Law Commons^™

Environmental Litigation In Historical Perspective, Samuel P. Hays

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

During the past several decades, litigation has played a major role in the attempt by citizens to realize environmental objectives. Its impact has been elaborated extensively in the vast array of writing in law journals as well as in the cases themselves. Most analyses have focused on specialized subjects of either substantive policy or legal procedure. In this brief Essay I attempt a more comprehensive overview involving two background factors- the growth of environmental values since World War II and the response of governmental institutions to the resulting demands placed upon them. Among these institutions were the courts. Their role …

In The Wake Of The Snail Darter: An Environmental Law Paradigm And Its Consequences, Zygmunt J.B. Plater

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Everything is connected to everything else: so goes the first law of ecology. This interconnectedness is reflected in environmental law as well, extending beyond natural science and particular resource conflicts to link environmental law intimately with the politics, philosophies, economics, and societal values that form its much larger context-an ecology of human and natural systems.

The Tellico Dam litigation reflected this interconnectedness. On its face, it was a simple environmental confrontation; it will be remembered as the "extreme" case of the little endangered fish, the snail darter, that almost stopped a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dam. But if one picks …

Suing In The Right Of The Corporation: A Commentary And Proposal For Legislative Reform, Lawrence A. Larose

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article is premised on the belief that the derivative action is uniquely susceptible to strike suit litigation-that is, actions with little or no substantive merit but pursued to exploit the nuisance value inherent in litigation. Although there is historic support for the notion of "pernicious and vexing" derivative litigation, some modern evidence suggests that the vast majority of publicly held companies experience no derivative litigation. Commentators, however, have questioned both the validity of the modern evidence and the conclusions derived from it. Despite these criticisms, observers of the present vitality of the derivative action, far from characterizing it as …

The Application Of A Due Diligence Requirement To Market Share Theory In Des Litigation, Thomas C. Willcox

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that courts should impose a due diligence requirement on plaintiffs as a prerequisite to the use of market share theory. Part I examines traditional products liability theories along with alternative theories and explains the relationship of due diligence to market share theory. Part II argues that due diligence should be a prerequisite to market share liability. Part III discusses the nature of due diligence in this context. Finally, Part IV considers various objections to a due diligence requirement and argues that they are essentially without merit.

Proposals To Amend Rule 68- Time To Abandon Ship, Stephen B. Burbank

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

It is no surprise that, having included "facilitating the settlement of the case" as one of the objectives of pretrial conferences in the 1983 amendments to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Advisory Committee has turned its attention to Rule 68. The Rule was intended to provide an incentive to settle by requiring that a prevailing claimant who has declined a more favorable offer of judgment pay post-offer "costs." But, in the Advisory Committee's view, Rule 68 has proved ineffective. The concern, apparently, is not that too few civil cases filed in federal court are settled-less …