Law Commons^™

The Unidentified Wrongdoer, Ronen Perry

Georgia Law Review

This Article addresses the untheorized and under-researched problem of strong unidentifiability in tort law, namely the victim’s occasional inability to identify the direct wrongdoer, or even an ascertainable group to which the wrongdoer belongs, and bring an action against him or her. This Article offers a systematic analysis and a general theoretical framework for the appraisal of possible solutions to strong unidentifiability problems, which undermine liability and frustrate its goals.

Part I presents the main legal models developed and used to overcome these problems in different contexts and various legal systems: adherence to direct liability with creative procedural identification tools, …

The Role Of Fault In § 1983 Municipal Liability, Michael Wells

Scholarly Works

Under Monell v. Department of Social Services, local governments are not vicariously liable for constitutional violations committed by their employees. Those governments, however, are liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations committed by "policymaking" officials. In the face of these two principles, courts have struggled with cases in which an underling commits a constitutional violation and the claim of municipal liability is based on a policymaker's failure to prevent it. The government can be liable in these "indirect-effect" cases for a policymaker's "deliberate indifference" to safeguarding constitutional rights, a standard that demands an even greater showing of culpability than …

Aviation Law: Warsaw Convention Liability Principles Extend To Damage From Terrorist Attack, Leon Adams Jr.

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Contents

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Weather Modification: A Modest Proposal, Lawrence A. Weirs

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Music On Hold Case, Melissa De Zwart

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Economic Implications Of European Transfrontier Pollution: National Prerogative And Attribution Of Responsibility, Fredrick C. Eisenstein

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Solicitation Of Anticompetitive Action From Foreign Governments: Should The Noerr-Pennington Doctrine Apply To Communications With Foreign Sovereigns?, Ronald W. Davis

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Tax Planning: Foreign Investment In United States Real Property, William H. Newton Iii

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Impairment Of The Operation Of The Warsaw Convention By Recent Legislative And Judicial Action, Alan N. Sutin

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

International Liability And Primary Rules Of Obligation: An Application To Acid Rain In The United States And Canada, John B. Lyle

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Petitioning Foreign Governments: The Act Of State And Noerr-Pennington Doctrines, Don R. Sampen

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Liability For Massive Online Leaks Of National Defense Information, Rodney A. Smolla

Georgia Law Review

Imagine that a group of activist American journalists and lawyers launch a new Internet site called "AmeriLeaks." The site is incorporated as a nonprofit organization with its principal place of business in Washington, D.C. The announced purpose of the site is to provide an American alternative to the WikiLeaks site led by Julian Assange. AmeriLeaks encourages whistleblowers across the United States to post documents on the site exposing corruption and crime in government, with an emphasis on American foreign policy and national security issues. "American universities have launched Moocs-Massive Open Online Courses-and we are now launching a site for American …

Who Owes How Much? Developments In Apportionment And Joint And Several Liability Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, Thomas A. Eaton

Scholarly Works

Without question, O.C.G.A. 51-12-13 as construed in McReynolds and Couch ushers in a new era in Georgia tort law. It topples the old regime in which multiple tortfeasors were held jointly liable when their combined acts of negligence injured an innocent plaintiff. The new regime is one of apportionment and liability limited to one's personal share of fault. Fault may be apportioned when it previously could not. It may be apportioned to those who are immune, to those who are unknown, and even to those who intentionally injure an innocent plaintiff. The practical consequence of this regime change is to …

The State Of Judiciary: A Corporate Perspective, Larry D. Thompson

Scholarly Works

The rule of law depends on highly talented, independent judges who conscientiously strive to ensure that the law is consistently applied in a principled and predictable manner This Essay addresses two potential threats to judicial independence and the rule of law that we believe warrant special attention at this time. First, inadequate judicial salaries pose a threat to the quality and independence of the judiciary. Judges' real pay has declined substantially over the past generation, even as the compensation of other callings within the legal profession has risen dramatically. This growing disparity in pay has prompted an increasing number of …

Proximate Cause And The American Law Institute: The False Choice Between The "Direct Consequences" Test And The "Risk Standard", Michael Wells

Scholarly Works

This article takes a new look at an old problem that lies at the heart of tort law: How does one define the scope of liability when a negligent actor causes unforeseeable harm? This topic once drew the attention of such legal giants as Benjamin Cardozo, Robert Keeton, and William Prosser. Today it seems largely forgotten, except for a class or two in first year torts courses.

The occasion for examining the unforeseeable harm issue is the proposed revision of the Restatement (Third) of Torts by the American Law Institute ("ALI"). In a tentative draft of portions of the Restatement …

Liability Issues Facing Online Businesses, David E. Shipley

Scholarly Works

Online businesses are confronted by a wide variety of liability issues covering almost the full range of the standard law school curriculum. The liability problems that face a small business in Vidalia, Georgia, which is selling Vidalia onion products at specialty stores, through print advertising, and by mail, do not go away when the business starts marketing through a Web site. In fact, there might be more exposure doing business online, and there are variations depending upon the nature of the business in question. For example, as discussed below, an Internet Service Provider ("ISP") like America Online has worries that …

The Liability Of The Automobile And Motorcycle Manufacturers And Their Suppliers For Defective Products In The United States Compared To Germany, Daniel Karl Robyn

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis deals with the lability of automobile and motorcycle manufacturers, as well as their suppliers, in situations where a defective product causes a harmful event. Specifically, it compares the product liability laws of the Federal Republic of Germany to those of the United States of America. Before entering into the details of legal doctrine, the introductory note provides background information on the social and economic aspects of automobile use in those two countries. Next, Chapter I describes the liability regime governing claims against German motor vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers. Chapter II focuses on the comparable law in the …

Revisiting The Intersection Of Workers' Compensation And Product Liability: An Assessment Of A Proposed Federal Solution To An Old Problem, Thomas A. Eaton

Scholarly Works

This article addresses a less publicized, but potentially far reaching provision of the Product Liability Legal Reform Act of 1996: the provision pertaining to the intersection of product liability and workers' compensation. The prototypical case is one in which an employee is injured on the job and the injury is caused, at least in part, by a defective product. In many instances, the employer may also be at fault. This scenario potentially calls into play both the product liability and the workers' compensation systems, raising certain relevant questions. Can the employee secure compensation benefits from the employer and tort damages …

Are Local Governments Liable Under Rule 10b-5? Textualism And Its Limits, Margaret V. Sachs

Scholarly Works

Whether state and local governments can be sued for damages is a question that cuts across subject-area boundaries. This question, which has long confounded courts in the areas of both antitrust and civil rightslaw, now has arisen in a new area: section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and rule 10b-5. The thesis of this Article is that a local government is an inappropriate rule 10b-5 defendant, regardless of whether it is the issuer of the securities in question or an alleged participant in a scheme involving corporate securities. The only appropriate rule 10b-5 defendants are private actors.

Reinsurance: Bad Faith Considerations And Insolvency Dilemma, Hui-Ju Hsieh

LLM Theses and Essays

Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company. The original insurance company is called the reinsured, and the insurance company that is contracted is called the reinsurer. The main purpose of reinsurance is to disperse or spread the risk of loss. The reinsurance relationship is frequently characterized as an exercise of fiduciary responsibility based upon an undertaking of utmost good faith between contracting parties. However, disputes arise; most litigation involving reinsurance has been between reinsurers and persons not party to the reinsurance agreement. This paper’s first major area of discussion is the relationship between the reinsurer …