Torts Commons^™

Ohio Railroad Crossing Law: The Scope Of Liability, Donald P. Traci

Cleveland State Law Review

As a practicing attorney involved in personal injury suits initiated as the result of railroad crossing accidents, the author of this article shares a sense of guilt with other trial attorneys for the unsettled and confusing legal ruins left by recent efforts to moderate the statutory interpretations applicable to railroad crossing accidents. The history of the contradictions in the development of railroad crossing law and an alternative statutory interpretation to resolve the inconsistencies evidenced by the courts is the subject of this article.

Seat Belts And Contributory Negligence, Frans F. Slatter

Dalhousie Law Journal

There are now thirty-six cases mentioned in the Canadian and English reports where it has been argued that the failure to wear a seat belt amounts to contributory negligence. I The defence was successfully made out in only ten of these cases, with damages being reduced by five per cent to thirty-three and a third per cent under the applicable contributory negligence statutes. 2 This volume of litigation would not provoke comment were it not for the division of judicial opinion and the confusion of judicial thinking to be found in these conflicting decisions. Even in England where it was …

Reconciling Comparative Negligence, Contribution, And Joint And Several Liability

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Uniform Comparative Fault Act--What Should It Prove?, John W. Wade

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Committee has determined to treat the resultant delay as serendipitous and to use it for the purpose of improving the Act and presenting it in the best shape possible. To this end, as the Chairman of the Special Committee, I have prepared this presentation for publication. The presentation is intended to serve two purposes: (1) to provide for the legal profession information as to the present status of the Act, and the provisions it now carries, and (2) to solicit criticisms and suggestions for improvement from interested persons.

I am therefore presenting here the Uniform Comparative Fault Act in …

Innocent Injury And Loss Distribution: The Florida Pure Comparative Negligence System, Vincent S. Walkowiak

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contributory Negligence In Medical Malpractice, Diane Shelby

Cleveland State Law Review

The best and most complete defense to a charge of malpractice is the allegation and proof of the absence of negligence. It is also the most often used defense. Of the less popular defenses, contributory negligence on the part of the patient is probably the least attractive and the most difficult to maintain, even though it has been held to be a complete bar to recovery in several cases difficult to categorize.

Seat Belts And Contributory Negligence, Frank Edward Jolliffe

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comments On Maki V. Frelk, Harry Kalven Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

My first reaction to the performance of the Illinois Appellate Court in Maki v. Frelk was to recall the old joke about the man who, when asked if he believed in baptism, replied: "Believe in it, hell, I've seen it done!" In any event the decision provides a twin stimulus to the commentator: first, to say something about the limits of common law change, and second, to say something about comparative negligence itself. Despite the spectacular novelty of the court's action, these re-main well-worn topics on which it will not be easy to say anything fresh. I am, however, moved …

Comment, Robert E. Keeton

Vanderbilt Law Review

Part of the price we pay for a system wisely dedicated to even-handed justice under law is that courts often fail to identify those exceptional cases in which the highest aims of the system are served rather than threatened by a judicial break with precedent. Thus it happens that in the long, slow story of law reform, a recent case in the Illinois courts raised hopes for a rare and distinctive breakthrough. In Maki v. Frelk, responding to an invitation from the state's supreme court to reexamine the well entrenched rule that contributory negligence of an injured person is a …

Comment, James Fleming Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Within the past few years, courts have put nearly the whole field of products liability on a strict liability basis, free from the restrictions of privity; they have reversed the rule of non-liability for pre-natal injuries; they have virtually destroyed charitable immunity, while making serious inroads on governmental immunity. Some, of course, have deplored the role of courts in making these changes, and they will probably applaud the Illinois Supreme Court's decision in the Maki case. But for those of us who accept or welcome the present regeneration of judicial law making in the field of torts, further questions are …

Comments On Maki V. Frelk--Comparative V.Contributory Negligence: Should The Court Or Legislature Decide?, Fleming James Jr., Harry Kalven Jr., Robert E. Keeton, Robert A. Leflar, Wex S. Malone, John W. Wade

Vanderbilt Law Review

Believing that the holdings and opinions in the case of Maki v. Frelkare significant legal developments, the Vanderbilt Law Review has solicited comments on these decisions, which it is now pleased to publish. These comments by six distinguished torts teachers and writers bear on the relative merits of comparative and contributory negligence, but more importantly, they discuss whether the judicial or legislative method is most appropriate for adoption of a rule of comparative negligence. It is hoped that these comments will be used as a sound basis for action, whether the problem arises before the courts or legislatures.

Comment, Wex S. Malone

Vanderbilt Law Review

There is no discernible reluctance by courts to direct verdicts on the issue of the plaintiff's carelessness in suits by invitees against proprietors of business premises. The writer has had occasion to examine a representative group of about two hundred cases in this area where contributory negligence was seriously in issue. In more than a third of these disputes the appellate courts had either approved the trial judge's action in directing a defendant verdict, or had reversed a judgment for plaintiff because the trial court had allowed the controversy to reach the jury on the contributory negligence issue. I have …

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 …

Abstracts Of Recent Cases, Robert Bruce King

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Both Ways Test In Negligence Actions

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Imputed Contributory Negligence In Automobile Cases - Weber V. Stokely-Van Camp, Inc.

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bowling Alley Tort Liability, Matthew J. Koch

Cleveland State Law Review

Tort liability of the bowling alley proprietor or operator has become a common problem with the increased popularity of bowling. The two principal grounds upon which tort liability of the proprietor or owner may be predicated are negligence and nuisance.

Distinctions Between Assumption Of Risk And Contributory Negligence

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Credit Cards: The Liability Of The Card Holder For Unauthorized Purchases

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Torts--Contributory Negligence As A Matter Of Law, Thomas L. Hindes

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Assumption Of Risk In The Use Of Icy Sidewalks

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Silent Growth Of Comparative Negligence In Common Law Court, David K. Siegel

Cleveland State Law Review

The common law view of contributory negligence theoretically still obtains in most jurisdictions. Thus, if the plaintiff's negligence proximately contributes to his resulting injury or damage, he is barred entirely from recovery. But this rule is "honored in the breach" in a growing number of jurisdictions that theoretically do not accept the doctrine of comparative negligence.

Contributory Negligence Of Children, James H. Keet Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

We will deal primarily with the child of tender years and will touch only briefly on the teen-ager in the field of contributory negligence. We will first examine the characteristics of younger children which the courts have emphasized in applying the doctrine of contributory negligence and then review the rationale underlying the way in which the courts have applied the doctrine to the child. We will find that the "capacity" of a child to be contributorily negligent has presented problems which are related to the standard of care which the child, if capable of contributory negligence, must observe in order …

Illusory Defense Of Contributory Negligence In Product Liability, George E. Bushnell Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

As is readily apprehended, contributory negligence in the defense of a product liability action is a can of worms. But, if it is recognized that there is no such thing as "contributory negligence" and that the defense contemplated is that of abnormal, unintended, or unforeseen use, or is that of assumed risk, or that of lack of due care, then there may perhaps be order brought out of chaos. However, it is strongly suggested that even these defenses are, in the absence of uncontrovertible facts, no panacea for defendants. There are much better ways to beat a product liability claim …

Contributory Negligence In Product Liability, S. Burns Weston

Cleveland State Law Review

This article does not purport to be exhaustive. It does explore the extent to which classical defenses of contributory negligence, assumption of risk and their relative, "misuse of product," are available in product liability actions. Caveat: By the time this printer's ink is drysome of these applications may be available no longer.

Contributory Negligence In Europe, Huib Drion

Cleveland State Law Review

The Dutch law relating to contributory negligence is entirely judge made law, as it is in France and Belgium and in the other countries which have derived their civil codes from the Code Napoleon. We have here a good example of the advantage of the more elastic development of judge made law in the countries with codified laws, at least in the field of the law of torts.

Contributory Negligence Of Automobile Passengers, Martin C. Spector

Cleveland State Law Review

What is the duty of a passenger when the auto in which he is riding is approaching a railroad crossing, or an intersection, or when the auto is going at an excessive rate of speed, or if the driver is intoxicated? When does the passenger have a duty to remonstrate with the driver and when may he rely on the skill and care of the driver? May the contributory negligence of the driver be imputed to the passenger? Note that this article deals with contributory negligence as such, and does not attempt to distinguish between results in guest statute or …

Contibutory Negligence In Medical Malpractice, W. David Alderson

Cleveland State Law Review

Three categories of cases have been noted out of the mass of factually individualistic ones concerning medical malpractice and contributory negligence. The first, where a breach of duty owed the patient by the physician is lacking, involves an injury produced by the patient's own negligence. In the second, the patient's negligence directly contributes to the severity of an injury already present because of the physician's negligence. The plaintiff-patient's damages are not mitigated but rather entirely precluded in light of his acts. Thus a plea of contributory negligence is a complete defense. The third category includes those cases where a time …

Negligence--Assumption Of Risk And Contributory Negligence--Abolition Of Assumption Of Risk As A Defense Separate From A Contributory Negligence In Autobmobile Guest-Host Situations Negligence In Automobile Guest-Host Situation, S. Anthony Benton

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a guest in an automobile driven by defendant, was injured when defendant's vehicle collided with another car. In plaintiff's suit against defendant and her insurer the jury found that defendant was causally negligent as to management and control and position on the highway, and that plaintiff was causally negligent as to lookout. After apportioning 85 percent of the negligence to defendant and 15 percent to plaintiff, the jury found that plaintiff had assumed the risk with respect to defendant's management and control and position on the highway, and the trial court therefore entered judgment dismissing the complaint. On appeal, …

Instructions--Binding Instruction On Contributory Negligence Need Note State Specific Acts Of Negligence, David Mayer Katz

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.