Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 31 - 39 of 39

Full-Text Articles in Law

Products Liability Law In Minnesota: Design Defect And Failure To Warn Claims, Michael K. Steenson Jan 1988

Products Liability Law In Minnesota: Design Defect And Failure To Warn Claims, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

The Minnesota law of products liability underwent significant changes in the 1980s. The courts filled in gaps left open since the Minnesota Supreme Court initially adopted strict liability in McCormack v. Hankscraft Co.' in 1967, but they also raised new issues and left other issues open. This Article analyzes these developments in Minnesota products liability law. The broad focus is on standards in design and warning cases. In the course of the analysis, the Article focuses on the issues that had been left unsettled in Minnesota law in those areas. The Article first addresses the elements of a strict liability …


Aids And The Law: Setting And Evaluating Threshold Standards For Coercive Public Health Intervention, Eric S. Janus Jan 1988

Aids And The Law: Setting And Evaluating Threshold Standards For Coercive Public Health Intervention, Eric S. Janus

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines in detail an example of legislation that redefines the scope of permissible public health intervention and provides procedural protections compatible with modern precedent—the Minnesota Health Threat Procedures Act. This Act is an appropriate subject for close study because it is intended to be responsive to the general concerns raised by the commentators: the narrowing redefinition of the scope of coercive public health intervention and the addition of suitable procedural protections. Coercive public health legislation merits close attention because it inevitably invokes a clash of three important values. The purpose of the legislation is the protection of the …


The Fault Concept In Personal Injury Cases In Minnesota: Implications For Tort Reform, Michael K. Steenson Jan 1987

The Fault Concept In Personal Injury Cases In Minnesota: Implications For Tort Reform, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

Legislative tort reform proposals have attempted to restore what is perceived to be an imbalance in the tort-litigation system by limiting tort recoveries. One of the motivating factors behind tort reform proposals is a concern that tort law has deviated from a fault-based system of liability. It is this concern over the structure of the fault system in Minnesota that is the subject of this Article. This Article examines Minnesota Supreme Court opinions of the 20th Century to determine whether the court's decisions deviated from a fault-based system of liability. The focus is on change, accepted and rejected. The purpose …


The Fault With Comparative Fault: The Problem Of Individual Comparisons In A Modified Comparative Fault Jurisdiction, Michael K. Steenson Jan 1986

The Fault With Comparative Fault: The Problem Of Individual Comparisons In A Modified Comparative Fault Jurisdiction, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

Minnesota courts have interpreted the Minnesota Comparative Fault statute as requiring comparison of a plaintiff's negligence with the individual negligence of each defendant. Exceptions to this rule involve joint venture cases. This Article examines the individual comparison rule and explores an alternative rule which provides for a comparison of the plaintiff's negligence with the aggregate negligence of the defendants.


Compensation For Victims Of Hazardous Substance Exposure, J. David Prince Jan 1985

Compensation For Victims Of Hazardous Substance Exposure, J. David Prince

Faculty Scholarship

Hazardous wastes, threatening environmental and human safety, are being generated at an alarming rate. In this Article, J. David Prince discusses the threats posed by hazardous wastes and the remedies that are available in Minnesota for dealing with those threats. Professor Prince analyzes a proposed compensation scheme for victims of hazardous waste exposure in Minnesota and suggests that a modification of that scheme be adopted by the Minnesota Legislature.


A Primer On Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance, Michael K. Steenson Jan 1981

A Primer On Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

The Minnesota No-Fault Act has undergone substantial change since its enactment in 1974. Recent legislative modifications and judicial constructions of the Act's provisions have served to correct earlier deficiencies, but have raised new and complex problems of interpretation. In light of these developments, Professor Steenson provides an overview that explains how the Act functions. After tracing the history of automobile insurance regulation in Minnesota, Professor Steenson examines in detail the various compulsory and optional insurance coverages under the Act, the proper sources of payment under those coverages, and the limitations imposed by the Act on the right to recover damages …


The Anatomy Of Products Liability In Minnesota: Principles Of Loss Allocation, Michael K. Steenson Jan 1980

The Anatomy Of Products Liability In Minnesota: Principles Of Loss Allocation, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

In this article, Professor Steenson continues the discussion that began in The Anatomy of Products Liability in Minnesota: The Theories of Recovery, appearing in the last Issue of the William Mitchell Law Review, by shifting the analytical focus to the problems involved in allocating awards among the parties in Minnesota products liability cases. Professor Steenson analyzes defenses, contribution and indemnity, and the impact of Minnesota's comparative fault act on products liability law.


The Anatomy Of Products Liability In Minnesota: The Theories Of Recovery, Michael K. Steenson Jan 1980

The Anatomy Of Products Liability In Minnesota: The Theories Of Recovery, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

The law of products Iiability has undergone a dramatic evolution since MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co. As a result of this rapid development, substantial uncertainty as to the scope of liability of product manufacturers and sellers exists. The purpose of this Article is to eliminate some of that confusion. After tracing the history and development of the law of products liability in Minnesota, the author discusses the various elements and standards of strict Iiability. Finally, the author proposes several jury instructions that help clarify the relationship between strict liability and negligence. Throughout the Article, Minnesota is used as a model …


No-Fault In A Fault Context: Tort Actions And Section 65b.51 Of The Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, Michael K. Steenson Jan 1976

No-Fault In A Fault Context: Tort Actions And Section 65b.51 Of The Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

The passage of the Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act has created new problems for the Minnesota lawyer. Some of the most pressing problems concern the effect of the Act on tort actions. This article analyzes the provisions of the No-Fault Act dealing with limitations on tort recovery and suggests solutions to come of the many interpretive problems created by the Act.