Law Commons^™

The Executive Branch And International Law, Arthur M. Weisburd

Vanderbilt Law Review

Public international law, through its rules regulating the dealings between independent nations, purports to impose limits on the actions of all governments, including those of the United States. In this context American lawyers interested in foreign relations may reasonably wonder whether American courts would enforce rules of public international law purporting to bind the United States against the United States government, particularly the executive branch. A fair number of Supreme Court cases have dealt with the enforce ability of treaties in American courts.' Treaties, however, are only one source of international law. The other important source, customary international law, is …

The Role Of Federal Safety Regulations In Products Liability Actions, Teresa M. Schwartz

Vanderbilt Law Review

Product safety is the province of both the regulatory and the tort systems. Each system has come under attack in recent years on both the federal and state levels. Through its regulatory policies, appointments, and budget cuts, the Reagan Administration has weakened the federal regulatory system.' At the same time, the Administration has severely criticized the tort system. State legislatures have enacted a myriad of statutes that weaken the tort system by cutting back on the common-law rights of victims, and additional measures are pending in Congress and in state legislatures across the country.'

For the most part, proponents of …

Preemption: Breathing New Life Into An Old Giant, Gary V. Weeks

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Economic Analysis Of Liability For Aids-Contaminated Blood Products, George Ferrell

Seattle University Law Review

The purpose of this Comment is to develop an economic analysis of possible blood products liability rules in order to determine what the effects of such rules are on blood users and providers. To the extent that current liability rules fail to promote an efficient allocation of risks and resources, this Comment will propose changes designed to correct such deficiencies.

Health Law—Vaccine Injuries—Federal Law Prescribes Procedures For Alternatives To Tort Actions For Vaccine-Related Injuries. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act Of 1986. 43 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-1 To -34 (Supp. Iv 1986)., Victoria Bennett

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Negligent Accounting And The Limits Of Instrumental Tort Reform, John A. Siliciano

Michigan Law Review

This article first explores the relationship between the accountant and the reliant third party, and recounts the mounting judicial hostility to the accountant's traditional privity defense. Next, the article critically examines the arguments that have supported traditional privity-based regimes. The third section turns to the reform courts and tests whether the rationales offered for reform justify abandoning the privity requirement.

Concluding that a convincing case for reform has yet to be made and - given the complexity of a properly executed instrumental analysis - may never be made, the article's final section reconsiders the utility of instrumental reasoning as a …

Police Liability For Creating The Need To Use Deadly Force In Self-Defense, Frank G. Zarb Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Police officers are granted wide discretion in the use of their firearms. Allowing officers some discretion is unavoidable, because they must often make difficult decisions in the face of rapidly changing circumstances. Officers, however, may abuse this discretion and cause injury or death unnecessarily. In the face of this danger of abuse by officers, suspects are, in many states, prohibited from defending themselves. While it is better to have a court decide when a police officer has abused his discretion than to allow the suspect to make that decision at the moment of arrest, it is not clear what standards …

The Myth Of Nonapportionment Between A Plaintiff And A Defendant Under Traditional Tort Law And Its Significance For Modern Comparative Fault, Leonard Charles Schwartz

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Should The Trier Of Fact Determine The Validity Of Personal Injury Releases?—Bennett V. Shinoda Floral, Inc., 108 Wash. 2d 386, 739 P.2d 648 (1987), Robert A. Radcliffe

Washington Law Review

In Bennett v. Shinoda Floral, Inc., the Washington Supreme Court departed from a national trend toward flexibility in permitting avoidance of personal injury releases. The plaintiffs in Bennett had signed releases of all claims, known and unknown. The plaintiffs were unaware of the extent or consequences of their injuries, but they had signed knowing that the injuries were not yet healed. The court held that the releases were binding because the plaintiffs had assumed the risk of any unforeseen consequences. The Bennett opinion followed two lines of analysis. First, the court held that the validity of a release is …

When Should The Trier Of Fact Determine The Validity Of Personal Injury Releases?—Bennett V. Shinoda Floral, Inc., 108 Wash. 2d 386, 739 P.2d 648 (1987), Robert A. Radcliffe

Washington Law Review

In Bennett v. Shinoda Floral, Inc., the Washington Supreme Court departed from a national trend toward flexibility in permitting avoidance of personal injury releases. The plaintiffs in Bennett had signed releases of all claims, known and unknown. The plaintiffs were unaware of the extent or consequences of their injuries, but they had signed knowing that the injuries were not yet healed. The court held that the releases were binding because the plaintiffs had assumed the risk of any unforeseen consequences. The Bennett opinion followed two lines of analysis. First, the court held that the validity of a release is an …

No Place Like Home: Public Policy And Prudent Practice In The Conflict Of Laws, Jeffrey Jackson

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Konizeski And The Warner Amendment: Back To Ground Zero For Atomic Litigants, A Constandina Titus, Michael W. Bowers False

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Economics Of Accidents, Michelle J. White

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Economic Analysis of Accident Law by Steven Shavell

Explaining Tort Law: The Economic Theory Of Landes And Posner, Peter C. Carstensen

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Economic Structure of Tort Law by William M. Landes and Richard A. Posner

Stories Of Rights: Developing Moral Theory And Teaching Law, Patricia A. Cain, Jean C. Love

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Rights, Restitution, & Risk: Essays in Moral Theory by Judith Jarvis Thomson, edited by William Parent

Tinkering With The Ad Damnum Clause In Tort Cases: Tort Reform Or Proliferation Of New Tort Claims, Adrienne Meltzer Fox

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

An America's Cup For Tort Reform? Australia And America Compared, Jeffrey O'Connell, David Partlett

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The issue of tort reform has descended from Ivory Towers to populist politics. A few years ago no one could have predicted that "tort reform" would become political argot and a stirring election slogan. Some in the United States see the tort crisis and the stimulus for reform as somehow uniquely American. This Article shows instead that many advanced, industrialized societies are discussing tort reform initiatives actively. The precise nature of the problems, the reasons for reform, and the shape of solutions will be fashioned by indigenous culture, tradition, and the uncertainties of politics. In the common-law world, however, a …

The Bomb Can Do No Wrong: From Blackstonean Misconception To The Technological God, Richard P. James

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Physician Staff Priviledge Cases: Antitrust Liability And The Health Care Quality Improvement Act, John Neff

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Torts—Limitations On Actions—Arkansas Adopts Continuous Treatment Rule To Toll Statute Of Limitations In Medical Malpractice Actions. Lane V. Lane, 295 Ark. 671, 752 S.W.2d 25 (1988)., John D. Nichols

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Expert Testimony On Proximate Cause, Daniel J. Steinbeck, William M. Richman, Douglas E. Ray

Vanderbilt Law Review

Expert testimony is common in tort litigation, especially on issues of standard of care and cause-in-fact. Rule 704 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and its state counterparts abolished the prohibition of testimony on ultimate issues, leading to the possibility of expert testimony on the often crucial issue of proximate cause. The situation is easy to imagine. After counsel has qualified an expert witness and elicited an opinion that the particular act or omission "caused" the injury in question, counsel might very well be tempted to inquire whether the witness has an opinion as to whether the act or omission …

The Libel Tort Today, Randall P. Bezanson

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Xi. Torts

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act Of 1986: A Solution To The Vaccine Liability Crisis?, Mary Beth Neraas

Washington Law Review

This Comment addresses the role of the tort system in the vaccine liability crisis and analyzes the probable success of the Act in resolving the crisis. This Comment recommends that the Act be amended to prohibit all actions against vaccine manufacturers based on failure to warn theories. Even though failure to warn is not a proper basis for finding civil liability, this Comment suggests that the Food and Drug Administration establish guidelines, enforceable under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, to require that each vaccinee receives an adequate warning of the risks associated with vaccination.

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act Of 1986: A Solution To The Vaccine Liability Crisis?, Mary Beth Neraas

Washington Law Review

This Comment addresses the role of the tort system in the vaccine liability crisis and analyzes the probable success of the Act in resolving the crisis. This Comment recommends that the Act be amended to prohibit all actions against vaccine manufacturers based on failure to warn theories. Even though failure to warn is not a proper basis for finding civil liability, this Comment suggests that the Food and Drug Administration establish guidelines, enforceable under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, to require that each vaccinee receives an adequate warning of the risks associated with vaccination.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Casenotes: Torts — Satisfaction — Release — Where The Terms Of A General Release Are Ambiguous With Respect To Whether The Parties Intend To Bar Suit Against A Subsequent Negligent Physician, Parol Evidence Is Admissible To Determine The Intent Of The Parties At The Time Of Execution. Morgan V. Cohen, 309 Md. 304, 523 A.2d 1003 (1987) (4-3 Decision), Mark Alan Billhimer

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Alien Tort Statute Grants Federal Court Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over Foreign Sovereign for Tort Committed in Clear Violation of International Law and Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act is not Exclusive Jurisdictional Grant Over Sovereign-- Amerada Hess Shipping Corp. v. Argentina Republic 830 F.2d 421 (2nd Cir. 1987)

Exploring The Foreign Country Exception: Federal Tort Claims In Antarctica, David J. Bederman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

On November 28, 1979, an Air New Zealand DC-10 aircraft carrying tourists bound for an expedition to Antarctica crashed into the side of Mount Erebus, the highest peak on the frozen continent. All aboard perished. Four years later, the families of some of the New Zealander skilled in the accident brought suit against the United States Government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). They claimed that the negligence of the air traffic controllers at the United States scientific base at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, was the proximate cause of the crash.

This Article considers numerous aspects of this litigation and …

The Impact Of The Drug Export Amendments Act Of 1986 On Foreign Tort Victims, James C. Grant

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In response to domestic pharmaceutical producers' demands, Congress amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) on November 14, 1986. The advantages of foreign drug producers over United States drug producers prompted Congress to enact the Drug Export Amendments Act of 1986 (DEAA) which was designed to help United States drug producers compete effectively in the world market. The DEAA now puts domestic producers on more of an equal basis with the rest of the market by allowing them to export unapproved drugs.

The first section of this Note will examine the new amendment and outline its requirements. Then, …