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Erisa Preemption Of Medical Malpractice Claims: Can Managed Care Organizations Avoid Vicarious Liability?, J. Bradley Buckhalter Jan 1999

Erisa Preemption Of Medical Malpractice Claims: Can Managed Care Organizations Avoid Vicarious Liability?, J. Bradley Buckhalter

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment begins by briefly discussing the theory of respondeat superior and the vicarious liability of MCOs for the negligence of affiliated physicians.' Next, the section presents an overview of ERISA, focusing on ERISA's preemption of laws that impact employee benefit plans, particularly medical malpractice claims brought against MCOs seeking to hold them vicariously liable for an affiliated physician's negligence. Section III applies current ERISA preemption doctrine to a situation such as Peterson's, in which a plaintiff attempts to hold an MCO vicariously liable for an affiliated physician's negligence. Section IV concludes that, given the current state of ERISA preemption …


Why Constitutional Torts Deserve A Book Of Their Own, Michael Wells, Thomas A. Eaton, Sheldon H. Nahmod Jan 1999

Why Constitutional Torts Deserve A Book Of Their Own, Michael Wells, Thomas A. Eaton, Sheldon H. Nahmod

Seattle University Law Review

Over thirty years ago, Marshall Shapo coined the term "constitutional tort" to denote a suit brought against an official, charging a constitutional violation and seeking damages.' In the years since Shapo's pathbreaking article, the number of such suits has grown exponentially.' The suits have generated a host of new substantive and remedial issues, yet conventional casebooks on constitutional law and federal courts give little attention to the area. That Professor Shapiro had four books to include in his review of “Civil Rights” casebooks in the Seattle University Law Review is some indication of a demand for teaching materials currently unmet …


Mahler V. Szucs: An Impediment To Interinsurer Arbitration And Affordable Personal Injury Protection Coverage, John R. Nicholson Jan 1999

Mahler V. Szucs: An Impediment To Interinsurer Arbitration And Affordable Personal Injury Protection Coverage, John R. Nicholson

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will demonstrate that the Mahler court's decision will lead to inefficient results, because it has essentially compelled PIP insurers to accept representation by attorneys who have a conflict of interests, precluding such insurers from selecting the best means of recovering their PIP interests. As a result, the price of insurance premiums inevitably will escalate, while providing plaintiffs' attorneys with a windfall of increased fees for performing no additional work for their clients. The following discussion will show not only that the Mahler court holding is inefficient as a matter of public policy, but also that its analysis ignores …