Contracting often facilitates happiness. It enables us to do things we would otherwise be unable to do and thus to live more fully, richly, enjoyably.  We enter into contracts constantly, often with little consciousness about legal consequences.  Typically we become self-conscious only when a problem arises.  Our course will mainly be about problems arising from contracting.   It is largely an exploration of contract pathology.  Before we turn to problems, however, I want to emphasize ways in which contracting is satisfying.  Consider the following scenarios.

Louis and Ella are at the Union Square Coffeeshop in Langdell City in the State of Ames. This is  about the 100^th time over the past three years that they have met there.  They speak of the Coffeeshop as “their” place.   He always orders black beans and rice, apple pie a la mode, and a glass of cold water.  She always orders a plate of feijoada,  a glass of guarana,  and a slice of key lime pie. 

After about an hour of conversation about who is the better writer --  Tolstoy, her favorite, or Jane Austen, his favorite -- Louis tenderly grasps Ella’s hands and says:   “Will you marry me?”  She responds by saying simply “Yes!” 

At that very moment they are surrounded by sound from the Coffeeshop jukebox.  The song that plays is “Check to Check” as performed by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.  [Listen to it on YouTube or some other source for music.]

Thirty years later, Marvin, the oldest child of Louis and Ella, asks them why they had survived as a couple over the decades.  Ella says that one important reason is that they had promised to stay together “through thick and thin, sickness and health, good times and bad times, agreements and disagreements, exhilarations and disappointments, till death.”  Warming to the subject, Ella declares:  “  Even now, so many years later, I recall that the exchange of promises at the Coffeeshop and subsequently made a big impression upon me.  The exchange of promises made me know that something special was afoot and that I therefore needed to be deliberative and serious. . . . That your Father was willing to voice those marital promises out loud before our families and friends gave me clear evidence that he was on the level when he proclaimed his love for me and his commitment to making a life with me.  His promises gave me security and encouragement to take a leap that I might otherwise have been unwilling to make.” 

Louis and Ella are still together after fifty years of marriage. 

In 2005 Bella and Andrea had been companions for five years.  At that point, they were both fifty years old.  Bella had a ten-year old child from a prior relationship.  She wanted to marry Andrea but was fearful of doing so without a prenuptial agreement.  She worried about what could happen to her child in the absence of such an agreement in the event that the marriage failed or in the event of her death.

Bella and Andrea hired attorneys, designed a suitable prenup, agreed to it, and married.  At the reception afterwards, they had their first dance as a married couple to the song “Night and Day” as performed by Etta James. [Give it a listen]  

In the years since their marriage, Bella and Andrea have developed a love that becomes deeper, more meaningful and delightful with every passing day.

In 2000 Mary and Samuel Duke entered into a surrogacy agreement with Terri Johnson.  Johnson agreed to carry a child conceived from the ovum and sperm of the Dukes, to turn that child over to them after birth, and to give up any rights she might have with respect to that child.  The Dukes promised to pay all of the expenses associated with the pregnancy and childbirth and to pay as well a fee of $100,000.  In October of that year, Thaddeus Stevens Duke was born.  The parties fulfilled their promises.  Interestingly enough, Thaddeus and Terri Johnson’s child, Sarah, now attend the same college.  In a magazine profile the Dukes praised Terri unstintingly.  In turn, she called the Dukes a “wonderful couple.”  The Dukes and Johnson cheerfully maintain that their agreement enabled them to fulfill aims that might well have been unattainable otherwise.  

From an early age Rick James wanted to be a mogul.  In fifth grade he started a business, selling at a premium the cookies that his Mother had lovingly prepared for him.  In the eleventh grade he out-earned his parents by organizing proms (for pay, of course) at high-schools in Langdell County, in the state of Ames.  The proms that he organized were known to be safe and alcohol-free -- which charmed administrators and parents --  and were also known to be fun and memorable – which charmed the students.  Rick had a knack for persuading celebrities to pay visits to his proms.  One year, remarkably, The Rolling Stones played for a solid hour at the Noble & Greenough Seniors’ Dance.  The next year,  he got Rhiannon, Drake, and Snoop Dogg to put on a brief fashion show during the St. Sebastian’s Prom.  The year after that at the Kennedy School of the Performing Arts he engineered a visit by Bruce Springsteen. [Listen to “Cover Me” as performed by Bruce Springsteen. 

Recently, Rick struck it rich with a new venture:  a space in Harvard Square that advertises itself as Chill Central.  It is a dark, cavernous room filled with sumptuous snacks, comfortable chairs, and relaxing music.  For thirty dollars a person can go into the room and chill out for half an hour.  The owner of the building in which Chill Central is located was initially reluctant to enter into a long-term lease with Rick because he thought that there was little chance that the business would survive, much less prosper  Rick had to take a big risk and make the owner an offer that he could not refuse.  Now, after three years of operation, Chill Central has emerged as an outstanding success.  Even though Chill Central is open from 7:00AM until midnight seven days a week, one must still work hard to get reservations.  Asked recently about the long-term deal that he struck for the lease, Rick commented:  “that was the smartest proposal that I ever made.” 

Rick gives away to Partners in Health – a wonderful charity -- 99 percent of the profit that he makes from Chill Central.  He says that he is “passionate about earning money so that [he] can put it to good use.”  [Listen to “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”  as performed by Stevie Wonder.]