Labor Disputes in Contract Law: The Past and Present of Alaska Packers’ Ass’n v. Domenico

In Part II, I will give a brief recapitulation of the facts and background of Alaska Packers' as revealed by my digging into the case. In Part III, I will briefly discuss the doctrinal evolution of duress and the pre-existing duty rule before and after Alaska Packers' and conclude that this evolution complicates, but does not negate, Professor Snyder's insight into the "pernicious effect" of labor disputes on the development of contract doctrine. Finally, in Part IV, I will point out the continuing relevance of the case to the intersection of labor and contracts, and suggest that a hundred years of experience dealing with labor disputes has not clarified the lesson of Alaska Packers'.