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Full-Text Articles in Torts
Thresholds Of Actionable Mental Harm In Negligence: A Policy-Based Appraisal, Louise Bélanger-Hardy
Thresholds Of Actionable Mental Harm In Negligence: A Policy-Based Appraisal, Louise Bélanger-Hardy
Dalhousie Law Journal
Common law courts, in Canada and elsewhere, currently insist on proof of a recognizable psychiatric illness (RPI) before granting damages to plaintiffs seeking compensation for stand-alone mental harm caused by negligent acts. This article argues that the time has come to revisit this well-entrenched principle. The inquiry focuses specifically on the policy concerns underlying the current rule. As a first step, policy considerations for and against limiting the extent of actionable mental harm are canvassed and assessed. The author concludes that some of the perceived advantages of the RPI rule, in particular predictability,are debatable and that insistence on the traditional …
"Academic Concerns"-Caring About Conversation In Canadian Common Law, Karen Crawley, Shauna Van Praagh
"Academic Concerns"-Caring About Conversation In Canadian Common Law, Karen Crawley, Shauna Van Praagh
Dalhousie Law Journal
The Supreme Court of Canada, in its 2001 decision in Cooper v Hobart, refined the test in Canadian common law for establishing a duty of care in the tort of negligence. Although aware of the complexities and ongoing challenges of the "duty of care" concept, the Supreme Court openly labelled these concerns as "academic." This article confirms these concerns as "academic," but insists that this label underlines their centrality not only to an understanding of the tort of negligence but to the nature and form of common law reasoning. By pointing to errors in the Supreme Court of Canada's judgment-errors …
A Note On The Nineteenth Century Law Of Seduction, J M. Bumsted, Wendy J. Owen
A Note On The Nineteenth Century Law Of Seduction, J M. Bumsted, Wendy J. Owen
Dalhousie Law Journal
The authors examine Prince Edward Island's Seduction Act of 1876, which departed from the model of seduction legislation of other Canadian provinces. Based on study of the limited surviving court records they note a number of ways in which the tort of seduction operated differently in nineteenth century Prince Edward Island than it did elsewhere
Negligence, Strict Liability, And Manufacturer Failure To Warn: On Fitting Round Pegs In A Square Hole, Denis W. Boivin
Negligence, Strict Liability, And Manufacturer Failure To Warn: On Fitting Round Pegs In A Square Hole, Denis W. Boivin
Dalhousie Law Journal
In the common law provinces of Canada, it is generally recognized that a plaintiff in a products liability action in tort must prove four elements in order to succeed: first, that the product contains a defect traceable either to its manufacture, to its design, orto its warnings or instructions; second, that the defendant manufacturer was somehow negligent in connection with this defect; third, that there is some causal connection between the manufacturer's negligence and the damages suffered by the plaintiff; and fourth, that these damages are such as to give rise to compensation in law. In the United States, in …
Charles Handbook On Assessment Of Damages In Personal Injury Cases, Roger Harris
Charles Handbook On Assessment Of Damages In Personal Injury Cases, Roger Harris
Dalhousie Law Journal
This is the second edition of Professor Charles' aptly titled Handbook. The first edition was a simple reprint of a thirty-three page article that was originally published in the Canadian Cases on the Law of Torts, together with the 1978 Supreme Court "Trilogy"judgements themselves. While it provided a convenient capsulization of the issues, it clearly lacked the depth necessary to deal fully with many of the complexities involved, and the rationale for its publication was questionable (no matter how eminent its author or handsome its presentation, can any case comment really be worth $40.00?). Happily, the second edition has developed …