Truman V. Thomas: The Rise Of Informed Refusal,
2013
Pepperdine University
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,
2013
Pepperdine University
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 …
Molien V. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals: Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress,
2013
Pepperdine University
Molien V. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals: Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress, Michael P. Messina
Pepperdine Law Review
In Molien v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, the California Supreme Court recognized that the interest in freedom from negligent infliction of mental distress is a protectable interest, and that an accompanying physical injury need not exist in order to recover damages. The author presents a discussion of the history and policies behind the right to recover from negligently inflicted emotional distress. The author also discusses and analyzes the court's opinion in Molien and agrees with the court that the fears of opening the floodgate of litigation which before Molien precluded recovery, was arbitrary. Finally, the author concludes that the holding is …
World-Wide Volkswagen Corporation V. Woodson: Minimum Contacts In A Modern World,
2013
Pepperdine University
World-Wide Volkswagen Corporation V. Woodson: Minimum Contacts In A Modern World, Craig H. Millet
Pepperdine Law Review
World Wide Volkswagen Corporation v. Woodson considers the problem of modifying in personam jurisdiction to comply with the changing nature of the American economy. Several lower courts had adjusted the "minimum contacts" test of International Shoe Co. v. Washington to allow for the differences in modern economic lifestyle, but a uniformity amongst the various approaches was lacking. Rather than synthesize a contemporary test for the assertion of in personam jurisdiction, the World- Wide Court chose to place state sovereignty above modern commercial realities and adhere to a more rigid application of the minimum contacts analysis. The author takes issue with …
Police Shootings - Administrative Law As A Method Of Control Over Police: Peterson V. City Of Long Beach,
2013
Pepperdine University
Police Shootings - Administrative Law As A Method Of Control Over Police: Peterson V. City Of Long Beach, James Wright
Pepperdine Law Review
Professor Kenneth Davis has long advocated that police manuals should be viewed as interpretative administrative rules, which would guide police in their daily activities. He argued that police departments should not fear adopting interpretative rules because such rules would not be binding; therefore, the department would not be subject to tort liability if an officer violated such a rule. In Peterson v. City of Long Beach, a police officer violated the police manual when he shot and killed a non-violent fleeing suspect. The California Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Frank Newman, cited Professor Davis and his call for …
Corporate Homicide: The Stark Realities Of Artificial Beings And Legal Fictions ,
2013
Pepperdine University
Corporate Homicide: The Stark Realities Of Artificial Beings And Legal Fictions , Douglas S. Anderson
Pepperdine Law Review
In the aftermath of one of the most highly publicized trials in product liability annals-the celebrated Pinto case-the legal question raised by that litigation remains unresolved. Controversy continues as to whether a corporation should be convicted of homicide when it knowingly markets an unsafe product that results in death. Today the answer is a resounding "no", in light of state statutes defining homicide as the killing of one human being by another, difficulties in finding the requisite criminal intent; and the practical problems of placing a legal fiction behind bars. However, there are recent indications that these present obstacles to …
Punitive Damages And The Drunken Driver,
2013
Pepperdine University
Punitive Damages And The Drunken Driver, William C. Cooper
Pepperdine Law Review
A discussion of the history and theory of punitive damages which results in advocating their application in a drunk driving context after giving due consideration to the pros and cons of such a sanction. An analysis of case law will reveal the underlying rationale that has motivated certain jurisdictions in applying this severe penal approach in an attempt to deter and curtail the senseless destruction on our nation's highways as well as exploring the impetus behind those other jurisdictions that do not utilize the remedy of punitive damages. The culminating focus is on California's position in this regard. Finally, there …
Aviation Litigation: Federal Preemption And The Creation Of A Federal Remedy As A Means To Extinguish The Current Confusion In The Courts,
2013
Pepperdine University
Aviation Litigation: Federal Preemption And The Creation Of A Federal Remedy As A Means To Extinguish The Current Confusion In The Courts, Deborah J. Olsen
Pepperdine Law Review
No abstract provided.
Hubbard V. Boelt: The Fireman's Rule Extended ,
2013
Pepperdine University
Hubbard V. Boelt: The Fireman's Rule Extended , Marty K. Deniston
Pepperdine Law Review
The California Supreme Court, in Hubbard v. Boelt, extended the reach of the fireman's rule to bar a suit brought by a policeman who was injured by the willful and wanton conduct of a speeding motor is while pursuing that motorist. This is an important development in tort law because, traditionally, the fireman's rule had only been applied to bar suits by firemen and policemen who were injured by the negligent conduct of another which was the cause of their presence at the scene. This author suggests that the majority's rationale underlying this extension was flawed because of the fundamental …
The Supreme Court Continues Its Journey Down The Ever Narrowing Paths Of Section 1983 And The Due Process Clause: An Analysis Of Parratt V. Taylor,
2013
Pepperdine University
The Supreme Court Continues Its Journey Down The Ever Narrowing Paths Of Section 1983 And The Due Process Clause: An Analysis Of Parratt V. Taylor, Robert E. Palmer
Pepperdine Law Review
After nearly a century of quiet slumber, the Supreme Court awoke the sleeping giant. In the past two decades, 42 U.S.C. §1983 has evolved into a judicial Frankenstein monster. Unable to control the beast, the Court has attempted to restrict the creature's movements by unnecessarily limiting its constitutional source. If followed to its logical conclusion, the Court's narrow reading of the Constitution may ultimately demote all due process violations to state tort remedies. This note traces the legislative and judicial evolution of section 1983 as well as the statute's present interaction with the due process clause. The vehicle for this …
Fixing The Vaccine Act's Structural Moral Hazard,
2013
Pepperdine University
Fixing The Vaccine Act's Structural Moral Hazard, Brandon L. Boxler
Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal
The article presents information on the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. It discusses the U.S. Federal circuit case Hazlehurst v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., in which lawsuit against the defendant was filed by the plaintiff who sought claims against the liability of product to recover damages for alleged injuries which his son had received from vaccines. It also provides information on the structural moral hazard of the program which devolves it into a litigious adjudicatory process.
Constitutional Considerations: Government Responsibility And The Right Not To Be A Victim ,
2013
Pepperdine University
Constitutional Considerations: Government Responsibility And The Right Not To Be A Victim , Richard L. Aynes
Pepperdine Law Review
Within a democratic society, citizens are provided with certain rights and liberties. Among those rights and liberties is the right not to be a victim. In this article, the author examines and analyzes the growing concern for the protection of victims of crimes. Recent legislative enactments have been designed to alter the role of the victim in the civil and criminal justice systems by defining and implementing a series of "victims' rights." The author concludes by recognizing that one of the most important duties of government is to provide for the physical safety of those within its jurisdiction. To implement …
Lawyers, Food, And Money,
2013
Herbert Smith Freehills New York LLP
Doomed Steamers And Merged Fires: The Problem Of Preempted Innocent Threats In Torts,
2013
Wayne State University Law School
Doomed Steamers And Merged Fires: The Problem Of Preempted Innocent Threats In Torts, Anthony M. Dillof
Anthony M. Dillof
This article addresses a classic question of tort theory: When a court assesses damages in a negligence action, it is relevant that the defendant’s negligence prevented the plaintiff from suffering a harm? For example, imagine that defendant Taxi Driver negligently crashes his taxi thereby injuring plaintiff Passenger. Is it relevant that because of the accident, Passenger did not reach the ocean liner he had been planning to sail on and, as a result, his life was saved because, as it turns out, the ocean liner sank, killing everyone aboard? Though this question has been recognized and addressed for almost a …
Employment Law And Social Equality,
2013
University of Michigan Law School
Employment Law And Social Equality, Samuel R. Bagenstos
Samuel R Bagenstos
What is the normative justification for individual employment law? For a number of legal scholars, the answer is economic efficiency. Other scholars argue, to the contrary, that employment law protects against (vaguely defined) imbalances of bargaining power and exploitation. Against both of these positions, this paper argues that individual employment law is best understood as advancing a particular conception of equality. That conception, which many legal and political theorists have called social equality, focuses on eliminating hierarchies of social status. Drawing on the author’s work elaborating the justification for employment discrimination law, this paper argues that individual employment law is …
The Impact Of Medical Liability Standards On Regional Variations In Physician Behavior: Evidence From The Adoption Of National-Standard Rules,
2013
Cornell Law School
The Impact Of Medical Liability Standards On Regional Variations In Physician Behavior: Evidence From The Adoption Of National-Standard Rules, Michael Frakes
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
I explore the association between regional variations in physician behavior and the geographical scope of malpractice standards of care. I estimate a 30-50 percent reduction in the gap between state and national utilization rates of various treatments and diagnostic procedures following the adoption of a rule requiring physicians to follow national, as opposed to local, standards. These findings suggest that standardization in malpractice law may lead to greater standardization in practices and, more generally, that physicians may indeed adhere to specific liability standards. In connection with the estimated convergence in practices, I observe no associated changes in patient health. (JEL …
Spatial Legality, Due Process, And Choice Of Law In Human Rights Litigation Under U.S. State Law,
2013
Southern Methodist University
Spatial Legality, Due Process, And Choice Of Law In Human Rights Litigation Under U.S. State Law, Anthony J. Colangelo, Kristina A. Kiik
UC Irvine Law Review
No abstract provided.
State Courts And Transitory Torts In Transnational Human Rights Cases,
2013
UC Hastings College of Law
State Courts And Transitory Torts In Transnational Human Rights Cases, Chimène I. Keitner
UC Irvine Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Tort Foundation Of Duty Of Care And Business Judgment,
2013
University of Florida Levin College of Law
The Tort Foundation Of Duty Of Care And Business Judgment, Robert J. Rhee
UF Law Faculty Publications
This Article corrects a misconception in corporation law – the belief that principles of tort law do not apply to the liability scheme of fiduciary duty. A board’s duty of care implies exposure to liability, but the business judgment rule precludes it. Tort law finds fault; corporation law excuses it. The conventional wisdom says that the tort analogy fails. This dismissal of tort prinicples is wrong. Although shareholder derivative suits and ordinary tort cases properly yield systemically antipodal outcomes, they are bound by a common analytical framework. The principles of board liability are rooted in tort doctrines governing duty, customs, …
The Manville Corporation Bankruptcy: An Abuse Of The Judicial Process?,
2013
Pepperdine University
The Manville Corporation Bankruptcy: An Abuse Of The Judicial Process?, Mark Kunkler
Pepperdine Law Review
Federal bankruptcy law offers a refuge to the honest debtor who is unable to pay his creditor's when his debts are due. Here, the twin aims of bankruptcy law, to give the debtor a fresh start and to provide roughly equal treatment for his! Creditors, are laudably accomplished. But what policies support the use of federal bankruptcy law when the "debtor" is in fact solvent and apparently seeks refuge only to escape liability for the products it manufactures? This comment examines the recent filing of the Manville Corporation for Chapter 11 protection under bankruptcy law with this question in mind.
