Law Commons^™

Choice Of The Applicable Law In United States Maritime Law And The Venezuelan System, Daniel Eric Vielleville

LLM Theses and Essays

International maritime transport is an important means of transport in international trade. The vessels used in international maritime transport face unique dangers which necessitate maritime law that addresses the perils associated with maritime transport. Maritime law concerns many jurisdictions, which creates a special interest for the study of conflict of laws. There are private international maritime laws in addition to multilateral treaties. This paper analyzes the international approach that the United States takes in maritime conflict of laws, and compares it with the Venezuelan system of private international law. Venezuela is a civil law country with old maritime legislation which …

Vicarious And Personal Liability For Employment Discrimination, Rebecca H. White

Scholarly Works

This Article addresses the issues of vicarious and personal liability for employment discrimination as a coherent whole. Part II examines the prevailing view on an employer's vicarious liability for employment discrimination under Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA. Part II further discusses the exception to vicarious liability that has developed in hostile work environment cases and examines the justifications advanced for that exception. My point here is not so much to debate whether such an exception should exist but to determine whether the arguments against vicarious liability in hostile work environment cases justifiably can be limited to that context. …

Because I Am Black, Because I Am Woman: Remedying The Sexual Harassment Experience Of Black Women, Andrea L. Dennis

Scholarly Works

This Note examines the intersection of race and gender in the context of sexual harassment jurisprudence. Since the arrival in this country of the first female African slaves, Black women have experienced sexual harassment on the job. This Note discusses the failure of sexual harassment theory to acknowledge the unique sexual harassment experience of Black women. From the very earliest discussions of sexual harassment, the impact of the race of the victim on the experience and resulting legal claim was ignored. Feminist legal theorists, leaders in issues affecting women, have been slow to acknowledge and integrate the role of race …

Trade Secrets And Roman Law: The Myth Exploded, Alan Watson

Scholarly Works

In 1929 A. Arthur Schiller published a celebrated article, Trade Secrets and the Roman Law; the Actio Servi Corrupti. His main conclusions are that the Roman owner of a mark or firm name was legally protected against unfair usage by a competitor through the actio servi corrupti, “action for making a slave worse,” which the Roman jurists used to grant commercial relief under the guise of private law actions. “If, as the writer believes [writes Schiller], various private causes of action were available in satisfying commercial needs, the state was acting in exactly the same fashion as it …

Experts, Judges, And Commentators: The Underlying Debate About An Expert's Underlying Data, Ronald L. Carlson

Scholarly Works

Debate concerning the limits of judicial power over expert witnesses remains active and in its early states. Commentators charting the course of judicial opinions observe that some of the modern regulatory proposals have yet to enlist official adoption. Part of the problem may relate to recognition of questions. Courts will adjudicate critical issues only when they are made aware of them. The burden of calling attention to an expert's flawed bases falls squarely on trial lawyers who must make astute and incisive objections.

In this formative period of legal development important decisions will be made. The future direction of courtroom …

Punitive Damages For Constitutional Torts, Michael L. Wells

Scholarly Works

Critics complain that punitive damages often serve no good purpose. Whatever the merit of this charge as a general proposition, it is not universally valid across the range of tort suits. This article examines the issues raised by punitive damages for constitutional torts and takes issue with the general failure of commentators on punitive damages to recognize differences between constitutional tort and common law torts. I shall argue that constitutional tort is one area where punitive damage awards are essential to the effective enforcement of our rights. Constitutional tort is a special domain, in which the policy issues that bear …

Testing Two Assumptions About Federalism And Tort Reform, Thomas A. Eaton, Susette M. Talarico

Scholarly Works

In, 1996 both the United States House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation that, if enacted, would preempt state tort laws in significant ways. Why would a Congress otherwise apparently committed to vesting states with greater policymaking autonomy call for federal control of tort law?

Tort policymaking has traditionally been done at the state level. One assumption underlying this distribution of power is that states are better able than the national government to fashion tort rules appropriate for local conditions and circumstances. In other words, states are thought to have a special competence in crafting tort rules responsive to local …