Law Commons^™

Fire Safety In Shopping Malls & Premises Liability, John O. Hayward

John O. Hayward

America’s 1,175 shopping malls represent a new economic, cultural, and social phenomenon. One study found that Americans spent more time at malls than anywhere except home and work. But from a fire safety perspective,how safe are shopping malls? How strict are mall fire safety codes? This article reviews the incidence of fires in shopping malls both in the U.S. and abroad,and examines the latest fire safety technology in the fields of sprinklers, alarms,signage,smoke control,and evacuation strategies. The liability of mall owners and retailers for fire safety is then explored.

Copyright Infringement In The Internet Age - Primetime For Harmonized Conflict-Of-Laws Rules?, Anita B. Frohlich

Anita B Frohlich

The traditionally national nature of law endangers its very raison d’être in today’s interconnected and borderless world. Conflict-of-laws methodology may prove to represent an adequate means to maintain relevance of national legal tradition in presence of the increasingly international nature of legal disputes. Here, I propose that only a harmonized conflict-of-laws framework can achieve this goal. Specifically, I focus on international copyright law since (1) the current national jurisprudence in this field is unsatisfactory and disparate, (2) international intellectual property law has so far mostly failed to cross-fertilize with the field of conflict of laws, and (3) there have been …

“Private Law And Public Goals: The Continuing Importance Of The Action For Breach Of Statutory Duty” (Paper Presented At The Obligations Iv Conference, Singapore, 23-25 July 2008), Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

The tort action for Breach of Statutory Duty seems to provide the perfect intersection between the goals of private law and “public” goals as determined by legislation. But the question as to when, in what circumstances, and why, a civil action should be available to a claimant whose statutory rights have been breached continues to be agitated. In one common law jurisdiction, Canada, the action has been effectively abolished by judicial fiat. But in others it continues to play an important role, sometimes in matters of seemingly “low status” but great importance to the person concerned (such as injured workers), …

Teaching Laws With Flaws: Adopting A Pluralistic Approach To Torts, Taunya Lovell Banks

Taunya Lovell Banks

No abstract provided.

Teaching Laws With Flaws: Adopting A Pluralistic Approach To Torts, Taunya Lovell Banks

Taunya Lovell Banks

No abstract provided.

From Zebra Mussels To Coqui Frogs: Public Nuisance Liability As A Method To Combat The Introduction Of Invasive Species, Matthew C. Shannon

Matthew C Shannon

Ecological alterations and disturbances caused by non-indigenous invasive species [NIS] deteriorate biodiversity and have a devastating affect on an area's ecology, economy, and human health. Even as the costs, health risks, and environmental damage associated with NIS becomes more apparent and widely accepted, further environmental regulation and/or trade restrictions to prevent NIS introduction may become more politically unacceptable in light of the growing global economy. Although the problem of invasive species introduction has been addressed by various legal regimes, public nuisance tort liability is particularly well suited and should be used to target those who negligently or deliberately introduce invasive …

The World Bank's Inspection Panel: Promoting True Accountability Through Arbitration, Enrique Carrasco

Enrique R Carrasco

In September 1993, the World Bank created the Inspection Panel. At the time, it was hailed as an unprecedented effort to increase the Bank’s accountability. Prior to the establishment of the Panel, the Bank had engaged in a number of projects that devastated local populations and caused significant environmental damage. After unrelenting pressure from environmental and human rights non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”), the World Bank established the Inspection Panel with hopes of bringing transparency to the Bank’s project lending. Generally, the Panel is charged with investigating complaints filed by parties in borrower countries who believe that the Bank is violating its …

Regulation With Placebo Effects, Anup Malani

Anup Malani

There is a growing body of empirical evidence supporting the existence of placebo effects in medical contexts and is suggestive of nontrivial placebo effects in non-medical contexts. This paper reviews the literature on placebo effects, examines the implications for four fields of law (drug approval, informed consent law, consumer protection law, and torts) and suggests future areas for research on placebo effects. Specifically, it make the case for altering the drug approval process to account for, if not credit, placebo effects. It suggests allowing evidence of placebo effects as a defense in cases alleging violations of informed consent or false …

Why Pedestrian-Friendly Street Design Is Not Negligent, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

American streets are typically designed for fast automobile traffic. As a result, those streets are often dangerous for pedestrians.

In part, the anti-pedestrian design of American streets is a result of transportation planners' perceptions of American tort law. In negligent street design cases, courts and juries sometimes rely upon guidelines set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), a national association of government transportation officials. Because AASHTO's street-design rules have historically favored wide streets built to accommodate high-speed traffic, planners sometimes assume that in order to avoid liability, they must do the same.

The purpose of …

Torts And Innovation, Alex Stein, Gideon Parchomovsky

Alex Stein

This Essay exposes and analyzes a hitherto overlooked cost of the current design of tort law: its adverse effect on innovation. Tort liability for negligence, defective products, and medical malpractice is determined by reference to custom. We demonstrate that courts’ reliance on custom and conventional technologies as the benchmark of liability chills innovation and distorts its path. Specifically, the recourse to custom taxes innovators and subsidizes replicators of conventional technologies. We explore the causes and consequences of this phenomenon and propose two possible ways to modify tort law in order to make it more welcoming to innovation.

Liability For Possible Wrongs: Causation, Statistical Probability And The Burden Of Proof, In Symposium, The Frontiers Of Tort Law, Richard W. Wright

Richard W. Wright

Courts around the world are increasingly considering whether liability should exist in various types of situations in which a plaintiff can prove that a defendant’s tortious conduct may have contributed to the plaintiff’s injury, but it is inherently impossible, given the nature of the situation, for the plaintiff to prove that the defendant’s tortious conduct actually contributed to the injury. The problematic nature of the causal issue is usually recognized when the probability of causation is not greater than 50 percent, with courts adopting different views, depending on the type of situation, on whether liability nevertheless is appropriate and, if …

The Cy Pres Problem And The Role Of Damages In Tort Law, Goutam U. Jois

Goutam U Jois

Class action litigation presents a common problem that has received little discussion in the academic literature. In almost every case, the plaintiff class’s recovery is not fully distributed. For example, all possible plaintiffs may not come forward with their claims, the plaintiffs may not be ascertainable, or claims may not be timely submitted. Administrators are regularly posed with the problem of what to do with these residual funds. Currently, courts are free to do virtually anything with such funds. The system is ad hoc, unpredictable, and unguided by any normative principle. In these cases, I propose that the funds should …