Beware the Champagne Clause: When the Effervescence Fades, It May Just Be Pathological.
by Donna Ross* Good drafting makes for good contracts and good business relationships. Yet these principles are often forgotten when it comes to drafting dispute resolution clauses. They are often an afterthought and an inopportune one at that, as once the rest of the contract has been agreed, the parties prefer celebration to discussing what might go wrong. For this reason, the champagne clause, sometimes called an eleventh hour or midnight clause, is more often than not unclear, incomplete or [...]