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Full-Text Articles in Law
21st Century Cures Act: The Problem With Preemption In Light Of Deregulation, Megan C. Andersen
21st Century Cures Act: The Problem With Preemption In Light Of Deregulation, Megan C. Andersen
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The 21st Century Cures Act introduced innovative changes to the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory processes. In an effort to address the slow, costly, and burdensome approval process for high-risk devices, the Cures Act modernized clinical trial data by allowing reviewers to determine whether devices merit expedited review and to consider post-market surveillance data in the premarket approval process. These changes will get life-saving devices to the people who need them faster than ever before. But the tradeoff is a greater risk of injury to the patient. The 2008 Supreme Court decision Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., held that any …
Comfortably Numb: Medicalizing (And Mitigating) Pain-And-Suffering Damages, Lars Noah
Comfortably Numb: Medicalizing (And Mitigating) Pain-And-Suffering Damages, Lars Noah
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Among the compensatory damages that a plaintiff may recover in tort litigation, awards for pain and suffering have attracted the most attention. Attorneys, judges, legislators, and scholars from various disciplines long have struggled to measure and make sense of this aspect of compensation for tortiously caused injuries. With the steady expansion of what falls within the rubric of nonpecuniary damages and in the types of claims eligible for such awards, to say nothing of the growth in the absolute and relative size of this portion of compensatory awards, pain-and-suffering damages have become increasingly controversial.
Although it canvasses the competing arguments …
The Unintended Consequence Of Tort Reform In Michigan: An Argument For Reinstating Retailer Product Liability, Ashley L. Thompson
The Unintended Consequence Of Tort Reform In Michigan: An Argument For Reinstating Retailer Product Liability, Ashley L. Thompson
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Tort reform became an important issue during the 1994 Congressional Campaign as part of the Republican Party's "Contract with America. "Since then, many federal and state laws have attempted to reduce both liability and recovery in tort actions. In 1996, Michigan passed the Tort Reform Act, encompassing many drastic changes to state tort law. One provision of the Act, § 294 7, scaled back liability against non-manufacturing retailers in product liability actions. The Michigan Supreme Court interpreted the exceptions of the law narrowly and the prohibition broadly, essentially barring recovery from retailers. Since 1996, this provision has prevented victims injured …
On Recovery In Tort For Pure Economic Loss, Eileen Silverstein
On Recovery In Tort For Pure Economic Loss, Eileen Silverstein
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Pure economic loss is not considered a recoverable harm in tort law. Professor Silverstein asks, "Why not?"
Restating The Law: The Dilemmas Of Products Liability, Robert L. Rabin
Restating The Law: The Dilemmas Of Products Liability, Robert L. Rabin
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Tracing products liability law from its origins to present day developments, Professor Rabin discusses the long-standing presence of interwoven strands of contract and tort ideology, as well as the perennial tensions between strict liability and negligence. These themes are evident both in the distinctly influential California case law and in the two Restatement efforts to systematize the doctrine that has emerged nationally. Rabin identifies the manner in which foundational ideological precepts of consumer expectations and enterprise liability have contributed to a continuously dynamic, if often unsettled, debate over the appropriate regime for resolving product injury claims.
Liability Of Suppliers Of Natural Raw Materials And The Restatement (Third) Of Torts: Products Liability- A First Step Toward Sound Public Policy, M. Stuart Madden
Liability Of Suppliers Of Natural Raw Materials And The Restatement (Third) Of Torts: Products Liability- A First Step Toward Sound Public Policy, M. Stuart Madden
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
From its inception, the law governing liability for damage or injuries caused by defective products has pertained to potential liability for products that have been processed, finished, or fabricated. Naturally occurring raw materials, for the most part, have been considered beyond doctrinal concern, largely because characterizing a merchantable raw material, such as copper or pigiron, as defective is conceptually difficult. Nevertheless, certain doctrines that developed for the application of products liability to other products have gained sporadic application to naturally occurring raw materials, including the sophisticated purchaser defense, the bulk supplier defense, and the ingredient supplier defense. Madden argues that …
Constructing A Roof Before The Foundation Is Prepared: The Restatement (Third) Of Torts: Products Liability, Section 2(B) Design Defect, Frank J. Vandall
Constructing A Roof Before The Foundation Is Prepared: The Restatement (Third) Of Torts: Products Liability, Section 2(B) Design Defect, Frank J. Vandall
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability section 2(b) is a wish list from manufacturing America. It returns products liability law to something more restrictive than negligence. What is new from the Reporters is that their proposal is written on a clean sheet of paper. Messy and awkward concepts such as precedent, policy, and case accuracy have been brushed aside for the purpose of tort reform. There has been almost no attempt to evaluate strict liability precedent or the policies underlying previous cases and the Restatement (Second) section 402A. Section 2b (the roof) has been drafted with little consideration of …
Pain And Suffering Guidelines: A Cure For Damages Measurement "Anomie", Frederick S. Levin
Pain And Suffering Guidelines: A Cure For Damages Measurement "Anomie", Frederick S. Levin
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note argues that adapting the criminal sentencing guidelines systems in use in several states to the personal injury context would provide appropriate standards for measuring pain and suffering damages. Part I explores why present methods for measuring pain and suffering are objectionable. A description of the proposed method for developing guidelines is provided in Part II. Part II explores the use of guidelines in criminal sentencing and the analogy between sentencing decisions and assessment of damages for nonpecuniary loss. Part II also describes how to develop and implement guidelines for assessing pain and suffering damages. Part III examines why …
Developing A Victims' Suit For Injuries Caused By A Compulsorily Released Prisoner, Leonard M. Niehoff
Developing A Victims' Suit For Injuries Caused By A Compulsorily Released Prisoner, Leonard M. Niehoff
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note advocates the development of a tort remedy for victims injured by a compulsorily released prisoner. This remedy would be based on existing tort theory permitting suits against third parties whose negligence causes or facilitates a criminal act. The victim would bring suit against both the state and third parties who aided in the criminal release determination . To support his claim, the victim would allege: (1) that state officials negligently selected the offending inmate for early release; and (2) that the state negligently maintained the unconstitutional prison conditions which precipitated the release.
Part I of this Note discusses …
Toxic Substance Contamination: The Risk-Benefit Approach To Causation Analysis, Bradford W. Kuster
Toxic Substance Contamination: The Risk-Benefit Approach To Causation Analysis, Bradford W. Kuster
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This article argues that the dilemma described above requires change and proposes a new standard for causation in this type of toxic contamination case. Part I examines the difficulties posed by conventional common law relief mechanisms, and the inadequacies of existing statutory relief mechanisms. Part II scrutinizes a more lenient burden of proof standard, the risk-benefit approach, which some courts have applied when faced with situations involving scientific uncertainties. The risk-benefit approach will be applied to causation analysis in the context of damage recoveries, using the. Hemlock, Michigan, situation as a case study. Part III discusses present congressional proposals, and …
Products Liability: Developments In The Rule Of Successor Liability For Product-Related Injuries, Mary Annette Horan
Products Liability: Developments In The Rule Of Successor Liability For Product-Related Injuries, Mary Annette Horan
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This article will briefly review the traditional principles of corporate law governing the assumption of liabilities in the acquisition of an ongoing business, and the doctrinal premises of strict products liability. Attention will then be critically directed to recent developments in case law in which the traditional rules have been modified to reflect the policy considerations of strict products liability. Finally, this article will discuss the possibility of legislative intervention in the development of new principles governing successor responsibility for products liability claims and propose that this problem is an appropriate subject for legislative rather than judicial action.
Punitive Damages Under Section 102 Of The Labor-Management Reporting And Disclosure Act, S. Thomas Wienner
Punitive Damages Under Section 102 Of The Labor-Management Reporting And Disclosure Act, S. Thomas Wienner
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
It is firmly established that in a suit brought under section 102, a union member may ordinarily recover compensatory damages for any injury proximately caused by a violation of Title I or section 609. The courts are divided, however, on the question of whether a plaintiff may be awarded punitive damages under section 102. This article will address that question by discussing the language and the legislative history of section 102, the conflicting decisions of the federal courts, and the relevant policy considerations.
Emerging Standards For Implied Actions Under Federal Statutes, Gary W. Klotz
Emerging Standards For Implied Actions Under Federal Statutes, Gary W. Klotz
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This article will examine the theoretical basis for finding implied causes of action in legislation and the development of the implication doctrine in the federal courts. In particular, the Cort v. Ash case will be discussed, both in terms of the standards articulated by the Supreme Court in dicta and the potential impact of Cort on the law of implied remedies.