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Full-Text Articles in Torts

The "Inherent Powers" Of Multidistrict Litigation Courts, Lynn A. Baker Apr 2024

The "Inherent Powers" Of Multidistrict Litigation Courts, Lynn A. Baker

Pepperdine Law Review

Mass tort multidistrict litigations (MDLs) involving thousands of claims present the judge with unique management issues. The MDL statute, in its scant two pages enacted in 1968, offers no guidance for the proper handling of these issues, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure speak to these issues only very generally through Rules 16 and 42. Thus, MDL judges have often invoked their “inherent powers” as authority when they take certain actions with significant implications for the parties and their attorneys. Not surprisingly, several of these actions and their underlying justifications have been controversial: (a) appointing lead attorneys; (b) ordering …


Privileging Opinion, Denigrating Discourse: How The Law Of Defamation Incentivizes News Talk-Show Hyperbole, Clay Calvert Mar 2021

Privileging Opinion, Denigrating Discourse: How The Law Of Defamation Incentivizes News Talk-Show Hyperbole, Clay Calvert

Pepperdine Law Review

This Article examines how defamation law promotes a culture of hyperbole and exaggeration on television news talk shows at the expense of more meaningful dialogue and discourse. The Article uses the 2020 federal court rulings in McDougal v. Fox News Network, LLC and Herring Networks, Inc. v. Maddow as analytical springboards to address this problem. In both cases, judges dismissed defamation claims stemming from comments made by well-known talk-show hosts—Fox News’s Tucker Carlson in McDougal and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in Herring Networks—on the ground that their remarks would not be understood by viewers as factual assertions. In concluding that Carlson’s …


Held Accountable: Should Gun Manufacturers Be Held Liable For The Criminal Use Of Their Products, Benjamin Caryan May 2020

Held Accountable: Should Gun Manufacturers Be Held Liable For The Criminal Use Of Their Products, Benjamin Caryan

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

This comment starts with a review of the most stringent laws currently enacted. After going over what is enacted, it will discuss the reasons given as to why gun manufacturers should be held liable and under what theories, including tort liability and public nuisance theories. Next, it will cover novel approaches to the strict liability, including arguments like negligent distribution, entrustment, and marketing. It will discuss similarities between the tobacco, automobile, and alcohol industry with the firearms industry. It will then go over how the recent push for gun legislation affected the sale and purchase of firearms. Lastly, to summarize, …


Aging Out Arbitration For Wrongful Death Suits In Nursing Homes, Courtney Dyer Apr 2020

Aging Out Arbitration For Wrongful Death Suits In Nursing Homes, Courtney Dyer

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The first section of this article will discuss the significance of removing arbitration agreements from wrongful death claims and implementing mediation instead. The second section will detail the background of arbitration clauses in nursing homes. The third section will review state acts that have opposed the use of arbitration agreements for wrongful death claims in nursing homes. The fourth section will analyze cases that have challenged arbitration agreements in nursing homes for wrongful death claims. The fifth section will propose compulsory mediation and multi-tiered dispute resolution clauses as substitutes for arbitration clauses. Finally, the sixth section will consider potential objections …


Letting The Apes Run The Zoo: Using Tort Law To Provide Animals With A Legal Voice, Tania Rice May 2013

Letting The Apes Run The Zoo: Using Tort Law To Provide Animals With A Legal Voice, Tania Rice

Pepperdine Law Review

Science is increasingly showing us that animals have many cognitive similarities with humans. In addition to calls for changes in our animal protection statutes, members of the legal community have begun debating over whether animals, or a certain category of animals, should be granted legal rights. This approach has the potential for drastic societal ramifications. David S. Favre has proposed a tort action for animals as a compromise to the animal rights debate. This Comment explores the different approaches to seeking improved conditions for animals, and proposes an adjusted tort cause of action in response to criticisms of Favre's tort.


Steed V. Imperial Airlines, Clay Plotkin May 2013

Steed V. Imperial Airlines, Clay Plotkin

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Battered Child Syndrome, Jerry A. Ramsey, Byron J. Lawler May 2013

The Battered Child Syndrome, Jerry A. Ramsey, Byron J. Lawler

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Constitutional Infirmity Of The California Government Claim Statute, James C. Downing, Nikolai Tehin Jr. May 2013

The Constitutional Infirmity Of The California Government Claim Statute, James C. Downing, Nikolai Tehin Jr.

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Infant Pain And Suffering: The Valuation Dilemma, Peter N. Kalionzes May 2013

Infant Pain And Suffering: The Valuation Dilemma, Peter N. Kalionzes

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Remedy For The Intentional Torts Of A Workmen's Compensation Carrier, Everett E. Demler May 2013

Remedy For The Intentional Torts Of A Workmen's Compensation Carrier, Everett E. Demler

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Losing The Struggle To Define The Proper Balance Between The Law Of Defamation And The First Amendment - Gertz V. Robert Welch, Inc.: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, Douglas B. Large, Kristopher Kallman May 2013

Losing The Struggle To Define The Proper Balance Between The Law Of Defamation And The First Amendment - Gertz V. Robert Welch, Inc.: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, Douglas B. Large, Kristopher Kallman

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Prescription Warning, Carlton Lee Harpst May 2013

A Prescription Warning, Carlton Lee Harpst

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Landlord's Tort Liability For Injuries Caused By Defects Upon The Demised Premises , Michael K. Mckibbin May 2013

The Landlord's Tort Liability For Injuries Caused By Defects Upon The Demised Premises , Michael K. Mckibbin

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


California's Response For Wrongful Death Of A Stillborn Fetus: Justus V. Atchison, Phyllis A. Dow May 2013

California's Response For Wrongful Death Of A Stillborn Fetus: Justus V. Atchison, Phyllis A. Dow

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Comparative Fault And Strict Products Liability: Are They Compatible?, C. R. Hickey May 2013

Comparative Fault And Strict Products Liability: Are They Compatible?, C. R. Hickey

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Management's Right To Resort To Injunctive Relief And Self-Help In Order To Prevent Trespassory Union Activity: An Examination Of May Department Stores Co. V. Teamsters Union Local No. 743, Frank J. D'Oro Jr May 2013

Management's Right To Resort To Injunctive Relief And Self-Help In Order To Prevent Trespassory Union Activity: An Examination Of May Department Stores Co. V. Teamsters Union Local No. 743, Frank J. D'Oro Jr

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Emergence Of The "Tender Years" Doctrine: Too Young To Drink, But Capable Of Escaping The Civil Consequences?, William R. Slomanson May 2013

Emergence Of The "Tender Years" Doctrine: Too Young To Drink, But Capable Of Escaping The Civil Consequences?, William R. Slomanson

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Workers' Compensation: Alternatives Are Limited, Irvin Stander Apr 2013

Workers' Compensation: Alternatives Are Limited, Irvin Stander

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.


Administrative Remedies In The Field Of Toxic Torts, Janet L. Heller Apr 2013

Administrative Remedies In The Field Of Toxic Torts, Janet L. Heller

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.


Managed Care Grievance Procedures: The Dilemma And The Cure , Joyce Krutick Craig Apr 2013

Managed Care Grievance Procedures: The Dilemma And The Cure , Joyce Krutick Craig

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.


The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Of 2001: A Better Alternative To Litigation?, Wendy Floering Apr 2013

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Of 2001: A Better Alternative To Litigation?, Wendy Floering

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.


The Supreme Court's Bright Line Ruling In Riegel V. Medtronic, Inc. Gives Manufacturers Of Defective Medical Devices Broad Immunity, Sadaf Bathaee Apr 2013

The Supreme Court's Bright Line Ruling In Riegel V. Medtronic, Inc. Gives Manufacturers Of Defective Medical Devices Broad Immunity, Sadaf Bathaee

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.


Is The Doctor In? The Contemptible Condition Of Immigrant Detainee Healthcare In The U.S. And The Need For A Constitutional Remedy, Kate Bowles Mar 2013

Is The Doctor In? The Contemptible Condition Of Immigrant Detainee Healthcare In The U.S. And The Need For A Constitutional Remedy, Kate Bowles

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.


Safeway Stores, Inc. V. Nest-Kart: The Culmination Of Li V. Yellow Cab Co., David R. Haglund Feb 2013

Safeway Stores, Inc. V. Nest-Kart: The Culmination Of Li V. Yellow Cab Co., David R. Haglund

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Another Citadel Has Fallen - This Time The Plaintiff's. California Applies Comparative Negligence To Strict Products Liability, Thomas G. Gehring Feb 2013

Another Citadel Has Fallen - This Time The Plaintiff's. California Applies Comparative Negligence To Strict Products Liability, Thomas G. Gehring

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Punitive Damages In Product Liability Cases , Mark P. Robinson Jr., Gerald H.B. Kane Jr. Feb 2013

Punitive Damages In Product Liability Cases , Mark P. Robinson Jr., Gerald H.B. Kane Jr.

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Allocation Of Responsibility After American Motorcycle Association V. Superior Court, Erwin E. Adler Feb 2013

Allocation Of Responsibility After American Motorcycle Association V. Superior Court, Erwin E. Adler

Pepperdine Law Review

In its landmark case of Li v. Yellow Cab Co., the California Supreme Court judicially adopted the doctrine of comparative negligence in an action involving a plaintiff and a single defendant. The court in Li specifically avoided making any decision concerning the numerous issues which would be involved in a multi-party action: the relationship of multiple defendants with one another, the right of one defendant to join others for the purpose of sharing payment of the judgment, the respective responsibilities of such parties for the judgment (including those insolvent, partially solvent or possessing an immunity), and the procedure for the …


Extending The Liability Of Insurers For Bad Faith Acts: Royal Globe Insurance Company V. Superior Court, Michael Tancredi Feb 2013

Extending The Liability Of Insurers For Bad Faith Acts: Royal Globe Insurance Company V. Superior Court, Michael Tancredi

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Truman V. Thomas: The Rise Of Informed Refusal, Thomas M. O'Neil Feb 2013

Truman V. Thomas: The Rise Of Informed Refusal, Thomas M. O'Neil

Pepperdine Law Review

Truman v. Thomas addresses the issue of whether or not a physician must inform a patient of the possible consequences of her refusal to submit to a diagnostic test. The California Supreme Court has determined that a physician has such a duty, and the author provides an examination of this decision and a view of previous case law in the area of informed consent. Although increasing the physician's burden of disclosure, the decision can be seen as a continuation of the trend of cases allowing patients more control over the care of their own bodies.


California Expands Tort Liability Under The Novel Market Share Theory: Sindell V. Abbott Laboratories, N. Denise Taylor Feb 2013

California Expands Tort Liability Under The Novel Market Share Theory: Sindell V. Abbott Laboratories, N. Denise Taylor

Pepperdine Law Review

The California Supreme Court, in the novel and unprecedented case of Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories, eliminated the plaintiffs burden of identification of a negligent party, and thus the causation requirement, in a multiple party tort action. In the course of this decision, the court adopted the "market share" theory of liability which dictated in Sindell that nonidentifiable defendant-manufacturers of the generic drug DES would be liable for the damages in proportion to their share of business in the market. The author thoroughly examines various theories of recovery, such as "alternative liability," "concert of action" and "enterprise liability," which the court …