law’s attic
Law’s Attic sheds light on
remarkable historical events
whose anniversary is upon us.
This month our authors examine a noteworthy case two
decades old this year.
Broemmer v. Abortion Services of Phoenix, Ltd.
Arizona’s Curious
Contribution to the Law
of Contractual Arbitration
BY BARRY D. HALPERN & SARA J. AGNE
October 2012 marked the 20th anniversary of the Arizona Supreme Court’s opinion in Broemmer v. Abortion Services of Phoenix, Ltd. In the two decades since Broemmer was decid- ed, it has been featured in nearly a dozen legal textbooks for contracts and arbitration courses. As one scholar notes,
Broemmer is historic in that it marked the first time the Arizona Supreme
Court applied the “reasonable expectations” doctrine of Section 211( 3) of
the Restatement (Second) of Contracts to a contract that was not an insurance policy. Broemmer is part of a lineage of decisions that made Arizona
a legal laboratory for the court-led implementation of Section 211( 3).
Despite that lineage, the authors respectfully argue that the case
undermined the appropriate use of mediation and furthered Arizona’s
retreat from personal responsibility in contract law.
YURI ARCURS © SHUTTERSTOCK.COM