Dedicated to Clarifying and Improving the Law
86th Annual Meeting
Wednesday, May 20
The Proposed Final Draft of the Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation was approved, subject to the discussion at this Meeting and the 2008 Annual Meeting and also to editorial prerogative. All presubmitted motions were withdrawn after discussion on the floor with the Reporters. Approval of the draft clears the way for publication of the official text of this project. The President and Director will designate a small committee to work with the Reporters to be sure that the final product is faithful to the discussions at the 2009 and 2008 Meetings.
There was discussion of a draft of the Model Penal Code: Sentencing project, but, as planned, no vote was taken.
In the afternoon, the membership approved Tentative Draft No. 2 of the Principles of the Law of Nonprofit Organizations, subject to the discussion at the meeting and to editorial prerogative. The draft covers gifts to charitable organizations.
Tuesday, May 19
In the Employment Law Restatement project, all motions submitted in advance and from the floor were defeated. The Tentative Draft, which contains chapters on the existence of an employment relationship, contractual law dealing with the termination of employment, and the tort of wrongful discipline in violation of public policy, was approved, subject to the discussion at the meeting and to editorial prerogative.
The Proposed Final Draft of the Principles of the Law of Software Contracts was approved, subject to the discussion at the meeting and to editorial prerogative. Approval of the draft clears the way for publication of the official text of this project.
In addition, the membership approved a Tentative Draft of the Restatement of the Law Third, Trusts, subject to the discussion at the meeting and to editorial prerogative. The draft covers general principles for remedying a breach of trust and accounting for principal and income.
In the afternoon, members considered the Council’s report on Capital Punishment and voted on the Council’s recommendation that the Institute withdraw Section 210.6 (Sentence of Death for Murder; Further Proceedings to Determine Sentence) of the Model Penal Code. On behalf of the Council, Paul L. Friedman, the Chair of the Program Committee, made the following motion: That, for reasons stated in Part V of the Council’s report to the membership, the Institute withdraws Section 210.6 of the Model Penal Code.
A presubmitted motion, by William J. Leahy, to amend the Council’s recommended motion was debated. A motion to amend the Leahy motion was made and passed by a counted show of hands. That motion became the motion to amend and passed by a show of hands. Finally, the following amended motion passed, again by a show of hands:
That, for reasons stated in Part V of the Council’s report to the membership, the Institute withdraws Section 210.6 of the Model Penal Code in light of the current intractable institutional and structural obstacles to ensuring a minimally adequate system for administering capital punishment.
Because the motion was not the Council’s recommended motion, President Ramo explained that, in the Institute’s bicameral structure, the action on the floor will be referred back to the Council for its consideration.
Discussion of a draft of the Model Penal Code: Sentencing project was postponed until Wednesday.
Monday, May 18
At the opening session, Louis Pollak presented the Institute’s Henry J. Friendly Medal to Nicholas de B. Katzenbach. Established in memory of the Second Circuit Judge and endowed by his former law clerks, the Medal is awarded for contributions to the law in the spirit of Judge Friendly and the Institute.
Seven new Council members were elected by the membership: John H. Beisner; Mary B. Cranston; Derek P. Langhauser; Gerard E. Lynch; M. Margaret McKeown; David Rivkin; and Elizabeth S. Stong.
In addition, six current Council members were reelected: William M. Burke; Elizabeth J. Cabraser; Christine M. Durham; Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr.; Carolyn B. Lamm; and Margaret H. Marshall.
The Tentative Draft of the Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm was approved, subject to the discussion at the meeting and to editorial prerogative. Two motions from the floor to amend Section 52 of the draft were defeated. (A Proposed Final Draft of this project was approved by the membership in 2005 but the official text has not yet been published because the project was expanded to include additional topics. The final work will be published in two volumes, the first of which is expected to be available by early 2010.)
Finally, the members discussed Chapters 1 and 2 of the Tentative Draft of the Restatement Third of Employment Law. Discussion will continue on Tuesday morning as planned.