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Full-Text Articles in Law
On Causation, Mari J. Matsuda
On Causation, Mari J. Matsuda
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
In this Essay, Professor Matsuda argues that the narrow dyadic focus of tort law perpetuates very real, and remediable, social harms. Using tort causation doctrine as her starting point, Professor Matsuda demonstrates how the tort system sacrifices human bodies to maintain the smooth flow of the economic system. Time after time, tragedies occur: school systems fail, first graders shoot each other, women live in constant fear of rape. Yet each tragedy is met with the same systematic response: those without resources, those least able to correct the harm, are considered the legal cause of the harm. The economic and corporate …
Prudence, Benevolence, And Negligence: Virtue Ethics And Tort Law, Heidi Li Feldman
Prudence, Benevolence, And Negligence: Virtue Ethics And Tort Law, Heidi Li Feldman
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Tort law assesses negligence according to the conduct of a reasonable person of ordinary prudence who acts with due care for the safety of others. This standard assigns three traits to the person whose conduct sets the bar for measuring negligence: reasonableness, ordinary prudence, and due care for the safety of others. Yet contemporary tort scholars have almost exclusively examined only one of these attributes, reasonableness, and have wholly neglected to carefully examine the other elements key to the negligence standard: prudence and due care for the safety of others. It is mistaken to reduce negligence to reasonableness or to …
A Reexamination Of The Distinction Between "Loss-Allocating" And "Conduct-Regulating Rules", Wendy Collins Perdue
A Reexamination Of The Distinction Between "Loss-Allocating" And "Conduct-Regulating Rules", Wendy Collins Perdue
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
In this paper, I disagree with the premise that all tort rules can be meaningfully classified as either compensatory or deterrent. I argue that most tort rules are both and that "the compensation and deterrence goals ascribed to the tort system cannot be separated.” I then explore the impact on the Louisiana tort choice of law code of this alternative understanding of tort law. My analysis begins with the proposition that all tort rules are loss-allocating. A liability rule shifts the loss from the injured victim to the tortfeasor; conversely a rule of no liability means that the loss, no …