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.