Law Commons^™

Take This Job And Shove It: The Pragmatic Philosophy Of Johnny Paycheck And A Prayer For Strict Liability In Appalachia, Eugene "Trey" Moore Iii

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

Abstract forthcoming

Potential Tort Liability For Personal Use Of Drone Aircraft., Benjamin D. Mathews

St. Mary's Law Journal

In the United States, the use of personal drones has become more prevalent. Businesses now use drones to deliver products to consumers. Consumers now use drones to video and photograph special events. As a result, new laws are needed concerning personal usage of drones. The number of drone sales is predicted to double by 2024. This is reflected by companies such as Parrot, a vendor of private drones, who in the first quarter of 2014 sold 670,000 drones. Citizens whose personal liberties have been infringed upon by another individual’s use of personal drones, often resort to common law torts because …

The Growing Influence Of Tort And Property Law On Natural Resources Law: Case Studies Of Coal Bed Methane Development And Geologic Carbon Sequestration, Alexandra B. Klass

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

19 pages.

"Alexandra B. Klass, Associate Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School"

Getting The Sand Out Of The Eyes Of The Law: The Need For A Clear Rule For Sand Suppliers In Texas After Humble Sand & (And) Gravel, Inc. V. Gomez., Victor E. Schwartz, Mark A. Behrens, Andrew W. Crouse

St. Mary's Law Journal

Health risks associated with the inhalation of silica dust have been known for a very long time. In the United States, the American Foundrymen’s Society has distributed literature addressing silica exposure hazards to its members for over 100 years. For years, litigation against industrial sand manufacturers concerning silica exposure was stable, though recently there has been a marked increase in the number lawsuits. While the number of suits continues to climb, the government reports silica-related deaths have declined dramatically. It appears plaintiffs’ attorneys are manufacturing silica claims using the same lawsuit-generating devices developed during the asbestos context. Tort law recognizes …

Juries Under Siege., Phil Hardberger

St. Mary's Law Journal

Beginning in the late 1980s, the Texas Supreme Court saw a slew of conservative judges elected to the bench. With this new Court, previous expansions of the law were stopped. Jury verdicts became highly suspect and were frequently overturned for a variety of reasons. Damages too did not go unnoticed. Juries’ assessments were wiped out by increasingly harsher standards. The ripple effect of the Court’s conservative philosophy on the judicial process was substantial. Jury verdicts, few as they may be, are not subject to harsh scrutiny by conscientious appellate judges sworn to follow the Texas Supreme Court’s precedent. And the …

So Long Sweetheart - State Farm Fire & (And) Casualty Co. V. Gandy Swings The Pendulum Further To The Right As The Latest In A Line Of Setbacks For Texas Plaintiffs., Timothy D. Howell

St. Mary's Law Journal

Some legal commentators would analogize the description of the prisoner of The Pit and the Pendulum to modern tort law and policy. Like a pendulum, tort law is always in motion, swinging between two ideologies: those being the plaintiff-oriented rights of the 1970s-80s, and the tort-reforms which began in the mid-80s. This trend continued until the 1990s and the decision of State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Gandy where Texas plaintiffs began experiencing setbacks. The Gandy decision likely curtails the use of the “sweetheart deal” a practice, in which an insured defendant first settles with the plaintiff, then assigns …

Pyrrhic Victories And Glorious Defeats: Why Defendants Are Winning And Plaintiffs Are Losing The Struggle Over Actual Malice And Fictionalized Quotations., Richard A. Gonzales

St. Mary's Law Journal

This article reviews Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, a case of fabricated quotations. The article looks first at the legal background and Supreme Court's development of the actual malice standard. An analysis of the problem through journalistic ethics and investigation of the difficulties confronting libel plaintiffs will follow. Finally, the comment explores the misquotation problem from both a legal and a journalistic perspective.

Recognizing An Implied Warranty That Professional Services Will Be Performed In A Good And Workmanlike Manner., Mark L. Kincaid

St. Mary's Law Journal

Although the Court received a deluge of amicus curiae briefs after its initial ruling in Melody Home ushering the Court to reevaluate the consequences of its decision, there is no sound basis for excluding professional services from the implied warranty recognized by the Texas Supreme Court that services will be performed in a good and workmanlike manner. The issue of what is properly considered a “professional” service or what definition is to be applied to distinguish “non-professional” and “professional” services if the latter were to be excluded from the implied warranty. Instead of differentiating between “non-professional” and “professional” services in …

Liability Of Parents For Conduct Of Their Child Under Section 33.01 Of The Texas Family Code: Defining The Requisite Standards Of Culpability., L. Wayne Scott

St. Mary's Law Journal

Section 33.01 of the Texas Family Code uses archaic terms and needs to be updated to eliminate confusion. This section provides an expansive statutory avenue for recovering from the parent damages previously unavailable at common law for a child's acts. However, the extent of parental liability under both of the available statutory provisions—negligence and strict liability—is disputable. While section 33.01 currently uses the terms "willful" and "malicious," these terms should be excluded in favor of "intentional" and "grossly negligent conduct." In an age when tort liability is determined more from an insurance theory than a fault theory, section 33.01 of …