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Full-Text Articles in Law
Keeping The Pierringer Promise: Fair Settlements And Fair Trials, Peter B. Knapp
Keeping The Pierringer Promise: Fair Settlements And Fair Trials, Peter B. Knapp
Faculty Scholarship
This article explores why Perringer releases have failed to promise fairness to the nonsettling defendant. For over thirty years, Pierringer releases have been part of the ebb and flow of civil litigation. In 1978, the Minnesota Supreme Court officially approved the use of Pierringer releases in Minnesota. When first adopted, the release seemed to promise something for everyone. The Pierringer release even offered a promise of fairness to the nonsettling defendant: Be assured that, no matter what the outcome of trial, you will pay no more than your “fair share” of the verdict. Unfortunately, however, largely because of the impact …
The Anatomy Of Emotional Distress Claims In Minnesota, Michael K. Steenson
The Anatomy Of Emotional Distress Claims In Minnesota, Michael K. Steenson
Faculty Scholarship
This Article examines the right to recover damages for emotional distress in Minnesota, with emphasis on claims for negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The recovery of damages for emotional distress is subject to varying and perhaps seemingly inconsistent standards. After a brief history of emotional distress law, the Article will discuss claims for emotional distress based on negligence, intentional torts, and statutory violations. These areas are examined in detail to determine the standards for the recovery of emotional harm in Minnesota and to evaluate whether the standards are applied consistently. The Article also examines the right to recover …
The Fault Concept In Personal Injury Cases In Minnesota: Implications For Tort Reform, Michael K. Steenson
The Fault Concept In Personal Injury Cases In Minnesota: Implications For Tort Reform, Michael K. Steenson
Faculty Scholarship
Legislative tort reform proposals have attempted to restore what is perceived to be an imbalance in the tort-litigation system by limiting tort recoveries. One of the motivating factors behind tort reform proposals is a concern that tort law has deviated from a fault-based system of liability. It is this concern over the structure of the fault system in Minnesota that is the subject of this Article. This Article examines Minnesota Supreme Court opinions of the 20th Century to determine whether the court's decisions deviated from a fault-based system of liability. The focus is on change, accepted and rejected. The purpose …