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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Law
The In Rem/In Personam Distinction And Partitioning For Persistence, Shyamkrishna Balganesh, Leo Katz
The In Rem/In Personam Distinction And Partitioning For Persistence, Shyamkrishna Balganesh, Leo Katz
Faculty Scholarship
In the second of his two famous articles, Hohfeld seeks to do for the in rem/in personam distinction what he did so persuasively in his first for the terminology of rights, claims, duties, privileges, powers, immunities, and disabilities, which was to identify their essence, and to thereby describe the “natural kind” (in more modern parlance) lurking beneath the thicket of confused juristic rhetoric. The thesis in this second article, however, is a simpler and in some way more beguiling one than in his first. He claims that what the distinction between in rem and in personam jural relations comes down …
The Second Amendment & Private Law, Cody Jacobs
The Second Amendment & Private Law, Cody Jacobs
Faculty Scholarship
The Second Amendment, like other federal constitutional rights, is a restriction on government power. But what role does the Second Amendment have to play—if any—when a private party seeks to limit the exercise of Second Amendment rights by invoking private law causes of action? Private law—specifically, the law of torts, contracts, and property—has often been impacted by constitutional considerations, though in seemingly inconsistent ways. The First Amendment places limitations on defamation actions and other related torts, and also prevents courts from entering injunctions that could be classified as prior restraints. On the other hand, the First Amendment plays almost no …
Driverless Cars And The Much Delayed Tort Law Revolution, Andrzej Rapaczynski
Driverless Cars And The Much Delayed Tort Law Revolution, Andrzej Rapaczynski
Faculty Scholarship
The most striking development in the American tort law of the last century was the quick rise and fall of strict manufacturers’ liability for the huge social losses associated with the use of industrial products. The most important factor in this process has been the inability of the courts and academic commentators to develop a workable theory of design defects, resulting in a wholesale return of negligence as the basis of products liability jurisprudence. This article explains the reasons for this failure and argues that the development of digital technology, and the advent of self-driving cars in particular, is likely …
The Law And Economics Of Products Liability, Keith N. Hylton
The Law And Economics Of Products Liability, Keith N. Hylton
Faculty Scholarship
This paper presents a largely positive analysis of products liability law, in the sense that it aims to predict the incentive effects and the welfare consequences of the law, with close regard to its specific legal tests and the real-world constraints that impinge on these tests. The other major part of this paper is a normative assessment of the parts of products liability law that should be reformed. In contrast with the prevailing law and economics literature suggesting that products liability law reduces social welfare, I argue that the law probably improves social welfare, though it is in need of …
An Economic Perspective On Preemption, Keith N. Hylton
An Economic Perspective On Preemption, Keith N. Hylton
Faculty Scholarship
This Essay has two goals. The first is to present an economic theory of preemption as a choice among regulatory regimes. The optimal regime choice model is used to generate specific implications for the court decisions on preemption of products liability claims. The second objective is to extrapolate from the regime choice model to consider its implications for broader controversies about preemption.
Peterson V. Balach, Obvious Dangers, And The Duty Of Possessors Of Land In Minnesota, Michael K. Steenson
Peterson V. Balach, Obvious Dangers, And The Duty Of Possessors Of Land In Minnesota, Michael K. Steenson
Faculty Scholarship
The purpose of this article is to analyze Minnesota landowners law, with particular emphasis on the impact of Peterson v. Balach. Following a short history of Minnesota law governing possessors’ duties, including a discussion of pre-Peterson v. Balach and Adee v. Evanson cases, the article considers the question of why the courts, post-Peterson v. Balach/Adee v. Evanson, regularly return to pre-Peterson forms to resolve possessor liability issues, particularly in cases involving obvious dangers, and whether the phenomenon is a result of a wrong turn or is a reflection of a conscious policy choice intended to effectively repudiate the progressive position …
Preemption And Products Liability: A Positive Theory, Keith N. Hylton
Preemption And Products Liability: A Positive Theory, Keith N. Hylton
Faculty Scholarship
In a large number of products liability lawsuits, sellers assert that plaintiffs' claims should be rejected because their products fall under some federal regulatory regime, and that the regulatory statute takes precedence over or preempts state tort law. This paper is an attempt to set out a positive theory of the doctrine on preemption of products liability claims. The federal case law is largely consistent with an approach that seeks to minimize the costs of erroneous decisions to preempt tort lawsuits. In particular, two factors explain many of the outcomes of the preemption cases in federal courts: agency independence and …
Market Share Liability Beyond Des Cases: The Solution To The Causation Dilemma In Lead Paint Litigation?, Donald G. Gifford, Paolo Pasicolan
Market Share Liability Beyond Des Cases: The Solution To The Causation Dilemma In Lead Paint Litigation?, Donald G. Gifford, Paolo Pasicolan
Faculty Scholarship
Over 300,000 young children in America—disproportionately poor and children of color—suffer from childhood lead poisoning. This disease ordinarily is caused by the deterioration of lead paint into flakes, chips, and dust that children ingest or inhale. Victims of childhood lead poisoning have tried to sue manufacturers of lead paint or lead pigment, but they face a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Traditional tort law requires a plaintiff to prove that a specific tortfeasor caused the harm. This is almost impossible in the lead paint context because the paint that caused the harm usually consists of many layers, applied over the course of …
Coattail Class Actions: Reflections On Microsoft, Tobacco, And The Mixing Of Public And Private Lawyering In Mass Litigation , Howard M. Erichson
Coattail Class Actions: Reflections On Microsoft, Tobacco, And The Mixing Of Public And Private Lawyering In Mass Litigation , Howard M. Erichson
Faculty Scholarship
Ask anyone who follows legal news to name the two biggest litigation news stories in the United States at the start of the twenty-first century, and they will answer without blinking: Microsoft and tobacco. The Microsoft litigation, they will tell you, claims a place in the pantheon of antitrust landmarks that includes Standard Oil, Alcoa, and AT&T. The tobacco litigation is the most massive in a string of mass torts including asbestos, Dalkon Shield, and breast implants; it is arguably the most important public health matter ever litigated. Microsoft and tobacco each fit so well and so interestingly in their …
The Draft Ali Product Liability Proposals: Progress Or Anachronism?, Oscar S. Gray
The Draft Ali Product Liability Proposals: Progress Or Anachronism?, Oscar S. Gray
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
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 …
The Anatomy Of Products Liability In Minnesota: The Theories Of Recovery, Michael K. Steenson
The Anatomy Of Products Liability In Minnesota: The Theories Of Recovery, Michael K. Steenson
Faculty Scholarship
The law of products Iiability has undergone a dramatic evolution since MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co. As a result of this rapid development, substantial uncertainty as to the scope of liability of product manufacturers and sellers exists. The purpose of this Article is to eliminate some of that confusion. After tracing the history and development of the law of products liability in Minnesota, the author discusses the various elements and standards of strict Iiability. Finally, the author proposes several jury instructions that help clarify the relationship between strict liability and negligence. Throughout the Article, Minnesota is used as a model …
Misrepresentation - Part I, Fleming James, Oscar S. Gray
Misrepresentation - Part I, Fleming James, Oscar S. Gray
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
An Obvious Wrong Does Not Make A Right: Manufacturers’ Liability For Patently Dangerous Products, Patricia Marschall
An Obvious Wrong Does Not Make A Right: Manufacturers’ Liability For Patently Dangerous Products, Patricia Marschall
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.