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The Application Of Finance Theory To Increased Risk Harms In Toxic Tort Litigation, Robert J. Rhee
The Application Of Finance Theory To Increased Risk Harms In Toxic Tort Litigation, Robert J. Rhee
Faculty Scholarship
In toxic tort litigation, a plaintiff has no cause of action for increased risk of harm unless that risk is proven by a preponderance of the evidence to lead to a future physical injury. This rule of law is based on an antiquated concept of uncertainty, and evinces the law’s detachment from the knowledge gained from other intellectual disciplines and the everyday workings of the world. This article argues that freedom from increased risk should be a legally cognizable interest, the violation of which gives rise to an independent cause of action. When analyzed under finance theory, increased risk harms …
A Framework For Reparations Claims, Keith N. Hylton
A Framework For Reparations Claims, Keith N. Hylton
Faculty Scholarship
These remarks, prepared for the Boston College Third World Law Journal Reparations Symposium, compare the goals and viability of reparations claims as tort suits. I contrast two approaches observed in the claims: a "doing justice" model, which involves seeking compensation in important cases of uncorrected uncompensated injustice, and a "social welfare" model that seeks to change the distribution of wealth. Claims under the first category are far more consistent with tort doctrine and likely to meet their goals than social welfare-based claims.