles 1, 2, 2A
and 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods).

2.  Keating, Sales: A Systems Approach (Aspen Law & Business 1998);

3.  Neustadter,  Consensual Liens on Personal Property and Fixtures Under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (2000).   These electronic course materials may be downloaded, with a password announced in class, from the Heaferes page for Commercial Transactions I.   You may also obtain a hard copy, for the cost of duplication. 

White and Summers, Uniform Commercial Code (4th Ed. West for Article 2 and 5th Ed. paperback for Article 9).

I expect regular class attendance and consistent preparation of assignments in anticipation of class discussion. If you are not prepared for class discussion because of illness or for other appropriate reasons, please notify me prior to the start of class.

An electronic discussion group for the class is accessible through my web site. I encourage your posting of questions, replies, and comments relating to the course material on the electronic bulletin board. I will participate in the electronic discussion group, but may wait to comment until other members of the class have had an opportunity to do so. In your postings, please observe the same etiquette, respect and civility which you observe in the classroom.

I will post assignments for each class on the E-Res page for Commercial Transactions I.  

The examination will be a limited open book examination. You will be permitted to refer to your course materials, statutes, notes, and material distributed in class or through e-res, and any other written material that you have prepared yourself or in cooperation with another student in the class. You will not be permitted to refer to any other materials.

Copies of prior examinations are posted on my web site and are available from the Law Library.

Your grade in the course will be the grade you receive on the examination, except that I reserve the right to adjust your course grade downward for excessive absenteeism or frequent lack of preparation. Grading is subject to the Law School’s mandatory grade curve.

Office: Bergin 207
Phone (with voice mail): (408) 554-4378
E-mail: gneustadter@scu.edu
FAX: (408) 554-4426
Web site: http://www.scu.edu/law/FacWebPage/Neustadter/

Formal office hours are Mondays 4:30-6:00 p.m., Tuesdays 10:30-noon, or by appointment.   I am on campus a significant portion of most weekdays and welcome unscheduled visits at times other than formal office hours.

Keating, Sales: A Systems Approach consists of four chapters (Formation, Terms, Performance, and Remedies) each of which includes subparts referred to as Assignments.  Each Assignment concludes with a Problem Set.  Listed below are the Assignments from Keating that you should read together with the problems from each Problem Set that you should analyze and be prepared to discuss in class.  While you should read each Assignment in its entirety, class discussion will focus almost exclusively on your analysis of the assigned problems.  To analyze the problems, you will need to study and apply sections of the Uniform Commercial Code (together with Official Comments) or United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods that are identified at the end of each problem. 

We will not always be able to complete discussion in class of all assigned problems.   In that event, discussion will continue through use of the electronic discussion group.   

Chapter 1.  Formation

    Assignment 1 (Problems 1.2 -1.5). 

    Assignment 3 (Problems 3.1 - 3.5).

    Assignment 5 (Problems 5.1, 5.2).

    Assignment 6 (Problems 6.1, 6.2).

Chapter 2. Terms

    Assignment 8 (Problems 8.1 - 8.3).

    Assignment 9 (Problems 9.1, 9.2).

    Assignment 12 (Problems 12.1 -12.4).

    Assignment 16 (Problems 16.1 -16.4).

Chapter 3. Performance

    Assignment 18 (Problems 18.1 -18.4).

    Assignment 20 (Problems 20.1 - 20.3, 20.5).