Disputed prop bet

Quote: Jumboshrimps

Interesting case you cited, Ted. But, I wonder if that's still good law. Surely the Wizard and others have run into situations where a casino has been ordered to pay a winning wager???

Still on the books in Nevada. But just a common law doctrine. I don't have time to search through the NRS right now, but I'm sure there's a statute about it somewhere.

Quote: Jumboshrimps

Just one note, before you get to that Contracts II final. The $500 statute of frauds applies only to contracts for the sale of goods, which a bet is not.

Ouch. That's embarrassing. Guess that's why I'm not a lawyer yet :)

Quote: Jumboshrimps

Nevada law applies because of the ancient real property rule stating that one's land extends "to the center of the earth and to the heavens." Same goes for a state's jurisdiction.

Cool. You explained that better than my law profs.

Quote: teddys

I like the idea of arbitration and am curious about it. Is this a formal process, and do you use the rules of arbitration? Is the verdict legally binding?

The way we handle it is to agree on somebody else to render a verdict. Usually the other person is known and trusted by both parties to be fair and unbiased. There have been arguments about who to use as an arbitrator, because if you know somebody well, you can predict how they will likely rule. If there can't be an agreement on who should arbitrate, then hopefully the two parties would split the difference of the disputed amount. If there is no agreement on that, then you'll have a ruined friendship.

That is why I prefer to take the moral high ground and bend as far as I can to see things from the other party's perspective, and give the other side every possible benefit of the doubt. The down side to doing that too much is you're an easy mark to be taken advantage of. However, I live by the philosophy that it is better to be cheated than to cheat someone else.

Late last year I amde a bet with a friend that Dallss wouldn't win a playoff game. The tacit assumption was that Dallas would play at least once in the post season. I did think about it, so I stipulated if Dallas failed to make the playoff the bet would be called off.

Any bet on the outcome of an event assumes the event will take palce. If it doesn't, then the bet should be called off or rescheduled, should the event itself be rescheduled. A bet on whether an event will take palce (ie, the Cowboys won't make the playoffs, Boeing will not deliver any 787s this year, etc), is another matter.

Quote: teddys

I like the idea of arbitration and am curious about it. Is this a formal process, and do you use the rules of arbitration? Is the verdict legally binding?

Both parties sign a document stating they will abide by the arbitrator's decision - which is then ammended to the agreement. If the loser fails to pay, the winner can take the decision to small claims court, where only the failure to pay, not the original case, is argued.

FYI: The various court TV shows is actually arbitration, dressed up to look like a court, and using a real, former judge, as the arbitrator.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

I think the sports analogy doesn't apply. If a game gets rained out, it is rescheduled, and the bets remain unresolved until the game is finally played.

Actually, it is possible to have a postponed game that eventually never gets played (it seems to happen mostly in baseball). For instance, in 2008, the Cubs and Astros had a series hurricaned out in Houston that got moved to Milwaukee. Due to the timing, they could only play two games in Milwaukee, and the third game was postponed until the end of the regular season. At that time, the Astros, Brewers, and Cubs were in a fairly close playoff race. By the time they got to the last game, the Cubs had long since wrapped up the division, so that last game wound up not getting played, since it was unnecessary.

Obviously, most postponed games are eventually played, but occasionally you get situations like this.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

The flight was not cancelled. Nobody ordered drinks.

Drinks service is only semi-dependent on the flight going off. Obviously, if the flight doesn't go off, drinks service never happens, but once the flight goes up, drinks service can be postponed if conditions are poor, and cancelled if they don't clear up before starting descent. That's basically where I was going with this.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

FYI: The various court TV shows is actually arbitration, dressed up to look like a court, and using a real, former judge, as the arbitrator.

At this risk of this going off topic, I've always wondered about the ground rules for TV small claims court shows. For example, when Judge Wapner was on the People's Court, he would always site the applicable California laws in a dispute, and then explain how he was applying them to the case before him. However, with Judge Judy I once saw one of the parties try to site a Michigan law (where the parties resided) and Judy essentially said that she didn't care. Not that I watch her show often, but I've never seen her site a law in any state. I think the foundation of her decisions was plain common sense and justice. Am I incorrect? Personally, I liked Judge Wapner's format better, because I was learning something about the law as well as being entertained.

Judge Judy may well use common sense rather than case law. Then again, she may not care about the case cited if the case was out of state. Or, since the show is supposed to mimic small claims court, a domain that typically doesn't use lawyers, you can't act like a lawyer and research case history.

Bottom line: Bust out the TiVo and read the fine print in the credits (good luck with that).


I have seen in the larger fine print that both parties are paid to appear, with adjustments based upon the judgement.

Quote: wildqat

Actually, it is possible to have a postponed game that eventually never gets played (it seems to happen mostly in baseball).

Yeah, baseball leagues play dozens of games, so one less isn't too much of a much. In the NFL with only 16 games, you can hardly postpone one, but cannot afford to cancel one. Even after Katrina, NO played all its "home" games in San Antonio.

Still, I've a vague memory of a pre-season game being cancelled in the mid-80s. It was a hall of fame game, which was eventually called off due to heavy rain. Of course, pre-season doesn't count.