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Federalism And The Limits On Regulating Products Liability Law, 1977-1981., Ian Drake
Federalism And The Limits On Regulating Products Liability Law, 1977-1981., Ian Drake
Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works
The political movement of the early 1980s that sought to increase manufacturer liability for defective products by converting state tort law into federal law raised core questions about federalism. The effort at wholesale federalization failed, and tort law has been (and largely remains) within the purview of the states. However, the tort federalization movement of the early 1980s, which by the end of that decade would become popularly known as" tort reform, did result in federal legislation affecting tort law in America. This article attempts to explain why tort law was never fully federalized during this period and how the …
The First Attempt At Federalizing Tort Law And Why It Failed.", Ian Drake
The First Attempt At Federalizing Tort Law And Why It Failed.", Ian Drake
Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works
In the 1970s, the US Congress meticulously considered the possibility of creating a federal law of torts. The federal effort began almost a decade after many state supreme courts had expanded manufacturer liability for defective products. The state-level expansion caused a reaction among state and federal legislatures. The initial federal presence took the form of investigatory efforts, but those were soon followed by legislative proposals. The federal legislative proposals occurred simultaneously with some states' efforts to enact their own products liability laws. Although the states' tort laws might present variations on a theme, the possibilities for federal intervention in the …
Tort Reform And American Political Economy, Ian Drake
Tort Reform And American Political Economy, Ian Drake
Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works
The expansion of tort liability throughout the last century was a unique period of American legal history. In the field of products liability the expansion was dramatic; so much that it can be considered revolutionary. Also, the reaction to this expansion was so forceful that it thwarted the larger goals of the expansionary movement. This paper will review the purposes of the expansion of tort law in the twentieth century and the purposes and effects of the reaction it spurred at the state level. In short, it is my conclusion that the expansion of products liability after World War II--the …