Transportation Law Commons^™

Should Automakers Be Responsible For Accidents?, Kyle D. Logue

Articles

Motor vehicles are among the most dangerous products sold anywhere. Automobiles pose a larger risk of accidental death than any other product, except perhaps opioids. Annual autocrash deaths in the United States have not been below 30,000 since the 1940s, reaching a recent peak of roughly 40,000 in 2016. And the social cost of auto crashes goes beyond deaths. Auto-accident victims who survive often incur extraordinary medical expenses. Those crash victims whose injuries render them unable to work experience lost income. Auto accidents also cause nontrivial amounts of property damage—mostly to the automobiles themselves, but also to highways, bridges, or …

Uber’S Dilemma: How The Ada May End The On-Demand Economy, Bryan Casey

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This article is the first to point out that a few relatively low-profile lawsuits involving Uber’s liability under the ADA could have an outcome-determinative effect on O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc., the blockbuster employment misclassification case brought against the startup by its own drivers. Because both types of lawsuits hinge on the role that drivers play within Uber’s business model, a ruling in favor of ADA liability which compelled Uber to exert additional control over its drivers would also, in turn, jeopardize the drivers’ legal status as independent contractors. Such an outcome would be catastrophic to Uber’s core business model, …

Houston, We Have A (Liability) Problem, Justin Silver

Michigan Law Review

The development of private manned space flight is proceeding rapidly; there are proposals to launch paying passengers before the end of 2014. Given the historically dangerous nature of space travel, an accident will probably occur at some point, resulting in passengers’ injury or death. In the event of a lawsuit stemming from such an accident, a court will likely find that a space flight entity operating suborbital flights is a common carrier, while an entity operating orbital flights is not. Regardless of whether these entities are common carriers, they face a threat of high levels of liability, as well as …

Interpreting The Recently Enacted California Underinsurance Provisions Of The Uninsured Motorist Statute, Linda M. Schmidt

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hiding Behind Nationality: The Temporary Presence Exception And Patent Infringement Avoidance, J. Jonas Anderson

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

This Article argues that the temporary presence exception was not designed to allow conveyance owners the ability to select the most optimal patent system under which to be subject. It also examines the ramifications of the temporary presence exception on international commerce and concludes that increased use of the exception may result in reduced values for patents relating to international conveyances, reduced incentives to invest in and develop technologies in international conveyances, and a decrease in the quality of various domestic patent systems worldwide. Finally, this Article proposes a solution to these problems. The temporary presence exception has received some …

Drunk In The Serbonian Bog: Intoxicated Drivers' Deaths As Insurance Accidents, Douglas R. Richmond

Seattle University Law Review

Part II of this Article briefly sketches the overall ethical framework under the ABA Model Rules and the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility, including the proscription on deceit and misrepresentation in Model Rule 8.4 and the ban on attorney contact with represented adverse parties in Model Rule 4.2. Part Ill describes the jurisdictions that have declined to create status-based exceptions to Model Rule 8.4, and the nationwide uproar created when the Oregon Supreme Court initially refused to permit undercover investigations involving any deception— including investigations by law enforcement personnel. That Part will also trace the subsequent adoption of a …

Airline Liability For Loss, Damage Or Delay Of Passenger Baggage, M. R. Franks

ExpressO

The article discusses remedies and methods of enforcing airline liability for loss, damage or delay of passenger baggage. The article includes a discussion of the law as it relates both to domestic flights and to international flights where passenger luggage is lost, damaged or delayed. The article includes a discussion of the Warsaw Convention as it relates to international flights and of the Federal Aviation Regulations applicable in the case of domestic flights.

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Case Digest provides brief analyses of cases that represent current aspects of transnational law. The Digest includes cases that establish legal principles and cases that apply established legal principles to new factual situations. These cases are grouped in topical categories and references are given for further research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. ALIENS: CITIZENSHIP AND NATURALIZATION ......... 857

II. TAXATION AND FOREIGN COMMERCE .................. 862

III. AIR CARRIER LIABILITY--WARSAW CONVENTION ........ 865

Some Comments On Burdell V. Canadian Pacific Airlines, Andreas F. Lowenfeld

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Frank Burdell was the Far Eastern representative of an American heavy-equipment company, stationed in Singapore. At the end of February 1966, Burdell traveled to Tokyo on a Singapore-Bangkok-Hong Kong-Tokyo and return ticket, purchased in Singapore from Cathay Pacific but using Canadian Pacific Airlines for the Hong Kong--Tokyo portion of the journey. Canadian Pacific's flight 402 from Hong Kong to Tokyo on March 4, 1966, arrived over Tokyo in a fog, circled for about an hour, finally came in to land, and crashed into the rear wall at the end of the runway killing its crew of ten and all but …

Motor Vehicles--Legislation--The Michigan Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

With the adoption of the Michigan Act, Michigan has become the fifth state to adopt a comprehensive program utilizing both the insurance and the fund approaches. Moreover, the Michigan Act, apparently inspired by its Ontario prototype, contains some elements which were previously unknown in United States legislation. Consequently, it may prove enlightening to examine the scope and purpose of the Michigan Act, and to compare it with similar legislation in other states.

Should A Vessel Be Faulted For Failing To Carry Radar?

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Insurance--Motor Vehicles--"Newly Acquired Automobile" Clause Extended To Cover Previously Owned Inoperable Vehicles--National Indem. Co. V. Giampapa, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff insurance company brought an action for a declaratory judgment that it be held not liable on a policy it had issued to the insured motorist. A party injured in an accident involving the insured had obtained a judgment against the insured in a suit which the insurer defended with a reservation of rights. Although a 1949 Cadillac was the "Described Automobile" in the insurance policy, the insured was driving a 1956 Ford at the time of the accident. The trial court found that during the term of the policy the Cadillac had become inoperable and was replaced by the …

The Economic Treatment Of Automobile Injuries, Alfred F. Conard

Michigan Law Review

The automobile has changed more than Americans' ways of transportation. It has changed their ways of housing, of working and playing, of eating, living, and loving. It has also added to their ways of suffering and dying.

The suffering and dying have called forth two kinds of treatment. The better recognized kind is medical treatment, which staves off death and minimizes pain and disability among the living. The less recognized kind of treatment is economic-the restoration to the injury victim or to his dependents of some part of the economic wellbeing that has been snatched away from them by loss …

Private Insurance As A Solution To The Driver-Guest Dilemm, Harvey R. Friedman

Michigan Law Review

The duty of the driver of an automobile to his nonpaying passenger, and liability arising from the breach of that duty, has long presented a troublesome area of litigation for the courts and the parties involved. Application of standards unsuited for the peculiar risks of automotive transportation has produced inadequate compensation in some cases and excessive recoveries in others. Meanwhile, trial calendars are overcrowded with personal injury litigation, and insurance companies must bear the awards of sympathetic juries and those resulting from collusion between passenger and driver. The over-all expense of this method of determination of liability, far too little …

Liability Of Parking Lot Operators For Car Thefts

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Liability Of Principal For Automobile Accident Of Agent On Personal Business - Mider V. United States, David H. Clark

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

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, …

Liability Of A Sponsor Of A Driver's License In Indiana

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Torts - Liability Of U-Drive-It Corporation To Third Parties, Douglas Boeckmann

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Green: Traffic Victims. Tort Law And Insurance, Spencer L. Kimball

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Traffic Victims. Tort Law and Insurance. By Leon Green.

Torts - Guest Act - Negligent Conduct Of The Driver, William K. Muir Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff was a gratuitous passenger in an automobile driven by defendant. Defendant, intending to coast to his destination, turned off the ignition, removed the key, and placed it in his pocket. The removal of the key caused the steering gear to lock, and defendant was unable to avoid a collision with a tree. Plaintiff suffered injuries and brought suit. Evidence was adduced to show that in defendant's type of automobile the steering wheel was so constructed as to lock upon removal of the key. Testimony revealed that defendant understood the general operation of the lock, but that the particular mechanism …

Aviation Law - Tort Liability For Damage To Persons Or Property On The Ground - Res Ipsa Loquitur, Allan L. Bioff

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff's fishing vessel was struck and sunk by a practice bomb released from a Marine Corps aircraft. An action was brought against the government under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Plaintiff could produce no proof of negligence on the part of the government. Held, recovery allowed. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is applicable. Goodwin v. United States, (E.D. N.C. 1956) 141 F. Supp. 445.

Negligence - Breach Of Duty - Assured Clear Distance Ahead Doctrine, Herbert A. Bernhard

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, while driving an automobile through a tunnel, collided with defendant's truck, which was stopped without lights. The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code requires an operator to drive at such a speed as will enable him to stop within the "assured clear distance ahead." Plaintiff alleged he was temporarily blinded by the sudden change from bright sunlight to the darkness of the tunnel. The jury found for plaintiff, but defendant's motion for judgment n. o. v. was granted. On appeal, held, affirmed, one justice dissenting. Plaintiff's failure to stop his automobile within the assured clear distance ahead constituted contributory negligence as …

Negligence - Duty Of Care - Duration Of Status Of "Driver" For Puropses Of Guest Statute, George Kircos

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs were guests riding in defendant's automobile. Defendant stepped out of the vehicle leaving the motor running, the hand brake unset, and the automatic shift in neutral position. A departing passenger brushed against the gear lever and started the vehicle which struck a wall causing injuries to the plaintiffs. On appeal from judgment adverse to the plaintiffs, held, reversed. Defendant may be held liable for ordinary negligence. California's "guest" statute limiting guests to recovery for injuries sustained by the driver's willful misconduct does not apply in this case, since the defendant ceased to be a driver the moment he …

Negligence - Causation - Liability Under Statute For Injury Resulting From Fire Started By Railroad Locomotive, Howard. N. Thiele, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Sparks from defendant's train started a fire on defendant's right of way which spread toward plaintiff's farm. Plaintiff, in an attempt to contain the fire, plowed a fire guard along the edge of his property. While driving his tractor to a safe place after completing the last furrow, he ran over a root or limb which flew up and struck him in the eye, causing blindness. In the trial court plaintiff recovered from the railroad under an Oklahoma statute which specified that "Any railroad company operating any line in this state shall be liable for all damages sustained by fire …

Negligence - Duty Of Care - Effect Of Public Carrier's Financial Capacity On Liability, John E. Riecker S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sustained injuries when she fell between defendant's subway car and a platform directly opposite the car door. The cause assigned was the pressure from the closely packed crowd of subway passengers during a rush hour which resulted in plaintiff's being "carried by the crowd" into a position of danger. Defendant had shifted extra guards to the overcrowded area. No evidence of disorderliness or gang action appeared. In an action for damages due to defendant's negligence in failing to control the crowd, held, for defendant. Callaghan v. New York City Transit System, 204 Misc. 236, 125 N.Y.S. (2d) …

Negligence-Automobile Bailments--Effect Of Owner Responsibility Statutes, Bernard L. Goodman

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff brought an action to recover for damage to his automobile resulting from a collision with defendant's automobile. Each of the vehicles was being negligently operated by the son of the owner. A statute provided that one operating a vehicle with the owner's consent should be deemed the owner's agent. The court refused to give an instruction which would preclude plaintiff's recovery if the jury found that his son's negligence contributed to the accident. On appeal from a verdict for the plaintiff, held, affirmed. The statute makes the bailor liable to persons injured because of the bailee's negligence but …

Negligence--Proximate Cause--Effect Of Non-Registration Of Automobile, Richard B. Gushée

Michigan Law Review

Defendant X owned a non-registered automobile which was parked on a public way by defendant Y, an agent of X. The keys were left in the car in violation of a statute. Later in the same day the car was stolen. Plaintiff, a pedestrian, was injured by the thief's negligent operation of the car. In an action to recover for the injury, a verdict was directed for defendants. On appeal, held, affirmed. As a matter of law, defendant's action in allowing a non-registered automobile containing its keys to remain on a public way was not the proximate …

Indiana Automobile Guest Statute Construed

Indiana Law Journal

Notes and Comments: Automobiles

Auto Owner's Liability For Injury Caused By Guest Permitted To Drive - Powers V. State, Use Of Reynolds

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.