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Virginia Should Abolish The Archaic Tort Defense Of Contributory Negligence And Adopt A Comparative Negligence Defense In Its Place, Peter N. Swisher
Virginia Should Abolish The Archaic Tort Defense Of Contributory Negligence And Adopt A Comparative Negligence Defense In Its Place, Peter N. Swisher
Law Faculty Publications
The purpose of this essay is to argue that the time has now come for Virginia, by judicial or legislative action, to abolish its archaic common law tort defense of contributory negligence and replace it with a comparative negligence defense. Adopting a comparative negligence defense would more equitably and more fairly recognize and apportion damages according to the bedrock underlying tort legal principles of accountability, deterrence, and distribution of loss.
Products Liability: Defenses Based On Plaintiff's Conduct, David G. Epstein
Products Liability: Defenses Based On Plaintiff's Conduct, David G. Epstein
Law Faculty Publications
The past decade has seen dramatic developments in the law of products liability. There has been liberalization of the exclusive control requirement of res ipsa Ioquitur, Iegislative and judicial relaxation of the privity requirement, and creation of a new theory of recovery - strict liability in tort. Consequently, many jurisdictions now offer three theories of recovery to persons injured through use of a defective product: negligence, breach of warranty, and strict liability in tort. Although the recent products liability developments have been extensively treated both by courts and by commentators, numerous problems remain. One of the most pressing problems is …