Robert B. Thompson, Vanderbilt University School of Law, has posted
The Story of Meinhard v. Salmon and Fiduciary Duty's Punctilio. Here is the abstract:
Benjamin Cardozo's 1928 opinion in Meinhard v. Salmon that co-venturers owe each other "the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive" remains, 80 years later, a defining point for framing the discussion of fiduciary duty, still the most important issue in the law of business associations
. This work develops the story of Messers. Meinhard and Salmon and their relationship with the very wealthy Livingston/Gerry family who owned the land in New York City at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street that gave rise to this long-running dispute. [Pictured at right, from Professor Thompson's website.] The context helps delineate the scope of fiduciary duty in a way that Cardozo's memorable language does not. This in turn leads to a discussion of the role of private ordering in structuring relationships where such a duty may not be desired and what this classic case may tell us about contracting out of fiduciary duty in a modern setting.
A post on Geoffrey Miller's earlier article on the case and street corner is
here.
Image credit.
