Civil Law Commons^™

Opioid Settlements And Profitable Public Nuisances, Clayton J. Masterman

Touro Law Review

The global settlements between state and local governments and opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers require opioid defendants to transform their businesses and pay more than $40 billion to abate the ongoing opioid epidemic. The $40 billion in abatement funds is a substantial pool of money that is likely to help states combat opioid use and abuse. Large as the payments are, however, they are significantly smaller than the profits that the opioid defendants made over the course of the epidemic or the total harm that they caused. This Article argues that the global opioid settlements incentivize future defendants to create …

Enhancing The Uniform Partition Of Heirs Property Act: The Need For Broader Use And Essential Modifications, Donna Arzanipour

Touro Law Review

The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (“UPHPA”) seeks to address complex and inequitable conflicts that arise when partitioning heirs property. This Note explores the legislative history of the UPHPA, along with the legal and societal significance of the UPHPA, which provides mechanisms to prevent forced sales of family-owned property. Through a comparative analysis of states that have adopted their versions of the UPHPA, this Note considers the law’s potential to protect family land, reduce the risk of displacement, and promote longterm economic stability for communities, especially those in rural and minority populations. While recommending that all states should adopt …

Reputation Reconsidered, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

Reputation has a great reputation. We know this because the law values, venerates, and subsidizes reputation in many ways. Contract law relies on it as a means of disciplining the market without the need for intrusive regulation. Defamation law lets individuals and businesses seek relief when their reputations are sullied. Trademark law grants exclusive rights in order to encourage rightsholders to invest in their reputations. In these fields and others, the law views reputation as an important, socially positive good.

This faith in the integrity and value of reputation is unwarranted. Our impression of any given business is subject to …

Space For The Departed: Burial, Land Scarcity, And Bone-Ash Apartments In China, Xinyi Wu

Pitzer Senior Theses

The rise of bone ash apartments in China reflects a layered response to urban land scarcity, shifting funeral policies, and real estate speculation. As the state mandates cremation and restricts private cemetery development, traditional burial customs are increasingly reshaped by spatial limitations, economic pressures, and political regulation.

For some families, bone ash apartments function as modern ancestral halls—domestic spaces for remembrance and ritual continuity. For others, they represent a pragmatic investment strategy, offering long-term storage of ashes within assets that retain market value.

This thesis examines how urban planning, state funeral policy, real estate dynamics, and the disintegration of neighborhood …

Chronically Online: Apportioning Liability In Social Media Litigation Based On User Engagement, Rebecca Vangelos

Fordham Law Review

The average American teenager spends nearly five hours on social media every day. This result is by design: social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok deploy persuasive technologies—including infinite scroll, personalized content recommendation feeds, and dark patterns—to capture and retain teen attention. These intentional design features exploit adolescent vulnerabilities to foster social media dependency. Accordingly, a growing body of scientific evidence links the extensive use of social media to the teen mental health crisis in the United States.

Despite these negative effects, social media companies have largely evaded accountability for the harm they have caused to teens. Recent lawsuits …

Unveiling Trauma And Seeking Justice: Exploring Mass Atrocities Against Tamils Through The Lens Of Religion, Culture, And Global Justice, Arrabe Vigneswaran

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper examines the mass atrocities committed against the Tamil population in Sri Lanka, analyzing them through the interconnected lenses of religion, culture, and global justice. It explores how Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism, codified through legal and constitutional mechanisms such as the Sinhala Only Act and state-sponsored cultural erasure, facilitated the systemic marginalization, displacement, and dehumanization of Tamils. The study investigates the legal, political, and cultural underpinnings of these acts ranging from war crimes and ethnic cleansing to potential genocide while assessing the reluctance of both domestic and international actors to enforce meaningful accountability. Drawing on hybrid court models, transitional justice theories, …

Blouin V. Koster, 319 A.3d 654 (R.I. 2024), Drew A. Mondi

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Preserve At Boulder Hills, Llc V. Kenyon, 312 A.3d 475 (2024), Maximilian Schapfel

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Response: Diagonal Representation, Alma Magaña

Articles

A lot has been written about the crisis of indigent defense and the plethora of factors that have led to the crisis, like the lack of guidance on how indigent defense providers can most efficiently distribute their insufficient resources. This lack of guidance has left jurisdictions across the country to their own devices, resulting in a national landscape of very different models, each with its own variations of the same problems plaguing indigent defense.

Intuitions In Tort Law And Theory, James A. Macleod

Articles

This Essay highlights the many ways that ordinary conceptual and moral intuitions shape the development of tort law. It further argues that, for a range of doctrinal and institutional reasons, such intuitions deserve a central place in tort theorists’ efforts to explain, predict, justify, and reform the law of torts. Finally, given the stakes for both positive and normative tort theory, the Essay emphasizes the need for more systematic empirical research into the content and operation of people’s tort-relevant intuitions.

Pengakuan Hak Masyarakat Adat Dalam Hukum Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Alam: Studi Perbandingan Indonesia–Australia, Farid Al Hadana, Sukarman Sukarman, Farhan Margono, Hamzah Hamzah

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Meskipun terdapat pengakuan konstitusional di Indonesia dan Australia, hak-hak masyarakat adat dalam tata kelola sumber daya alam masih lemah perlindungannya, terutama karena kerangka kerja Indonesia yang terfragmentasi dan tersentralisasi gagal mewujudkan keadilan lingkungan. Makalah ini membandingkan rezim hukum Indonesia dan Australia terkait tata kelola lahan dan sumber daya masyarakat adat untuk mengidentifikasi bagaimana pengakuan dapat diubah menjadi hak yang dapat ditegakkan dan untuk merumuskan model reformasi yang berorientasi pada keadilan bagi Indonesia. Dengan menggunakan analisis hukum komparatif kualitatif, makalah ini menggabungkan observasi doktrinal terhadap yurisprudensi konstitusional, peraturan-undangan, dan yurisprudensi dengan pemeriksaan dokumen kebijakan dan konflik ilustratif yang melibatkan wilayah masyarakat …

Digital Constitutionalism: Resistensi Kebebasan Berpendapat Di Indonesia Dalam Hegemoni Algoritma Ruang Digital, Yuniar Prehatini, Linda Noviana Mita Devi

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Era digital membawa transformasi dalam segala aspek kehidupan. Perkembangan teknologi menghadirkan perkembangan zaman pada sisi positif dan negatif dimana penggunaan ruang digital yang dapat diakses tanpa batasan wilayah. Kebebasan diartikan melalui teknologi dengan adanya akses ruang digital memberikan kemudahan akses kepada siapa pun. Melalui algoritma digital, segala hal baik dari aspek budaya, politik, maupun ekonomi dapat diketahui sehingga hal ini juga dapat menimbulkan keresahan apabila tidak diatur batasan akan keberadaannya. Penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian normatif yang fokus pada analisis terhadap norma, asas, doktrin, dan teori hukum yang berkaitan dengan perlindungan hak asasi manusia di ruang digital. Hasil penulisan ini menunjukkan …

Analisis Demokrasi Pada Pengisian Jabatan Gubernur Dan Wakil Gubernur Di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Akbar Ardya Putra, Rosita Candrakirana, Andina Elok Puri Maharani

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The aim of this research is to analyze the implementation of democracy in the process of filling the governor and deputy governor positions in the Yogyakarta Special Region. This is regulated in the Special Areas Act No. 13/2012. The Act stipulates that the candidates for governor can only be the descendants of the Yogyakarta Sultanate and the candidates for deputy governor can be the descendants of the Duchy of Pakualaman. Following these provisions, there are differences between the special region of Yogyakarta and other regions using general elections to fill regional heads. The results of the study show that the …

Analisis Klausula Choice Of Forum Dalam Kontrak Standar E-Commerce Di Indonesia: Kajian Berdasarkan Perspektif Perlindungan Konsumen, Sarping Saputra

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

This research discusses choice of forum clauses in standard contracts on the five largest e-commerce platforms in Indonesia, namely Shopee, Tokopedia, Lazada, Bukalapak, and Blibli. The clause stipulates the mechanism and location of dispute resolution that automatically binds consumers when using the platform. In practice, these clauses tend to burden consumers, especially regarding access to fair dispute resolution. This research focuses on the compatibility of the choice of forum clause with the principles of consumer protection regulated in the Consumer Protection Law (UUPK). The results reveal that most e-commerce platforms use exclusive forms of choice of forum clauses, such as …

Ius Constituendum Pengaturan Ambang Batas Parlemen Berdasarkan Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 116/Puu-Xxi/2023, Arsyianti Mega Nanda, Erland Ferdinansyah

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Pemilu merupakan wujud pelaksanaan kedaulatan rakyat di Indonesia yang menganut sistem presidensial dan multipartai. Namun, banyaknya partai memicu instabilitas koalisi dan melemahkan dukungan terhadap presiden. Untuk mengatasi hal ini diterapkan ambang batas parlemen (Parliamentary Threshold). Putusan MK No. 116/PUU-XXI/2023 menyatakan ambang batas 4% konstitusional untuk Pemilu 2024, namun inkonstitusional untuk Pemilu selanjutnya. Putusan ini menegaskan perlunya ambang batas baru yang tidak hanya menyederhanakan sistem kepartaian, tetapi juga menjamin keadilan suara dan proporsionalitas sesuai prinsip kedaulatan rakyat. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode yuridis normatif dengan pendekatan kualitatif-deskriptif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui studi kepustakaan. Kerangka teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini meliputi teori …

Dekolonisasi Hukum Perdata Indonesia: Kritik Terhadap Warisan Kolonial Dan Implikasinya Terhadap Pembangunan Hukum Berkeadilan, R. Mustar Lofi

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Hukum perdata Indonesia hingga kini masih berada di bawah bayang-bayang warisan kolonial, terutama melalui keberlakuan Burgerlijk Wetboek (BW) 1848 yang diwarisi dari Belanda. Meskipun berbagai peraturan baru telah diundangkan, fondasi utama hukum perdata belum sepenuhnya lepas dari struktur, nilai, dan cara pandang kolonial. Artikel ini mengkaji secara kritis bagaimana dominasi hukum kolonial masih berpengaruh dalam pembentukan dan penegakan hukum perdata di Indonesia, serta mengapa dekolonisasi menjadi penting dalam pembangunan sistem hukum yang berkeadilan. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan yuridis-normatif dan analisis interdisipliner dari perspektif sosiologis hukum dan filsafat hukum, tulisan ini menelusuri bagaimana warisan hukum kolonial menciptakan ketimpangan, terutama dalam hal akses …

Fifty Years Of Protecting The Surviving Spouse: The Origin And Evolution Of Florida's Elective Share, Flavia Argamasilla

FIU Law Review

Currently, Florida’s elective share framework calculates the amount a surviving spouse is entitled to based on a decedent’s “elective estate.” Although this “elective estate” represents a significant improvement from previous law, where a decedent was free to completely disinherit a surviving spouse, issues still loom regarding the fairness of the framework. Granting a surviving spouse a fixed share of 30 percent of the decedent’s “elective estate” regardless of the length of the marriage can lead to inequitable outcomes. For instance, a surviving spouse who was married to the decedent for any period of time, one month even, can elect to …

Court Forms And Court Reforms: Pro Se Litigants And The Limited Success Of Standardized Family Court Forms, Caroline Rogus

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The first step in any civil lawsuit, long before a court will contemplate awarding relief, is initiating the court matter: a plaintiff must always start by effectively pleading their case. The court system rests upon the presumption that an attorney will create and file the requisite court documents—including complaints, answers, and motions—on behalf of their client. The reality, however, is that an extraordinarily high number of litigants do not have legal representation and must therefore proceed pro se and submit these documents on their own. Most jurisdictions offer pro se litigants standardized, fillable court forms. These forms are intended to …

Beyond The Bench: Historical Injustices And Future Pathways For Florida’S Family Court, David J. Blum

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines systemic inequities in Florida’s family law system, focusing on how legal doctrines, discretionary practices, and enforcement patterns disadvantage unwed and noncustodial fathers. Drawing on statutory analysis, case law, empirical studies, and psychological research, it evaluates several reforms designed to promote fairness while protecting child welfare. These include mandatory paternity testing at birth, a rebuttable presumption of equal custody, stronger enforcement of visitation orders, equitable tax restructuring, and improved training for legal professionals. Current Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP) procedures often create binding obligations without confirming biological parentage, resulting in long-term emotional, legal, and financial consequences. Research shows …

Everything New Is Old Again: The Coming Metaverse, Platforms As Premises, And Addressing Harms That Occur Behind The Veil Of Scale, Lara Putnam, Jena Martin

Faculty Articles

Increasingly, social media companies have engaged in the creation, development, and deployment of "worlds" within a virtual reality setting, leading to significant interactions among users within these engineered spaces. However, this expansion has also been accompanied by harms. While some harms are unique to immersive reality technology, many mirror harms that occur in the analog environment, including fraud, theft, verbal abuse, and child sexual exploitation. Others replicate harms that have already exploded in non-immersive online spaces, including image-based sexual exploitation, cyberstalking, and invasion of privacy. Unfortunately, the architecture and infrastructure of these spaces has created what we coin here to …

Brief Of Amici Curiae In Support Of Reversal On Question One, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

The Fourth Circuit’s decision to impose contributory liability Cox Communications, Inc. rests on a fundamental misapprehension of Cox’s role as a “conduit” Internet Service Provider. Conduits merely transmit data between endpoints; unlike content-hosting platforms like YouTube or search engines like Google, conduits do not store, curate, or control user content. They merely transmit data on behalf of third parties, and they have no ability to monitor the data they transmit. By treating Cox’s passive provision of Internet access and data transmission as a knowing, material contribution to infringement, the Fourth Circuit collapsed the crucial legal distinction between conduits and hosts, …

Custom And Adjudication In International Law Through The Civil Law Tradition In Colombia, Juan Felipe Silva Bustamante

LL.M. Essays & Theses

International Law has often been described as a decentralized domain, in the sense that the authority to create the law doesn’t derive from a sole center of power. This is especially true in the context of normative production through Customary International Law. Multiple and disaggregated expressions of state practice and opinio iuris come together in the formation of custom, and a variety of actors, which authority is often contested, including international organizations and tribunals, play a major role in identifying the rules of customary law.

One could also speak of decentralization, or at least of non-systematization, in the domain of …

Consequences Of Artificial Intelligence In Health Insurance: Lawsuits, Policy, And Ethics, Alyssa N. Roberts

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In recent years, the healthcare system has been burdened by a multitude of obstacles that hinder the ability to provide effective, affordable, and timely care. Among these, one of the most significant challenges is the role that health insurance plays in shaping the quality of care. Health insurance companies are designed to decrease financial strain on patients, but they have introduced inefficiencies through delayed coverage approvals, increased denials, and administrative costs. Artificial intelligence (AI) has started to play an integral role in resolving these issues for the health insurance industry. Through its quick automated claim processing, fraud screening, and reduced …

Effects Of Actualized Language Policy On Ukrainian Stability, 1989-2022, Dawn Hersey

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation seeks to generate a new perspective of the complicated relationship between actualized policy and stability through looking at Ukraine’s language policies and stability in a mixed manner approach that includes both primary and secondary sources. Russia justified its irridentist activities through claiming to protect Russian nationals within Ukraine’s borders: language policies within Ukraine appear to be a trigger for Russian antagonism. Neither Russian irridentism nor Ukrainian nationalism are being considered as right or wrong in this dissertation: the intent is to highlight trends, patterns, and perceptions in alignment with Ukrainian language policy. This dissertation does not present a …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Corporate Scenarios: Drawing Lessons From History, Madison Condon

Seattle University Law Review

As corporations are increasingly pressed to reveal information about their exposure to climate-related risks, they are often asked to undertake and disclose the outcome of “scenario analysis.” In this exercise, corporations, including financial institutions, examine how their business would fare under different pathways the future may take. One oft-used scenario, for example, is the International Energy Agency’s “Net-Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Energy Sector.” This Essay presents a history of the use of scenarios as a corporate planning tool, particularly in the oil industry, arguing that it is key for understanding our present moment and the role of …

Shareholder Expression In A Time Of Heightened Political Tension, Aaron A. Dhir

Seattle University Law Review

In this article, I provide context for my forthcoming research project on shareholder proposals and racial equity audits. Since the murder of George Floyd in May of 2020, progressive shareholder actors have increasingly used the proposal mechanism to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice-related goals. These proposals have frequently gone beyond requesting the usual corporate fare of diversity trainings, intersectionality workshops, affinity groups, etc. Instead, a more ambitious type of proposal asks corporate America to conduct racial equity audits, defined as “an independent, objective and holistic analysis of a company’s policies, practices, products, services and efforts to combat systemic racism …

Corporate Governance Speech, Sarah C. Haan

Seattle University Law Review

The State has always regulated the intra-firm communications that make corporate governance possible, most commonly by mandating disclosures of information by a corporation to its shareholders. Some such laws are labeled “securities regulation,” but securities regulation is a broad category that extends to speech by actors who are outside the corporate enterprise as well. Also, the conventional securities regulation category does not capture all such laws; other examples, including informationforcing mandates, can be found in state corporate law. This Article uses the term “corporate governance speech” to describe the communications among shareholders, directors, and officers through which corporate governance is …

Dark Accounting Matter, Colleen Honigsberg

Seattle University Law Review

Physicists calculate that approximately 85% of the matter in the universe is composed of “dark matter” that “does not absorb, reflect, or emit electromagnetic radiation and is therefore difficult to detect.” The S&P 500 currently trades at a price-to-book value of 4.2, suggesting that book value accounts for less than 20% of the S&P 500’s market value. The remaining 80% appears nowhere in these firms’ balance sheets—it is invisible to contemporary accounting techniques and constitutes “dark accounting matter.”

Some “dark accounting matter” is composed of factors commonly described as components of “ESG.” Human capital, for example, is an intangible asset …