Law Commons^™

Attribution Of Liability For Workplace Injuries Caused By Non-Employees- Recent Developments In The Law Of Non-Delegable Duty, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

What I do in this paper is to open up in a fairly preliminary way an area of the law relating to attribution of liability that, while it has been around for a long time, I think is increasingly being misunderstood by scholars and the courts. I will mostly focus on the application of this principle in relation to workplace injuries, partly because that constitutes a significant area of its past and present application.

Exposing Judges' Unaccountability And Consequent Riskless Wrongdoing: Pioneering The News And Publishing Field Of Judicial Unaccountability Reporting, Dr. Richard Cordero Esq.

Dr. Richard Cordero Esq.

This study analyzes official statistics of the Federal Judiciary, legal provisions, and other publicly filed documents. It discusses how federal judges’ life-appointment; de facto unimpeachability and irremovability; self-immunization from discipline through abuse of the Judiciary’s statutory self-policing authority; abuse of its vast Information Technology resources to interfere with their complainants’ communications; the secrecy in which they cover their adjudicative, administrative, disciplinary, and policy-making acts; and third parties’ fear of their individual and close rank retaliation render judges unaccountable. Their unaccountability makes their abuse of power riskless; the enormous amount of the most insidious corruptor over which they rule, money!, …

Exposing Judges' Unaccountability And Consequent Riskless Wrongdoing: Pioneering The News And Publishing Field Of Judicial Unaccountability Reporting, Dr. Richard Cordero Esq.

Dr. Richard Cordero Esq.

This study analyzes official statistics of the Federal Judiciary, legal provisions, and other publicly filed documents. It discusses how federal judges’ life-appointment; de facto unimpeachability and irremovability; self-immunization from discipline through abuse of the Judiciary’s statutory self-policing authority; abuse of its vast Information Technology resources to interfere with their complainants’ communications; the secrecy in which they cover their adjudicative, administrative, disciplinary, and policy-making acts; and third parties’ fear of their individual and close rank retaliation render judges unaccountable. Their unaccountability makes their abuse of power riskless; the enormous amount of the most insidious corruptor over which they rule, money!, …

Exposing Judges' Unaccountability And Consequent Riskless Wrongdoing: Pioneering The News And Publishing Field Of Judicial Unaccountability Reporting, Dr. Richard Cordero Esq.

Dr. Richard Cordero Esq.

This study analyzes official statistics of the Federal Judiciary, legal provisions, and other publicly filed documents. It discusses how federal judges’ life-appointment; de facto unimpeachability and irremovability; self-immunization from discipline through abuse of the Judiciary’s statutory self-policing authority; abuse of its vast Information Technology resources to interfere with their complainants’ communications; the secrecy in which they cover their adjudicative, administrative, disciplinary, and policy-making acts; and third parties’ fear of their individual and close rank retaliation render judges unaccountable. Their unaccountability makes their abuse of power riskless; the enormous amount of the most insidious corruptor over which they rule, money!, …

The Quest For The Next ‘Solvent Bystander’ In Asbestos Litigation: Will Texas Resume The Search?, Richard O. Faulk

Richard Faulk

Questions abound regarding the Bostic v. Georgia Pacific case. Is Texas preparing to resume the “endless search” for the next “solvent bystander?” Is the Texas Supreme Court considering a departure not only from Flores, but also from decades of settled Texas law regarding causation in tort cases? Hopefully, the memory of the disastrous and wasteful “cold war” of asbestos litigation will persist and rational common-law limits will not be sacrificed to resurrect a demonstrably abusive system.

Commento Agli Artt. 94 E 95-Bis Testo Unico Della Finanza, Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.

Schultz V. Akzo Nobel Paints: “The Rest Of The Story” Reveals Limited Impact Of Expert Testimony Decision, Richard O. Faulk

Richard Faulk

Certainly, a number of lawyers from both sides of the bar believe that the Schultz decision is important. A review of the record in Schultz, however, reveals a relatively easy explanation for the decision—one that undermines its value as precedent. To understand why this is so, we must go back to the district court’s decision to grant Akzo Nobel’s motion for summary judgment and, with apologies to Paul Harvey, appreciate the “rest of the story.”

Toxic Causation, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

Recurring Misses, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

Examines the relationship between evidentiary uncertainty and substantive rules. Problems on toxic tort cases; Ideas on probabilistic recovery; Arguments against the use of supercompensatory damages for deterrence.

The Market In Unmatured Tort Claims: Twenty-Five Years Later, Stephen G. Marks

Stephen G Marks

Twenty-five years ago, in 1989, Professor Robert Cooter, writing in the Virginia Law Review, proposed changes in the law that would facilitate the development of a market in unmatured tort claims. On this twenty-fifth anniversary of this groundbreaking paper, it is fitting to reexamine this proposal, speculate on why it has not been adopted, and to explore whether revisions in the proposal might lead to greater legislative acceptance. In this paper I reexamine the proposal as to its likely intended and unintended effects. This article argues that, for such a market in unmatured tort claims to work, three modifications must …

It’S A Mistake: Insurer Cost Cutting, Insurer Liability And The Lack Of Erisa Preemption Within The Individual Exchanges, Christopher R. Smith

Christopher R Smith

Within the new individual health insurance exchanges, ERISA preemption is inapplicable to State tort claims against individual exchange insurers, framing the question of whether or not individual exchange insurers, like employment-based insurers, should be protected from State tort liability. While there should be concern for an insurer’s ability to effectively manage costs and eliminate waste, beneficiaries should also have some sort of remedy against their insurer, when insurer cost cutting results in beneficiary harm. To balance the competing interests, a no-fault liability system should be adopted providing both limited liability for individual exchange insurers and preservation of injured beneficiaries’ remedies.

The Issue Is Being Intersex: The Current Standard Of Care Is A Result Of Ignorance, And It Is Amazing What A Little Analysis Can Conclude., Marla J. Ferguson

marla j ferguson

The Constitution was written to protect and empower all citizens of the United States, including those who are born with Disorders of Sex Development. The medical community, as a whole, is not equipped with the knowledge required to adequately diagnose or treat intersex babies. Intersex simply means that the baby is born with both male and female genitalia. The current method that doctors follow is to choose a sex to assign the baby, and preform irreversible surgery on them without informed consent. Ultimately the intersex babies are mutilated and robbed of many of their fundamental rights; most notably, the right …

A Paralyzed Environmental Law: Critical Comments On Compensation For Environmental Damage In Indonesia, Andri Gunawan Wibisana

Andri Gunawan Wibisana

This article criticizes compensation mechanisms for the victims of environmental disaster in Indonesia. In particular, it attempts to answer the questions of how compensation mechanism is addressed in Indonesian environmental law, how the victims of environmental disasters are compensated, and what lessons can be learned from the application of law in practice. This article begins with discussions about the current Indonesian compensation system for damage resulting from pollution, focusing on the provisions in environmental management acts. In order to explain how these provisions have been applied in practice, this article discusses two major environmental disasters in Indonesia, i.e. the Mandalawangi …

Introductory Remarks: Explaining Tort Law, Michael S. Green

Michael S. Green

No abstract provided.

A Somewhat Modest Proposal To Prevent Adultery And Save Families: Two Old Torts Looking For A New Career, William R. Corbett

William R. Corbett

No abstract provided.

Mancato Pagamento Di Rate Di Mutuo E Segnalazione Legittima In Centrale Rischi, Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.

Faragher, Ellerth, And The Federal Law Of Vicarious Liability For Sexual Harassment By Supervisors: Something Lost, Something Gained, And Something To Guard Against, William Corbett

William R. Corbett

In this Essay, the author faces his nightmare exam question: he must define "sexual harassment" to the satisfaction of several potential graders with different perspectives on sexual harassment law. His valiant effort to justify his response leads him to a discussion of the federal law of vicarious liability for sexual harassment by supervisors after the Supreme Court's recent rejection of tort law respondeat superior analysis for such claims under Title VII. The author argues that, while the rejection of the tort standard for vicarious liability in Title VII claims removes the longstanding connection between Title VII law and state tort …

Valuing Mom & Dad: Calculating Loss Of Parental Nurture In A Wrongful Death Action, Andrew J. Laurila

Andrew J. Laurila

No abstract provided.

The Tort Foundation Of Duty Of Care And Business Judgment, Robert J. Rhee

Robert Rhee

This Article corrects a misconception in corporation law – the belief that principles of tort law do not apply to the liability scheme of fiduciary duty. A board’s duty of care implies exposure to liability, but the business judgment rule precludes it. Tort law finds fault; corporation law excuses it. The conventional wisdom says that the tort analogy fails. This dismissal of tort prinicples is wrong. Although shareholder derivative suits and ordinary tort cases properly yield systemically antipodal outcomes, they are bound by a common analytical framework. The principles of board liability are rooted in tort doctrines governing duty, customs, …

R2dford: Autonomous Vehicles And The Legal Implications Of Varying Liability Structures, Alexander P. Herd

Alexander P Herd

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, traffic accidents will be the fifth leading cause of death in the world. Thus when Google announced that it had designed an autonomous car which could reduce traffic accidents by as much as ninety percent, there was cause for excitement. Some states have already started legislation to permit the use of autonomous cars in anticipation of the release later this decade. Courts and lawmakers need to consider who will be liable when the car that drives itself crashes. Standards used in aviation and naval cases regarding auto-pilot can be applied to the …

Rescuing Access To Patented Essential Medicines: Pharmaceutical Companies As Tortfeasors Under The Prevented Rescue Tort Theory, Richard Cameron Gower

Richard Cameron Gower

Despite some difficulties, state tort law can be argued to create a unique exception to patent law. Specifically, the prevented rescue doctrine suggests that charities and others can circumvent patents on certain critical medications when such actions are necessary to save individuals from death or serious harm. Although this Article finds that the prevented rescue tort doctrines is preempted by federal patent law, all hope is not lost. A federal substantive due process claim may be brought that uses the common law to demonstrate a fundamental right that has long been protected by our Nation’s legal traditions. Moreover, this Article …

The Surveillance Society And The Third-Party Privacy Problem, Shaun Spencer

Shaun Spencer

This article examines a question that has become increasingly important in the emerging surveillance society: should the law treat information as private even though others know about it? This is the third-party privacy problem. Part I explores two competing conceptions of privacy: the binary and contextual conceptions. Part II describes two features of the emerging surveillance society that should change the way we address the third-party privacy problem. One feature, “surveillance on demand,” results from exponential increases in data collection and aggregation. The other feature, “uploaded lives,” reflects a revolution in the type and amount of information that we share …

Sue My Car Not Me: Products Liability And Accidents Involving Autonomous Vehicles, Jeffrey K. Gurney

Jeffrey K Gurney

Autonomous vehicles will revolutionize society within the decade. They will cause accidents. Tort liability, however, is not ready for the introduction of autonomous vehicles, and, thus, liability will not be assessed to the party that is responsible for the accident. This Note addresses the liability of autonomous vehicle by examining products liability through the use of four scenarios: the Distracted Driver; the Diminished Capabilities Driver; the Disabled Driver; and the Attentive Driver.

Based on those scenarios, this Note argues that the autonomous technology manufacturer should be liable for accidents while the vehicle is in autonomous mode. This Note suggests that …

Segnalazioni Alla Centrale Dei Rischi E Questioni Di Responsabilità Civile, Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.

Too Much Process, Not Enough Service: International Service Of Process Under The Hague Service Convention, Eric Porterfield

Eric Porterfield

Service of process under the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (“Hague Service Convention”) is too costly, time consuming, and unreliable. The Hague Service Convention’s defining feature – the Central Authority system – adds unwarranted expense and delay to the already expensive and protracted process of civil litigation. Worse, however, is the fact that the Central Authority completely fails to effect service on a foreign party in a significant percentage of cases. For decades, courts and commentators have argued over whether the Hague Service Convention actually permits litigants to sidestep the …

Debating Law's Irrelevance: Legal Scholarship And The Coase Theorem In The 1960s, Steven G. Medema

Steven G Medema

The paper examines the treatment of the Coase theorem by legal scholars during the 1960s. The analysis demonstrates that it was legal scholars, rather than economists, who took the lead in applying Coase's negotiation result in the legal realm and that the early diffusion of Coase's result in the legal literature is anything but a "Chicago" story. We also observe that legal scholars were interesting in examining the applicability of Coase's result across a wide range of legal issues and, in contrast to economists, who were preoccupied with the efficiency predication of Coase's result, tended to focus on Coase's invariance …

Doomed Steamers And Merged Fires: The Problem Of Preempted Innocent Threats In Torts, Anthony M. Dillof

Anthony M. Dillof

This article addresses a classic question of tort theory: When a court assesses damages in a negligence action, it is relevant that the defendant’s negligence prevented the plaintiff from suffering a harm? For example, imagine that defendant Taxi Driver negligently crashes his taxi thereby injuring plaintiff Passenger. Is it relevant that because of the accident, Passenger did not reach the ocean liner he had been planning to sail on and, as a result, his life was saved because, as it turns out, the ocean liner sank, killing everyone aboard? Though this question has been recognized and addressed for almost a …

Employment Law And Social Equality, Samuel R. Bagenstos

Samuel R Bagenstos

What is the normative justification for individual employment law? For a number of legal scholars, the answer is economic efficiency. Other scholars argue, to the contrary, that employment law protects against (vaguely defined) imbalances of bargaining power and exploitation. Against both of these positions, this paper argues that individual employment law is best understood as advancing a particular conception of equality. That conception, which many legal and political theorists have called social equality, focuses on eliminating hierarchies of social status. Drawing on the author’s work elaborating the justification for employment discrimination law, this paper argues that individual employment law is …

The Risky Interplay Of Tort And Criminal Law: Punitive Damages, Daniel M. Braun

Daniel M Braun

The rise of modern mass tort litigation in the U.S. has transformed punitive damages into something of a “hot button” issue. Since the size of punitive damage awards grew so dramatically in the past half century, this private law remedy has begun to involve issues of constitutional rights that traditionally pertained to criminal proceedings. This has created a risky interplay between tort and criminal law, and courts have thus been trying to find ways to properly manage punitive damage awards. The once rapidly expanding universe of punitive damages is therefore beginning to contract. There remain, however, very serious difficulties. Despite …

Unmasking A Pretext For Res Ipsa Loquitur: A Proposal To Let Employment Discrimination Speak For Itself, William Corbett

William R. Corbett

Has too much tort law been incorporated into the case law under the federal employment discrimination statutes? The debate on this issue has been reinvigorated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 131 S. Ct. 1186 (2011). In Staub the Court referred to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, a federal employment discrimination statute, as a “federal tort.” The Court then adopted the tort doctrine of proximate cause as the standard for evaluating subordinate bias (or “cat’s paw”) liability. Staub was not the first case in which the Court has suggested that a federal employment …