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2010

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Full-Text Articles in Law

No.17 - November 2010, Center Of Civil Law Studies Nov 2010

No.17 - November 2010, Center Of Civil Law Studies

The Center of Civil Law Studies Newsletter

No abstract provided.


No.16 - October 2010, Center Of Civil Law Studies Oct 2010

No.16 - October 2010, Center Of Civil Law Studies

The Center of Civil Law Studies Newsletter

No abstract provided.


What Is Civil Justice, Jason M. Solomon Oct 2010

What Is Civil Justice, Jason M. Solomon

Faculty Publications

This Article first explores the meaning of the term “civil justice” as it is used in both academic and popular discourse. It then examines the idea of civil justice by looking at three key examples: (1) the U.S. tort system (specifically governing auto accidents); (2) the no-fault regimes of New Zealand, U.S. workers’ compensation, and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund; and (3) the phenomenon of apologies, instead of compensation, as remedies in medical malpractice cases. The Article concludes that an important component of civil justice is the ability of a person to hold accountable one who has wronged her.


Cy Pres Relief And The Pathologies Of The Modern Class Action: A Normative And Empirical Analysis, Samantha Zyontz, Martin H. Redish, Peter Julian Jul 2010

Cy Pres Relief And The Pathologies Of The Modern Class Action: A Normative And Empirical Analysis, Samantha Zyontz, Martin H. Redish, Peter Julian

Faculty Scholarship

Since the mid 1970s, federal courts have taken the doctrine of cy pres relief from the venerable law of trusts and adapted it for use in the modern class action proceeding. In its original context, cy pres was utilized as a means of judicially designating a charitable recipient when, for whatever reason, it was no longer possible to fulfill the original goal of the maker of the trust. The purpose of cy pres was to provide “the next best relief” by finding a recipient who would resemble the original donor’s recipient as much as possible. In the context of class …


Best Practices For Mediation Training And Regulation: Preliminary Findings, Susan S. Raines, Tim Hedeen, Ansley B. Barton Jul 2010

Best Practices For Mediation Training And Regulation: Preliminary Findings, Susan S. Raines, Tim Hedeen, Ansley B. Barton

Faculty and Research Publications

This article makes recommendations as to “Best Practices” for the training of mediators in court-connected settings. The authors’ findings cover issues including the design of training programs, the importance of experiential learning through role-plays, teaching methods for adult learners, class size and length, training ethical mediators, suggested trainer qualifications, and recommended regulatory practices for administrators. Data comes primarily from an assessment of mediation training and regulation in Florida, but the findings hold insights for court-connected mediation programs throughout the United States. Additionally, the authors highlight the benefits of a collaborative assessment approach involving all stakeholder groups and facilitating smooth implementation …


No.15 - June 2010, Center Of Civil Law Studies Jun 2010

No.15 - June 2010, Center Of Civil Law Studies

The Center of Civil Law Studies Newsletter

No abstract provided.


The Plaintiff Neutrality Principle: Pleading Complex Litigation In The Era Of Twombly And Iqbal, Robin J. Effron May 2010

The Plaintiff Neutrality Principle: Pleading Complex Litigation In The Era Of Twombly And Iqbal, Robin J. Effron

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


No.14 - March 2010, Center Of Civil Law Studies Mar 2010

No.14 - March 2010, Center Of Civil Law Studies

The Center of Civil Law Studies Newsletter

No abstract provided.


Revised Uniform Laws On Notarial Acts, Arthur Gaudio , Reporter Jan 2010

Revised Uniform Laws On Notarial Acts, Arthur Gaudio , Reporter

Faculty Scholarship

This version of the Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (“ULONA”) is a comprehensive revision of the Uniform Law on Notarial Acts as approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (“NCCUSL”) in 1982. Since that date, countless societal and technological as well as market and economic changes have occurred requiring notarial officers and the notarial acts that they perform to adapt. In addition, there has been a growing non-uniformity among the states in their laws regarding notarial acts. This version of ULONA adapts the notarial process to accommodate those changes, makes the Act more responsive to current …


Regulating Offensiveness: Snyder V. Phelps, Emotion, And The First Amendment, Christina E. Wells Jan 2010

Regulating Offensiveness: Snyder V. Phelps, Emotion, And The First Amendment, Christina E. Wells

Faculty Publications

In its upcoming term, the Court will decide in Snyder v. Phelps whether Albert Snyder can sue the Reverend Fred Phelps and other members of the Westboro Baptist Church for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress for protesting near his son’s funeral. Those arguing in favor of tort liability claim that the Phelps’ speech during a time of mourning and vulnerability is especially outrageous and injurious and that the First Amendment allows such regulation. Their arguments, however, effectively rely on the offensiveness of the Phelps’ message rather than on any external indicia of harm, such as noisy …


Justice Carter, Contributory Negligence And Wrongful Death: A Call To Get Rid Of A “Bad Law With Bad Results”, Michael A. Zamperini Jan 2010

Justice Carter, Contributory Negligence And Wrongful Death: A Call To Get Rid Of A “Bad Law With Bad Results”, Michael A. Zamperini

Publications

No abstract provided.


Carter’S Dissent In Simpson V. City Of Los Angeles: A Precursor To The Animal Rights Movement, Janice E. Kosel Jan 2010

Carter’S Dissent In Simpson V. City Of Los Angeles: A Precursor To The Animal Rights Movement, Janice E. Kosel

Publications

In Simpson v. City of Los Angeles, resident taxpayers who owned licensed dogs who had recently gone astray sought to restrain the enforcement of a city ordinance. Los Angeles Municipal Code section 53.11 (h) allowed the city to surrender for medical research dogs that had been impounded for a period of at least five days. Subsection (h) of the ordinance did not contain any provision for notice to the owner of the impounded dog. As a result, plaintiffs contended that the ordinance was invalid because it constituted an unlawful taking of private property.


Saving Lives Through Punitive Damages, W. Kip Viscusi, Joni Hersch Jan 2010

Saving Lives Through Punitive Damages, W. Kip Viscusi, Joni Hersch

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article proposes that the value of statistical life ("VSL ") be used to set the total damages amount needed for deterrence when punitive damages are warranted in wrongful death cases. The appropriate level of total damages should be achieved by adjusting the value of punitive damages. Compensatory damages should not be distorted to establish the total damages level needed for efficient deterrence. Attempts to introduce hedonic damages as a compensatory damages component, and proposals to use the VSL on a routine basis when setting compensatory damages awards, are misguided and will undermine the insurance and compensation functions of compensatory …


Caveat Emptor, Venditor Et Praescribor: Legal Liability Associated With Methyplenidate Hydrochloride (Mph) Use By Postsecondary Students, Jocelyn Downie, Fiona Campbell, Simon Outram Jan 2010

Caveat Emptor, Venditor Et Praescribor: Legal Liability Associated With Methyplenidate Hydrochloride (Mph) Use By Postsecondary Students, Jocelyn Downie, Fiona Campbell, Simon Outram

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

For years, students have endured the physical and mental stress that comes as a result of the demands of post-secondary education. All -night cramming for exams and marathon paper writing sessions are considered, by many, to be a rite of passage, endured by generations of students. For many years, students have also turned to stimulants (from coffee to energy drinks and caffeine pills) to extend their physical and cognitive limits in order to better cope with the demands of school and life. In this sense, the use of stimulants as study-aids is not a new phenomenon nor has it been …


An Unsettling Outcome: Why The Florida Supreme Court Was Wrong To Ban All Settlement Evidence In Saleeby V Rocky Elson Construction, Inc., 3 So. 3d 1078 (Fla. 2009), Michael L. Seigel, Robert J. Hauser, Allison D. Sirica Jan 2010

An Unsettling Outcome: Why The Florida Supreme Court Was Wrong To Ban All Settlement Evidence In Saleeby V Rocky Elson Construction, Inc., 3 So. 3d 1078 (Fla. 2009), Michael L. Seigel, Robert J. Hauser, Allison D. Sirica

UF Law Faculty Publications

It is rare that a court as sophisticated as the Florida Supreme Court casually makes a fundamental mistake in an important area of the law. Unfortunately, Saleeby v. Rocky Elson Construction, Inc., 3 So. 3d 1078 (Fla. 2009) represents one of these unusual instances. The Court was faced with a simple question: may evidence pertaining to a prior settlement be offered at trial when it is relevant to something other than liability or the invalidity or amount of the pending claim. The universal answer under both federal law and the law of other states is yes, as long as …


The Easy Case For Products Liability: A Response To Polinsky & Shavell, Benjamin C. Zipursky, John C.P. Goldberg Jan 2010

The Easy Case For Products Liability: A Response To Polinsky & Shavell, Benjamin C. Zipursky, John C.P. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

In their article “The Uneasy Case for Product Liability,” Professors Polinsky and Shavell assert the extraordinary claim that there should be no tort liability - none at all - for injuries caused by widely-sold products. In particular, they claim to have found convincing evidence that the threat of tort liability creates no additional incentives to safety beyond those already provided by regulatory agencies and market forces, and that tort compensation adds little or no benefit to injury victims beyond the compensation already provided by various forms of insurance. In this response, we explain that, even on its own narrow terms, …


Reply: Clawback To The Future, Miriam A. Cherry, Jarrod Wong Jan 2010

Reply: Clawback To The Future, Miriam A. Cherry, Jarrod Wong

All Faculty Scholarship

In an earlier article also available on Scholarship Commons, Clawbacks: Prospective Contract Measures in an Era of Excessive Executive Compensation and Ponzi Schemes, Minnesota Law Review, Vol. 94, p. 368, 2009, Professors Miriam Cherry and Jarrod Wong set out an initial description and analysis of contractual clawback provisions. In this Reply, Profs. Cherry and Wong address three aspects of Michael Macchiarola's Response: its application of the clawback doctrine to the recoupment of executive compensation; the criticism that the clawbacks doctrine introduces latent subjectivity into contractual analysis; and the apparent operational difficulties in implementing clawbacks.


Civil Rights And Federal Courts: Creating A Two-Course Sequence, Howard M. Wasserman Jan 2010

Civil Rights And Federal Courts: Creating A Two-Course Sequence, Howard M. Wasserman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Twenty-Eight Words: Enforcing Corporate Fiduciary Duties Through Criminal Prosecution Of Honest Services Fraud, Lisa L. Casey Jan 2010

Twenty-Eight Words: Enforcing Corporate Fiduciary Duties Through Criminal Prosecution Of Honest Services Fraud, Lisa L. Casey

Journal Articles

This article examines the federal government's growing use of 18 U.S.C. § 1346 to prosecute public company executives for breaching their fiduciary duties. Section 1346 is a controversial but under-examined statute making it a felony to engage in a scheme "to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services." Although enacted by Congress over twenty years ago, the Supreme Court repeatedly declined to review the statute, until now. In 2009, Justice Antonin Scalia pointed to the numerous interpretive questions dividing the federal appellate courts and proclaimed that it was "quite irresponsible" to let the "current chaos prevail." Since then, …


Organizations Matter: They Are Institutions, After All, John Linarelli Jan 2010

Organizations Matter: They Are Institutions, After All, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

Judge Posner (2010) offers a substantial agenda for organization economics. He advises us on how organization economics can shed substantial light on some of the most pressing social problems of the day. I comment on two of the areas he selects for discussion and offer some comments on the relationship of organization economics to new institutional economics. Judge Posner surely is right to argue that organization economics can help us understand the failures of corporate governance in regulating executive pay. Moreover, with additional and more institutionally nuanced theorizing, organizational economics should further our understanding of the work of judiciaries in …


Torts As Wrongs, John C.P. Goldberg, Benjamin C. Zipursky Jan 2010

Torts As Wrongs, John C.P. Goldberg, Benjamin C. Zipursky

Faculty Scholarship

Torts scholars hold different views on why tort law shifts costs from plaintiffs to defendants. Some invoke notions of justice, some efficiency, and some compensation. Nearly all seem to agree, however, that tort law is about the allocation of losses. This Article challenges the widespread embrace of loss-based accounts as fundamentally misguided. It is wrongs not losses that lie at the foundation of tort law. Tort suits are about affording plaintiffs an avenue of civil recourse against those who have wronged them. Although torts were once routinely understood as wrongs, since Holmes’s time, tort scholars have tended to suppose that …


The Shadow Of State Secrets, Laura K. Donohue Jan 2010

The Shadow Of State Secrets, Laura K. Donohue

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The shadow of state secrets casts itself longer than previously acknowledged. Between 2001 and 2009 the government asserted state secrets in more than 100 cases, while in scores more litigants appealed to the doctrine in anticipation of government intervention. Contractor cases ranged from breach of contract, patent disputes, and trade secrets, to fraud and employment termination. Wrongful death, personal injury, and negligence suits kept pace, extending beyond product liability to include infrastructure and services, as well as conduct of war. In excess of fifty telecommunications suits linked to the NSA warrantless wiretapping program emerged 2006-2009, with the government acting, variously, …


A Common Lawyer’S Perspective On The European Perspective On Punitive Damages, Michael Wells Jan 2010

A Common Lawyer’S Perspective On The European Perspective On Punitive Damages, Michael Wells

Scholarly Works

Punitive damages are generally available in common law jurisdictions, but are disfavored in civil law systems. This paper argues that the main reasons for the difference are historical and cultural. Roman law and the French Revolution heavily influenced the civil law. Civilians were taught that legal development comes from the top down. They learned to treat law as a system of general principles and to resist anomalies. They found it relatively easy to reject the intrusion of criminal themes into private law. The common law developed one case at a time, with no particular emphasis on systematic coherence. It was …