Law Commons^™

Victim V. Victim Restitution: The Commingling Fictions, Andrew Kull

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

Restitution In Texas: Civil Liability For Unjust Enrichment, David A. Dittfurth

Faculty Articles

The Texas Supreme Court must clarify the law of restitution. The law of restitution regulates a major area of litigation in Texas and suffers from a significant degree of confusion. The Texas Supreme Court has adopted the modern view of restitution, but its rulings lack the detailed guidance needed by lower courts. The Texas Supreme Court should establish an independent and generally applicable cause of action for unjust enrichment, describe clearly the elements of that cause of action, and lend its authority to the modern terms that describe the law of restitution.

The Texas Supreme Court’s rulings on restitution describe …

Setting The Limits In Texas Construction Law: A Look At The Surety's Limitations Under Indemnity Agreements And Equitable Subrogation Comment., John C. Warren

St. Mary's Law Journal

To clarify divergent case law, Texas courts should adopt good faith as the necessary standard governing indemnity agreements. Texas court decisions limiting settlement of bond claims by sureties can be split into three categories: (1) those cases where indemnity agreements fail to vest authority in the indemnitee to settle claims or require a good faith standard; (2) those expressly stating indemnitees have authority to settle claims in good faith; and (2) those expressly vesting a surety with exclusive rights to determine which bonded claims should be settled. Under the first line of cases courts apply common law indemnity principles requiring …

South Africa's Land Reform Programme., Andre J. Groenewald

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

South Africa is committed to land reform.  Because land is what shapes our national identity, the land dispossession of black people by the hand of white colonizers shapes the importance of land reform in South Africa. After the Natives’ Land Act of 1913, rights to own, rent, or even sharecrop land in South Africa depended upon a person’s racial classification. This was furthered by the Native Trust and Land Act of 1936. In 1994, however, the new government passed a Land Restitution Act. The land reform policy, Reconstruction and Development Programme, aimed to redress the injustices of apartheid, foster national …

Distinguishing The Concept Of Strict Liability In Tort From Strict Products Liability: Medusa Unveiled, Charles E. Cantú

Faculty Articles

The justifications for strict products liability and other cases of strict liability in torts are different and distinct. The United States judiciary has limited strict liability in tort law to seven distinct scenarios: (1) animals that are trespassing, are domesticated but vicious, or are wild by nature; (2) fact situations involving ultra-hazardous activities; (3) nuisance; (4) misrepresentation; (5) vicarious liability; (6) defamation; or (7) a workman’s compensation statute.

Strict liability is imposed for harm caused by animals capable of inflicting extensive harm. It also justifies liability for ultra-hazardous activities on the basis that an individual undertakes an activity that is …