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Can Generic Products Be Disparaged? The "Of And Concerning" Requirement After Alar And The New Crop Of Agricultural Disparagement Statutes, Eric M. Stahl
Washington Law Review
Under the group libel principle, a statement broadly critical of a large group generally cannot give rise to a defamation claim; it is said that such a statement does not refer to, or is not of and concerning, any particular individual. This Comment addresses the extent to which the "of and concerning" requirement and group libel principle apply to claims of product disparagement, a tort similar to defamation but encompassing pecuniary injury, as opposed to damage to reputation, resulting from false statements. In particular, this Comment examines whether speech generally critical of a generic product can give rise to disparagement …
An Explanation Of Japan's Product Liability Law, Thomas Leo Madden
An Explanation Of Japan's Product Liability Law, Thomas Leo Madden
Washington International Law Journal
Japan has been contemplating the implementation of a product liability system since 1972. After much discussion, the Product Liability Law (Law No. 85 (1994)) was finally promulgated on July 1, 1994. It came into force one year later on July 1, 1995. In Japanese the law is called Seizōbutsu Sekinin Hō. The original article explains the law's historical significance and practical impact. It is commentary in style and is meant to serve as a basic guideline to help both consumers and businesses understand their respective rights and obligations under this new law.
Why Japan's New Products Liability Law Isn't, Andrew Marcuse
Why Japan's New Products Liability Law Isn't, Andrew Marcuse
Washington International Law Journal
The statutory language of Japan's 1994 Products Liability Act envisions a strict liability regime that would replace the previous negligence-based regime. This Comment reviews the development of the previous products liability regime, then analyzes the 1994 Products Liability Act in relation to Civil Code articles 415, 570, and 709 as well as EC Directive 85/374, and the 1975 Draft Model Law on Products Liability. The Comment concludes that because the 1994 Products Liability Act incorporates the Civil Code articles and their judicial interpretations, without addressing any of several structural and procedural barriers to suit, the 1994 Products Liability Act cannot …
Attorney Malpractice Liability To Non-Clients In Washington: Is The New Modified Multi-Factor Balancing Test An Improvement?, Sheryl L.R. Miller
Attorney Malpractice Liability To Non-Clients In Washington: Is The New Modified Multi-Factor Balancing Test An Improvement?, Sheryl L.R. Miller
Washington Law Review
Most jurisdictions recognize a cause of action for legal malpractice against a non-client only where the attorney-client relationship is formed to benefit a third-party nonclient. This rule generally operates to preclude an attorney's potential liability to a client's adversary. Washington departed from the majority in 1992 in Bohn v. Cody, where the Washington Supreme Court found that an attorney did owe a duty to his client's adversary. Two years later, in Trask v. Butler, the supreme court modified Bohn's test for determining attorney malpractice liability to third parties to conform Washington's law with the majority of jurisdictions. …
Defamation, Reputation, And The Myth Of Community, Lyissa Barnett Lidsky
Defamation, Reputation, And The Myth Of Community, Lyissa Barnett Lidsky
Washington Law Review
The complex interaction between defamation, reputation, and community values defines the tort of defamation. A defamatory communication tends to harm a plaintiff's reputation in the eyes of the plaintiffs community. Thus, to determine whether a given statement is defamatory, courts must first identify the plaintiff's community and its norms—an inquiry that presents both theoretical and doctrinal difficulties in a heterogeneous and pluralistic society. Current approaches to identifying the plaintiff's community are particularly inadequate in two common types of cases: (1) cases in which the plaintiff belongs to a subcommunity espousing different values than those prevailing generally, and (2) cases in …