Law Commons^™

Protection Of Shipowners’ Liability Under United States Law And Marine Insurance Practice, Izak Stephanus Fourie

LLM Theses and Essays

Shipowners are exposed to a variety of risks that are, to a large extent, unique to maritime business. Because of factors like the recent increase in the size and value of ships, increase in marine traffic, enactment of legislation imposing new liabilities, and the tendency of courts to make huge awards to personal injury and death claims, shipowners are exposed to potential losses or claims worth millions of dollars in the event of disaster. These heavy risks led to the establishment of the marine insurance industry, as well as the enactment of legislation that limits shipowners’ liability. This legislation was …

On Sugarman On Tort-Chopping, Oscar S. Gray

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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 …

No Risk Allocation Need Apply: The Twisted Minnesota Law Of Indemnification, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

Minnesota's law on indemnification agreements is the most restrictive in the country. To provide a basis for understanding the law's restrictions, this Article begins with an analysis of the rationale and functions of indemnification agreements. The Article then reviews the hostility of both the common and statutory law to indemnification agreements and argues that opponents of indemnification have acted without convincing reasons or supporting evidence in substituting government rules for private decision-making.

“Oil, Gas, And Other Minerals” Clauses In Texas: Who’S On First?, Laura H. Burney

Faculty Articles

Stability and certainty of land titles encourages development of mineral resources and means individuals need not resort to judiciary for interpretation. Unfortunately, uncertainty prevails because Texas courts complicate the interpretive process and frequently need the assistance of nonlegal sources for comparison, explanation, and enlightenment. Clarity demands that courts adopt a definition of the “ordinary and natural meaning” test similar to that proposed by Dean Eugene Kuntz; burying the surface destruction test by retroactively applying the former.

The surface destruction test produced a title examiner’s nightmare. Despite the Texas Supreme Court’s determination to rectify this in Moser v. United Steel Corp. …

Strict Liability For Chattel Leasing, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Leasing has become an increasingly popular substitute for outright purchases as a means of acquiring products for use. Few courts and commentators, however, have addressed the question of whether the principles of strict products liability which apply to sellers also apply to lessors. In this Article, Professor Ausness reviews the historical basis for imposing strict liability in tort on sellers and applies these rationales to five basic kinds of lease transactions. He concludes that strict liability should not apply when a product defect arises after the leased product is placed in the hands of the lessee (as contrasted with the …