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Full-Text Articles in Law
Keeping The Pierringer Promise: Fair Settlements And Fair Trials, Peter B. Knapp
Keeping The Pierringer Promise: Fair Settlements And Fair Trials, Peter B. Knapp
Faculty Scholarship
This article explores why Perringer releases have failed to promise fairness to the nonsettling defendant. For over thirty years, Pierringer releases have been part of the ebb and flow of civil litigation. In 1978, the Minnesota Supreme Court officially approved the use of Pierringer releases in Minnesota. When first adopted, the release seemed to promise something for everyone. The Pierringer release even offered a promise of fairness to the nonsettling defendant: Be assured that, no matter what the outcome of trial, you will pay no more than your “fair share” of the verdict. Unfortunately, however, largely because of the impact …
Joint And Several Liability Minnesota Style, Michael K. Steenson
Joint And Several Liability Minnesota Style, Michael K. Steenson
Faculty Scholarship
This article examines the rule of joint and several liability as it was adopted, modified, and applied in Minnesota circa 1989. The article first examines the judicial origins and applications of the rule in Minnesota. It then analyzes the impact of the comparative negligence and fault legislation on the rule of joint and several liability, including the limitations imposed on the rule in 1978, 1986, and 1988. Finally, it makes some suggestions for interpreting joint and several liability legislation that are consistent with the legislative history of the legislation as well as with Minnesota Supreme Court decisions concerning aggregation under …
The Fault Concept In Personal Injury Cases In Minnesota: Implications For Tort Reform, Michael K. Steenson
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 …
Compensation For Victims Of Hazardous Substance Exposure, J. David Prince
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.
No-Fault In A Fault Context: Tort Actions And Section 65b.51 Of The Minnesota No-Fault Automobile Insurance Act, Michael K. Steenson
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.