Law Commons^™

Federal Clean Air Act Preemption Of Public Nuisance Claims: The Case For Supreme Court Resolution, Richard O. Faulk

Richard Faulk

The current circuit-by-circuit and state-by-state approach to the question of preemption precludes any uniform standards for environmental compliance and enforcement, and also vitiates any reliable basis for capital investment, expanded operations, and workforce stability. Because Congress enacted the CAA to promote those goals—as well as jobs and a healthy economy—delaying review prolongs the uncertainty and intensifies the dilemma facing not only the courts, but also the regulated community.

The High Price Of Poverty: A Study Of How The Majority Of Current Court System Procedures For Collecting Court Costs And Fees, As Well As Fines, Have Failed To Adhere To Established Precedent And The Constitutional Guarantees They Advocate., Trevor J. Calligan

Trevor J Calligan

No abstract provided.

Closing The Door To Lost Earnings Under The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act Of 1986, Aaron M. Levin

Aaron M Levin

After a wave of lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers hindered the profitability and production of life-saving vaccines, Congress enacted The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. The Act offers an incentive for individuals to get vaccinated in order to mitigate the population’s exposure to disease, while encouraging the continued production of these serums by pharmaceutical companies. Although imperfect, the Vaccine Act fosters promise in filtering out frivolous claims and provides a central route for due process to the individuals who suffer from a vaccine-related injury. By removing a potential state tort issue to the Federal Circuit, Congress created a reasonably …

An Approach To The Regulation Of Spanish Banking Foundations, Miguel Martínez

Miguel Martínez

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the legal framework governing banking foundations as they have been regulated by Spanish Act 26/2013, of December 27th, on savings banks and banking foundations. Title 2 of this regulation addresses a construct that is groundbreaking for the Spanish legal system, still of paramount importance for the entire financial system insofar as these foundations become the leading players behind certain banking institutions given the high interest that foundations hold in the share capital of such institutions.

Contracts Of Individuals Who Are Incompetent Without Guardianship And The Interpretation Of Article 428 Of The Italian Civil Code: Is The Court Of Cassation Wrong?, Enrico Baffi

enrico baffi

This paper aims at demonstrating that excessive protection of incompetent people can produce unintended negative consequences. Both in the Italian system, which is examined here in depth, and in American common law, a contract can be annulled if there is bad faith of behalf of the party who is not incompetent. However, a party in bad faith could offer an incompetent person a contract that does not produce a prejudice and could, in fact, be beneficial for the incompetent party. If the contract can be annulled, and if the prejudice occasionally occurs, the incompetent party can request a contract annulment. …

Proposed Implementing Procedures For Restore Act Awards Under Nepa, Sara Mammarella

Sara Mammarella

On April 20, 2010, what has been described as “the worst oil spill in U.S. history,” the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, occurred off the Louisiana coast, affecting a five-state area in the Gulf region (Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas), dumping an estimated 4.9 billion barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. In response, Congress enacted the federal RESTORE Act to set up a mechanism for compensating the victims of the oils spill and to Repair the environmental harm caused by the oil spill.

This article will examine the effectiveness of the regulatory scheme in place that was …

Submission To The Select Committee On The Recent Allegations Relating To Conditions And Circumstances At The Regional Processing Centre In Nauru, Azadeh Dastyari

Azadeh Dastyari

No abstract provided.

Compensation Forfeiture: Stacking Remedies Against Disloyal Agents And Employees, George P. Roach

George P Roach

Compensation Forfeiture:

Stacking Remedies Against Disloyal Agents and Employees

Abstract

Four cases against outlaw CEO’s who defrauded their companies are reviewed to show the major impact that compensation forfeiture contributes to the total package of remedies awarded. The dual goals of remedies for breach of fiduciary duty of compensation and deterrence result in multiple remedies, generally including a remedy at law to compensate and a remedy in equity to disgorge any benefit from the breach. For claims that the fiduciary or agent breached her duty of loyalty, a third remedy of compensation forfeiture can be added or ‘stacked’ on top …

New Philosophical Foundations Of Tort Law?, Avihay Dorfman

Avihay Dorfman

In this critical piece I take stock of current understandings of five basic distinctions in the theoretical study of tort law: First, a meta-theoretical distinction between the law’s self-presentation and a commitment to epiphenomenalism; second, between the formal and the substantive theory of the morality of tort law; third, between corrective and distributive justice; fourth, between ideal and non-ideal tort theory; and finally, between culpability and justice (or equality).

Tort-Related Risk Costs And The First-Best Economic Inefficiency Of The Hand Formula For Negligence: How To Fix The Formula When It Can Be Fixed And Why It Sometimes Cannot Be Fixed, Richard S. Markovits

Richard S. Markovits

The concept of negligence is a core concept of the common law. Judge Learned Hand’s B<↓(PL) formula for negligence is widely accepted in the legal academy and is increasingly used by U.S. common-law courts. This Article begins by pointing out four facts: (1) tort-loss avoidance-moves will affect not only weighted-average-expected tort losses but also the sum of the risk costs that potential tortfeasors and potential tort victim(s) bear in relation to the relevant tort-loss contingency; (2) the predicted assignment of tort liability will affect the risk costs that potential tortfeasors and potential tort victims respectively bear in relation to the relevant tort-loss contingency as well as the sum of those risk costs; (3) the Hand formula for negligence does not take account of the impact that a tort-loss avoidance-move will have on the tort-loss-related risk costs borne by the potential tortfeasors and potential tort-victim(s); and (4) on standard first-best assumptions, in a significant number of situations, this feature of the Hand formula will preclude its application from securing economic efficiency. The Article then investigates whether a variant of the Hand formula that contains a term that takes account of the impact that an avoidance-move will have on the tort-related risk costs that potential tortfeasors and potential tort victims bear could be developed whose universal, accurate implementation would maximize economic efficiency on first-best assumptions. After pointing out that any such variant of the Hand formula would have to specify whether the “change in risk cost” term it contains is to be calculated on the assumption that the tortfeasor will be found liable or on the assumption that the tortfeasor will be found not liable, the Article demonstrates that (1) in some categories of situations, a relatively-straightforward revision would create a Hand-type formula (that it specifies) whose application would maximize economic efficiency on first-best assumptions, (2) in other categories of situations, the revision that will generate a Hand-type formula whose application will secure economic efficiency on first-best assumptions will be paradoxical—viz., will involve the addition to the right-hand side of the standard Hand inequality of a victim-liable (injurer-not-liable) “change in total risk cost” term that creates a formula under which the injurer will be liable for (will be found negligent for) rejecting the avoidance-move in question and secures economic efficiency not by inducing the potential injurer to avoid but by rendering economically efficient the injurer’s continuing rejection of the relevant avoidance-move, (3) and in still other categories of situations, no risk-cost-related revision can create a Hand-type formula whose application would secure economic efficiency on first-best assumptions.

Cocktails On Campus: Are Libations A Liability?, Susan S. Bendlin

Susan S. Bendlin

ABSTRACT: By Susan S. Bendlin

An estimated 1,825 college students die each year from alcohol-related, unintentional injuries. Roughly 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are injured every year while under the influence of alcohol. Tales of intoxicated college students’ wild, disgusting, and often violent behavior have made the national news. Litigation over alcohol-related incidents on college campuses arises from various situations, including injuries that result from intoxicated students falling, injuries suffered during parties and hazing rituals involving alcohol, and injuries from other assaults that occur after alcohol has been consumed on campus.

At the outset, this Article …

Studying Is Dangerous? Possible Federal Remedies For Study Abroad Liability, Robert J. Aalberts, Chad G. Marzen, Darren A. Prum

Chad G. Marzen

Every year, thousands of U.S. students study abroad for academic credit. Study abroad programs have traditionally garnered strong congressional support, and proponents of the programs emphasize the educational, cultural, and diplomatic benefits from study abroad experiences.

Despite the many benefits of study abroad programs, risks are incurred overseas. In the past several years, a number of incidents have resulted in which students studying abroad have not only incurred physical harm, but in some instances have died while enrolled in a study abroad program. The current liability standards governing study abroad programs are murky. This article not only discusses the various …

The Personal Liability Of Insurance Claims Adjusters For Insurance Bad Faith, Chad G. Marzen

Chad G. Marzen

One of the currents of change sweeping through the insurance industry is the rise of insurance bad faith liability. There is an emerging legal question today as to whether the individual employee adjusters of insurance companies can be subject to bad faith liability.This article examines the question of whether employee-adjusters of insurance companies can and should be held liable for insurance bad faith liability. Early reported cases involving personal liability for bad faith generally held that insurance company employee adjusters were immune from bad faith claims as they were not in privity of contract with insureds. However, three significant decisions …