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

Law Commons

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

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Laws Of Image, Samantha Barbas Nov 2017

The Laws Of Image, Samantha Barbas

Samantha Barbas

We live in an image society. Since the turn of the 20th century if not earlier, Americans have been awash in a sea of images throughout the visual landscape. We have become highly image-conscious, attuned to first impressions and surface appearances, and deeply concerned with our own personal images – our looks, reputations, and the impressions we make on others. The advent of this image-consciousness has been a familiar subject of commentary by social and cultural historians, yet its legal implications have not been explored. This article argues that one significant legal consequence of the image society was the evolution …


From Privacy To Publicity: The Tort Of Appropriation In The Age Of Mass Consumption, Samantha Barbas Nov 2017

From Privacy To Publicity: The Tort Of Appropriation In The Age Of Mass Consumption, Samantha Barbas

Samantha Barbas

No abstract provided.


Managed Care, Utilization Review, And Financial Risk Shifting: Compensating Patients For Health Care Cost Containment Injuries, Vernellia R. Randall Sep 2017

Managed Care, Utilization Review, And Financial Risk Shifting: Compensating Patients For Health Care Cost Containment Injuries, Vernellia R. Randall

Vernellia R. Randall

This Article examines current tort remedies for personal injury claims and explores the problems that arise when these remedies are applied to physicians' actions that are directed by third-party payers. Part II of this Article explores the organization and historical development of managed health care products. Part III considers the past and present uses of the utilization review process and financial risk shifting. Part IV explores the applicability of traditional theories of tort liability to third-party payers, including direct liability of third-party payers who market managed care products. Part V considers the barriers that ERISA presents to compensating patients for …


A Study Of The Costs Of Legal Services In Personal Injury Litigation In Ontario: Final Report, Allan C. Hutchinson Jul 2017

A Study Of The Costs Of Legal Services In Personal Injury Litigation In Ontario: Final Report, Allan C. Hutchinson

Allan C. Hutchinson

Contingency Fee Agreements (CFAs) are now a fixed feature of the Ontario litigation landscape. However, little research or study has been done on exactly how they operate in practice, whether they advance the objectives that they were intended to achieve, and whether litigants are best served by the current arrangements. In this study, I intend to make a preliminary start to that research, set out some tentative criticisms of the CFA system as it currently operates, and, where appropriate, suggest preliminary proposals for change. It should be said at the outset that my efforts to obtain real and serious data …


The Original Source Of The Cause Of Action In Federal Courts: The Example Of The Alien Tort Statute, Anthony J. Bellia, Bradford R. Clark Jun 2017

The Original Source Of The Cause Of Action In Federal Courts: The Example Of The Alien Tort Statute, Anthony J. Bellia, Bradford R. Clark

Anthony J. Bellia

Judges and scholars have long debated the legitimacy and contours of federal common law causes of action — actions created neither by Congress nor by state law. The question of federal judicial power to recognize federal common law causes of action arises in a range of contexts in the field of federal courts, including with respect to whether federal courts may recognize an implied right of action for the violation of a constitutional or statutory provision that does not specifically create one. Recently, the power of federal courts to recognize federal common law causes of action has emerged as a …


Hurricanes, Fraud, And Insurance: The Supreme Court Weighs In On, But Does Not Wade Into, The Concurrent Causation Conundrum In State Farm Fire And Casualty Company V. Rigsby, Chris French May 2017

Hurricanes, Fraud, And Insurance: The Supreme Court Weighs In On, But Does Not Wade Into, The Concurrent Causation Conundrum In State Farm Fire And Casualty Company V. Rigsby, Chris French

Christopher C. French

In the December 6, 2016 Supreme Court decision, State Farm v. Rigsby, a homeowner’s house was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The homeowner had homeowners insurance with State Farm and a flood insurance policy that was administered by State Farm on behalf of the federal government. The claims adjusters assigned by State Farm to handle the homeowner’s claim allegedly were instructed by State Farm to misclassify wind damage as flood damage in order to shift State Farm’s own liability for the loss to the federal government. The claims handlers filed a lawsuit against State Farm under the False Claims Act (FCA), …


Amendment Of The Abortion Law: Relevant Data And Judicial Opinion Apr 2017

Amendment Of The Abortion Law: Relevant Data And Judicial Opinion

John Noonan

No abstract provided.


Institutional Failure, Campus Sexual Assault And Danger In The Dorms: Regulatory Limits And The Promise Of Tort Law, Andrea A. Curcio Apr 2017

Institutional Failure, Campus Sexual Assault And Danger In The Dorms: Regulatory Limits And The Promise Of Tort Law, Andrea A. Curcio

Andrea A. Curcio

Data demonstrates the majority of on-campus sexual assaults occur in dorm rooms. At many colleges, this fact receives little, if any, attention. This article discusses how schools' failure to raise awareness about, and develop risk reduction programs for, dorm-based assaults is another example of long-standing institutional failures when it comes to addressing campus sexual assault. Ignoring where most on-campus assaults occur provides students with a false sense of security in their dorms, limits the efficacy of bystander intervention programs, and results in scant attention and research directed at the efficacy of dorm-based awareness and risk-reduction efforts. This article suggests that …


"A Radical Proposal": The Multidistrict Litigation Act Of 1968, Andrew D. Bradt Feb 2017

"A Radical Proposal": The Multidistrict Litigation Act Of 1968, Andrew D. Bradt

Andrew D. Bradt


One of the central stories in current procedural law is the recent and rapid ascendance of federal multidistrict litigation, or, as it is commonly known, MDL. As the class action has declined in prominence, MDL has surged: to wit, currently more than a third of the cases on the federal civil docket are part of an MDL. With MDL’s growth has come attention from scholars, much of it critical. One recurring aspect of this criticism is that MDL judges have expanded the MDL statute beyond its modest ambitions. But what were the original purposes of MDL, and where did the …


It's About Time: The Long Overdue Demise Of Statutes Of Repose In Latent Toxic Tort Litigation, Jean M. Eggen Dec 2016

It's About Time: The Long Overdue Demise Of Statutes Of Repose In Latent Toxic Tort Litigation, Jean M. Eggen

Jean M. Eggen

Latent toxic illness typically does not become manifest until months, years, or decades after a person’s exposure to a toxic substance. The timing, extent, and characteristics of its physical manifestation are unpredictable and vary among individuals. Similarly, property damages associated with environmental contamination may not be detected for years, and the diseases caused by the contamination could take even longer to manifest. Accordingly, toxic harms present unique challenges for plaintiffs confronted with time limitations on their actions. Statutes of repose operate in conjunction with statutes of limitations to provide defendants with maximum protection from stale claims. Unlike statutes of limitations, …


The Jewel In The Crown: Can India’S Strict Liability Doctrine Deepen Our Understanding Of Tort Law Theory?, Deepa Badrinarayana Dec 2016

The Jewel In The Crown: Can India’S Strict Liability Doctrine Deepen Our Understanding Of Tort Law Theory?, Deepa Badrinarayana

Deepa Badrinarayana

The evolution of tort law in former British colonies is not only fascinating; it also holds clues into the age old question of whether law or any discrete area of law can be universal. The exploration into doctrinal divergences and convergences is part of a larger quest: to capture the theoretical underpinnings of tort law and, in that process, discover the universal core of tort law, if there is one. For example, is the central purpose of tort law efficient resource allocation, corrective justice, or simply a compensatory system for wrongs? To answer these questions, theorists have generally considered tort …


Understanding Insurance Policies As Noncontracts: An Alternative Approach To Drafting And Construing These Unique Financial Instruments, Christopher French Dec 2016

Understanding Insurance Policies As Noncontracts: An Alternative Approach To Drafting And Construing These Unique Financial Instruments, Christopher French

Christopher C. French

Insurance policies commonly are understood to be a species of standardized contracts. This Article challenges that conventional wisdom and argues that insurance policies do not actually qualify as contracts under the doctrinal and theoretical bases of contract formation. It examines the process by which insurance policies are created and sold, and measures that process against the requirements for contract formation. This Article also distinguishes insurance policies from other types of standardized contracts, such as wrap agreements, which currently are the subject of much litigation and scholarly commentary. It then explores the doctrinal and theoretical bases underlying the specialized rules that …


Insurance Policies: The Grandparents Of Contractual Black Holes, Christopher French Dec 2016

Insurance Policies: The Grandparents Of Contractual Black Holes, Christopher French

Christopher C. French

In their recent article, The Black Hole Problem in Commercial Boilerplate, Professors Stephen Choi, Mitu Gulati, and Robert Scott identify a phenomenon found in standardized contracts they describe as “contractual black holes.” The concept of black holes comes from theoretical physics. Under the original hypothesis, the gravitational pull of a black hole is so strong that once light or information is pulled past an event horizon into a black hole, it cannot escape. In recent years, the theory has been reformulated and now the hypothesis is that some information can escape, but it is so degraded that it is virtually …