Law Commons^™

Pandemic As Transboundary Harm: Lessons From The Trail Smelter Arbitration, Russell A. Miller

Scholarly Articles

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused incalculable harm around the world. The fact that this immense harm can be traced back to a localized outbreak in or near Wuhan, China, raises questions about the responsibility China might bear for the pandemic under public international law. Famously applied in the seminal Trail Smelter Arbitration (1938/1941), the Transboundary Harm Principle provides that no state can use or allow the use of its territory in a manner that causes significant harm in the territory of other states. This article does not intend to tap into the unseemly, xenophobic spirit that animates much of the …

Liability For Unintentional Nuisances: How The Restatement Of Torts Almost Negligently Killed The Right To Exclude In Property Law, Jill M. Fraley

Scholarly Articles

This article argues that nuisance was historically unique in tort law because of its special role in protecting property rights.' In other words, nuisance historically had distinct features addressed to the special situation of land. Most importantly, nuisance protected the right to exclude in a way that no other cause of action did. The Second Restatement's change then diminished our rights to private property to the extent that it has been adopted. The majority of courts retain the more logical and defensible position--that property rights are special and nuisance encompasses something more than the idea of negligence.

When “Disruption” Collides With Accountability: Holding Ridesharing Companies Liable For Acts Of Their Drivers, Alexi Pfeffer-Gillett

Scholarly Articles

When Uber launched in San Francisco in 2010, it took the city by storm. Here was a high-tech transportation service that seemingly did everything better than taxicabs: it was more convenient, more accessible, more comfortable, and even cheaper in many instances. Uber’s initial success inspired a number of lower-cost, nonprofessional “ridesharing” options, which have flourished.

Some skeptics, including taxicab operators, have decried the arrival of these peer-to-peer ridesharing services, now classified by regulators as Transportation Network Companies (TNCs). While such complaints could be easily dismissed as the dying groans of a “disrupted” industry, a string of passenger safety incidents has …

Remedies: A Guide For The Perplexed, Doug Rendleman

Scholarly Articles

Remedies is one of a law student’s most practical courses. Remedies students and their professors learn to work with their eyes on the question at the end of litigation: what can the court do for the successful plaintiff? Remedies develops students’ professional identities and broadens their professional horizons by reorganizing their analysis of procedure, torts, contracts, and property around choosing and measuring relief - compensatory damages, punitive damages, an injunction, specific performance, disgorgement, and restitution. This article discusses the law-school course in Remedies - the content of the Remedies course, the Remedies classroom experience, and Remedies outside the classroom through …

Re-Examining Acts Of God, Jill M. Fraley

Scholarly Articles

For more than three centuries, tort law has included the notion of an act of God as something caused naturally, beyond both man's anticipation and control. Historically, the doctrine applied to extraordinary manifestations of the forces of nature, including floods, earthquakes, blizzards, and hurricanes. Despite the significance of the doctrine, particularly in large-scale disasters, scholars rarely engage the act of God defense critically. However, recently, the doctrine has received more substantial criticism. Denis Binder argued that the doctrine should be repudiated as merely a restatement of existing negligence principles Joel Eagle criticized the doctrine, suggesting that it should not exclude …

Response, The Still-Elusive Quest To Make Sense Of Veil-Piercing, David K. Millon

Scholarly Articles

This paper is an invited comment on Peter Oh's article "Veil-Piercing" published in the Texas Law Review. I make two points. First, I suggest that Oh's exhaustive analysis of the factors cited by courts to justify veil-piercing, like Robert Thompson's before it, does not actually tell us much about what is going on in the cases. For reasons that I explain, the asserted rationales cannot determine the results. Instead, vaguely articulated and poorly understand notions of policy and fairness drive decision making in this area. The law will continue to be obscure and results unpredictable until courts develop a clearer …

The God Paradox, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Scholarly Articles

Not available.

A Cap On The Defendant's Appeal Bond?: Punitive Damages Tort Reform, Doug Rendleman

Scholarly Articles

None available.

Due Process And Punitive Damages: The Error Of Federal Excessiveness Jurisprudence, A. Benjamin Spencer

Scholarly Articles

None available.

Accounting For The Slow Growth Of American Privacy Law, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

Not available.

United States V. Johnson, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

United States V. Shearer, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Atascadero State Hospital V. Scanlon, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

What Types Of Losses Are Recoverable Under Arkansas' Products Liability Law, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

Not available.

Kosak V. United States, Lewis F. Powell Jr

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

The Displacement Of Federal Due Process Claims By State Tort Remedies: Parratt V. Taylor And Logan V. Zimmerman Brush Company, Rodney A. Smolla

Scholarly Articles

None available.

Velde V. National Black Police Association, Inc., Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Mcmillan V. Mcmillan: Choice Of Law In A Sinkhole, Doug Rendleman

Scholarly Articles

Not available

Zacchini V. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co., Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Palmore V. United States, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.