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Opinion
 

Letters to the Editor

Column misleading about legal system

To the editor:

I was rather amused when I read Christian Palmer--s opinion column, "Ham and swiss, hold the legislation," in Thursday--s issue of The Daily Cougar. As an attorney by trade, I can appreciate the fact that the judiciary is often required to address cases that may seem very odd, especially from the perspective of a non-attorney.

Palmer gets the laughs she--s seeking when she points out that a judge was required to "waste" his time by deciding whether a burrito is a sandwich. Palmer further belittles the entire case by dropping the obligatory Clinton joke about the meaning of "is" and railing against the anti-competitive nature of the entire affair.

What Palmer fails to realize is that this is a fairly routine dispute surrounding a contract clause that exists in nearly every commercial lease for retail space. Such a clause is not "anti-competitive." In fact, it represents a practice in commercial real estate considered vital to retailers -- the principle that a landlord of commercial space will not undercut its tenant by collecting rent from two tenants who will compete directly against one another. 

In this case, Panera Bread was attempting to enforce a clause of a contract for which it freely bargained with its landlord.

Ultimately, this is something any advocate of free market capitalism should support.

Furthermore, this isn--t the first time a judge has been called upon to answer what would appear to be an "absurd" question. In Frigaliment Importing Co. v. B.N.S. International Sales Corp., a federal judge settled a contract dispute as to the kind of chicken that a supplier was required to provide to a commercial buyer. The case teaches an important lesson to law students -- even the most mundane issue can become a serious legal matter if a contract is missing some necessary detail.

Similarly, the judge in the Panera case answered the question, "What is a sandwich?"

Sure, the law sometimes seems absurd and humorous when some facts are brought to light without the benefit of the all-important context. Palmer did little more than to mislead and perpetuate further misunderstanding about our judiciary and the legal issues which it confronts every day.

Bobby L. Warren, 
UH Law Center alumnus and attorney at law

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the UH community and should focus on issues, not personalities. Letters must be typed and must include the author's name, telephone number and affiliation with the University. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, language and space. Letters may be delivered in person to Room 151, Communication; e-mailed to dclettrs@mail.uh.edu ; or faxed to (713) 743-5384.