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The Tort Crisis: Causes, Solutions, And The Constitution, Wallace M. Rudolph
The Tort Crisis: Causes, Solutions, And The Constitution, Wallace M. Rudolph
Seattle University Law Review
The thesis of the Article is that the expansion of tort liability based on strict liability or enterprise liability without regard to the proper measurement of damages in such cases is at the root of the insurance crisis rather than the awarding of excessive damages in ordinary fault cases. Stated another way, the expansion of tort liability was based upon the appropriateness of internalizing the cost of economic activity by spreading the risk among the beneficiaries of such activity, but the damages were measured under full compensation theories rather than a more appropriate insurance approach. This divergence between basing liability …
A Nonsettling Defendant's Perspective On Reasonableness Hearings Under Washington's 1981 Tort Reform Act, Luanne Coachman
A Nonsettling Defendant's Perspective On Reasonableness Hearings Under Washington's 1981 Tort Reform Act, Luanne Coachman
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment addresses the questions that the nonsettling defendant's attorney must answer. Section I sets out the function of reasonableness hearings in light of the policies the hearings are intended to further-avoiding collusion between settling defendants and plaintiffs and equitably apportioning the financial burden among tortfeasors. Section II examines the form of reasonableness hearings, including what evidence should be presented, what standards must be met, and the need for reviewable findings and conclusions. Section III analyzes, in terms of constitutional due process, the notice required by the statute. Section IV considers what remedy should follow a finding that a settlement …