Common Law Commons^™

Manufacturing Consent To Climate Inaction: A Case Study Of The Globe And Mail ’S Pipeline Coverage, Jason Maclean

Dalhousie Law Journal

Canada has long been a climate change policy laggard. Canada is among the world’s poorest-performing countries in terms of climate action—not only is Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions-reduction target under the Paris Agreement insufficiently ambitious, Canada is not even remotely on track to meet it. Canada’s enduring inaction on climate change is legitimized and sustained by its mainstream corporate news media, which contribute to the oil and gas industry’s capture of Canadian climate and energy policy. In this article, I examine how Canada’s leading national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, editorially framed the completion of the controversial expansion of the Trans …

Third-Party Liability Of Directors And Officers: Reconciling Corporate Personality And Personal Responsibility In Tort, Michael Marin

Dalhousie Law Journal

When is a director or of�� cer personally liable in tort to a party who is not the corporation he or she serves? In Canada, there is no clear answer. The law is marked by division both within and between appellate courts, resulting in judgments that are hard to reconcile and verge on arbitrary. This is likely attributable to the mistaken belief that there is a tension between personal liability and corporate personality, as well as the disputed relationship between common law and statutory obligations. To address these challenges, most Canadian courts have followed a threshold corporate law analysis, which …

Reorganizations, Sales, And The Changing Face Of Restructuring In Canada: Quantitative Outcomes Of 2012 And 2013 Ccaa Proceedings, Alfonso Nocilla

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article examines quantitative data on the outcomes of proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), Canada’s principal statute for resolving large, complex corporate insolvencies. In particular, this article compares the durations, direct costs, and returns to different classes of creditors generated by traditional reorganizations under the CCAA and by “liquidating CCAAs”—that is, proceedings in which the insolvent debtor sells substantially all of its assets rather than reorganizing itself. The article makes a number of contributions to the existing scholarship. Firstly, quantitative data on CCAA proceedings are rare. The data examined here, collected by the author from proceedings initiated …

Evaluating Canadian Tax Remission Orders: A Debt Relief Vehicle For Taxpayers, Samuel Singer

Dalhousie Law Journal

Tax remission orders, although rare, serve important functions in the Canadian tax system. This paper draws from a comprehensive study of federal tax remission orders issued between 1998 and 2017. It presents general findings about remission orders in that time period, including remission order applications, their reported costs, and the number of remission orders issued. The paper identifies the five most common categories of reasons cited for granting remission orders. It then applies tax policy analysis to assess the two most frequent reasons for grating remission orders: to provide debt relief for financial hardship and/or extenuating circumstances, and to provide …

Corporate Risk And Climate Impacts To Critical Energy Infrastructure In Canada, Rudiger Tscherning

Dalhousie Law Journal

Recent climate events such as Hurrican Harvey in Texas foreshadow the dangers that could result from critical energy infrastructure failure in Canada due to physical impacts caused by climate change. This article examines the types of climate impacts that could affect critical energy infrastructure in Canada. The article argues that these impacts translate into three types of corporate risk to the owners and operators of the critical asset: economic risks to the infrastructure asset; management and operational risks to the corporation; and risks arising from corporate disclosure obligations. Applying the theoretical approach of "risk management," the article concludes that, on …

Protecting Consumers As Sellers, Jim Hawkins

Indiana Law Journal

When the majority of modern contract and consumer protection laws were written in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, consumers almost always acted as buyers, and businesses almost always acted as sellers. As a result, these laws reflect a model of strong sellers and weak buyers. But paradigms are shifting. Advances in technology and constraints on consumers’ financial lives have pushed consumers into new roles. Consumers today often act as sellers—hawking gold to make ends meet, peddling durable goods on eBay, or offering services in the sharing economy to make a profit. Consumers and business models have changed, but the laws …

Arbitration And The Federal Balance, Alyssa King

Indiana Law Journal

Mandatory arbitration of statutory rights in contracts between parties of unequal bargaining power has drawn political attention at both the federal and state level. The importance of such reforms has only been heightened by the Supreme Court’s expansion of preemption under the FAA and of arbitral authority. This case law creates incentives for courts at all levels to prefer expansive readings of an arbitration clause. As attempts at federal regulation have stalled, state legislatures and regulatory agencies can expect to be subject to renewed focus. If state legislatures cannot easily limit arbitrability, an alternative is to try reforms that seek …

Marshall As A Judge, Robert Post

Fordham Law Review

Marshall is a towering and inspirational figure in the history of American constitutional law. He changed American life forever and unquestionably for the better. But the contemporary significance of Marshall’s legacy is also, in ways that challenge present practices and beliefs, ambiguous.

Brief Of Amici Curiae Employment Law Professors In Support Of Respondents, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This Court should not interpret section 1981 to require proof of but-for causation, given that statute’s text, history, and purpose. Although Comcast invokes the canon of statutory construction that Congress intends statutory terms to have their settled common-law meaning, that canon does not apply here. Section 1981 has no statutory text that reflects a common-law understanding of causation. Indeed, in 1866, when Congress enacted the predecessor to section 1981, there was no well-settled common law of tort at all. Rather, just as courts have read 42 U.S.C. § 1982, which shares common text, history and purpose, this Court should read …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Constitutional General Welfare Doctrine, Gerald S. Dickinson

Cardozo Law Review

It is black-letter law that the U.S. Supreme Court's takings doctrine presupposes exercises of eminent domain are in pursuit of valid public uses that require just compensation. But, neither federal doctrine nor the text of the Takings Clause offers any additional constraints. The story of the Supreme Court's takings jurisprudence is, in other words, incomplete and deserves reexamination. However, the usual protagonists, such as the Supreme Court or federal courts, are not central 'to this Article's reexamination. Instead, this Article's narrative is federalism, its characters are state courts, and its script is state constitutions.

In the post-Kelo v. New London …

A Corporate Duty To Rescue: Biopharmaceutical Companies And Access To Medications, Rebecca E. Wolitz

Indiana Law Journal

Controversies regarding the pricing of biopharmaceutical products are pervasive. Patients must choose between treatment and rent, prescriptions go unfilled, and health systems are forced to restrict access to life-saving medications— all because of cost. Though there is often consensus that these issues are problematic, there is disagreement as to what are appropriate solutions and who has responsibility to bring about those solutions. Most efforts to address biopharmaceutical pricing concerns focus on governmental regulation. This Article has a different focus. It provides a legal and normative analysis of a form of corporate self-regulation that could help address access and pricing concerns—a …

Ordinary Causation: A Study In Experimental Statutory Interpretation, James Macleod

Indiana Law Journal

In a series of recent split decisions interpreting criminal and tort-like legislation, the Supreme Court has purported to give statutory causation requirements their ordinary, plain meaning. Armed with dictionaries, examples from everyday speech, and commonsense intuitions, the Court’s majority has explained that statutory phrases like “because of” and “results from” entail but-for causation as a matter of ordinary usage. There’s just one problem: The Court’s majority (and the many state and federal courts following its lead) is wrong on the facts—specifically, the facts about how people ordinarily interpret, understand, and use causal language.

This Article considers a novel approach to …

Drone Invasion: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles And The Right To Privacy, Rebecca L. Scharf

Indiana Law Journal

Since the birth of the concept of a legally recognized right to privacy in Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis’ influential 1890 law review article, “The Right to Privacy,” common law—with the aid of influential scholars—has massaged the concept of privacy torts into actionable claims. But now, one of the most innovative technological advancements in recent years, the unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, has created difficult challenges for plaintiffs and courts navigating common law privacy tort claims.

This Article explores the challenges of prosecution of the specific privacy tort of intrusion upon seclusion involving nongovernmental use of drone technology. …

Offshore Drilling: Combating Regulatory Uncertainty With Contract Law Protection, Jordan M. Steele

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Offshore drilling accounts for billions of dollars in tax revenue every year. It is a pillar of the energy industry and is crucial to the economy. A recent flurry of deregulation, accelerating with the arrival of the Trump administration, highlights the tremendous impact politics has upon the profitability of this sector. The Secretary of the Interior, under the direction of the President, wields the power to regulate and make determinations into where, when, and how private companies can drill offshore. These private companies have contracts with the government for the opportunity to produce and develop oil or gas on the …

Protecting Users Of Social Media, Margaret Ryznar

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

Social media platforms started as a fun way to connect with friends and family. Since then, they have become a science fiction nightmare due to their capacity to gather and misuse the data on their users.

It is not irrational for social media providers to seek to capitalize on their data when they provide the platforms for free. Indeed, their business model is to sell data to third parties for marketing and other purposes. Yet, users should be able to expect that their data is not used to hurt them or is not sent to disreputable companies. Indeed, fewer people …

Venezuela Undermines Gold Miner Crystallex's Attempts To Recover On Its Icsid Award, Sam Wesson

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: An Examination Of Maine's Public Beach Access, Ariel A. Hampton

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

Many people assume that access rights to public resources are unwavering. Two Maine Supreme Judicial Court cases concerning limitations to public access to Maine beaches rebut this assumption. In his book, Maine's Beaches Are Public Property: The Bell Cases Must Be Reexamined, Professor Orlando E. Delogu challenges the modifications to public beach access that resulted from these two cases. This Review focuses on the historical and legal arguments that Professor Delogu presents as justification for the reversal of the Bell cases. Professor Delogu gives compelling reasons for his take on the Bell cases and why the State of Maine should …

John Makdisi On The Intercultural Origins Of The Common Law, Marc-Tizoc Gonzalez

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

In this Essay, I pay homage to John Makdisi on the occasion of his retirement. Since joining the St. Thomas Law faculty in 2011, I have esteemed him as one of the law school's senior Property Law professors, yet-truth be told-at times also felt intimidated by him for his deep knowledge of the subject, particularly present estates and future interests, coupled with his serious demeanor, penetrating gaze, and cogent arguments at faculty meetings. 4 Especially during tenuretrack faculty reviews of my teaching, I worried that my relative inexperience in teaching the subject might cause me to commit an embarrassing error. …

One Chuck, Two Chuck: Analyzing Whether Federally Registered Trademarks Should Be Distinguished From Unregistered, Common-Law Trademarks In The Context Of Converse, Inc. V. International Trade Commission, Mckenzie Subart

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This Comment analyzes which trademark model (the pyramid model or the box model) is a better representation and characterization of trademarks and trademark rights. Under the pyramid model, there is one trademark: both common law rights and federal registration rights attach to this single trademark. For the pyramid model, trademark rights resemble a pyramid because federal registration rights build upon the foundation created by common law rights. Common law rights and federal registration rights are interdependent. Under the box model, there is a common-law trademark and a federal trademark: common law rights attach to the common-law trademark, and federal registration …

Calming Troubled Waters: Local Solutions, Part I, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In 1861, the Ohio Supreme Court adopted the Absolute Use Rule to govern groundwater, essentially allowing landowners its unencumbered use. The opinion noted that the behavior of subterranean water was “occult and mysterious” and that it was beyond the competence of judges to determine its appropriate use. The Ohio court reversed course in 1984 and adopted the Reasonable Use Rule. By then, scientific knowledge had advanced to the point that the interconnected movement of water was more readily discoverable. The court noted that a primary goal of water law should be to conform to hydrologic fact. This Article explores the …

Oklahoma’S State Question 780: Criminal Justice Reform And Resistance, Stephen R. Galoob, Colleen Mccarty, Ryan Gentzler

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Common Law As Silver Slippers, Bridget J. Crawford

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Professor Anita Bernstein's book, The Common Law Inside the Female Body, is an erudite investigation into the history and operation of the common law. Bernstein's careful and wide-ranging study leads to her arresting thesis: The common law--an old, unpredictable, and slow system that has been there all along--has tremendous power to support and even advance women's legal claims to personal liberty. In other words, women have always had the common law right to be treated equally to men. We simply have not realized it.

Bernstein makes a convincing argument that the common law tradition has a unifying theoretical commitment: “[T]he …

Between Law And Diplomacy: The Conundrum Of Common Law Immunity, Chimène I. Keitner

Georgia Law Review

Drawing the line between disputes that can be adjudicated in domestic (U.S.) courts and those that cannot has perplexed judges and jurists since the Founding Era. Although Congress provided a statutory framework for the jurisdictional immunities of foreign states in 1976, important ambiguities remain. Notably, in 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Samantar v. Yousuf that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) does not govern suits against foreign officials unless the foreign state is the “real party in interest.” This decision clarified, but did not fully resolve, conceptual and doctrinal questions surrounding the immunities of foreign officials whose conduct …

A Common Law Of Zoning, Michael Allan Wolf

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article for the first time identifies a common law of zoning, describes the typology of this essential and overlooked element of American land use law, and establishes the historical and structural context for its pervasive set of rules and principles. Over the past 100 years, American judges, filling in the gaps and resolving the ambiguities of a surprisingly uniform set of state enabling statutes, have produced this body of common law. The story will take the reader to Iowa cornfields that surround an iconic baseball diamond; to a federal agency that gave an important impetus to the nationwide adoption …

Harmless Constitutional Error: How A Minor Doctrine Meant To Improve Judicial Efficiency Is Eroding America's Founding Ideals, Ross C. Reggio

CMC Senior Theses

The United States Constitution had been in existence for almost two hundred years before the Supreme Court decided that some violations of constitutional rights may be too insignificant to warrant remedial action. Known as "harmless error," this statutory doctrine allows a court to affirm a conviction when a mere technicality or minor defect did not affect the defendant's substantial rights. The doctrine aims to promote judicial efficiency and judgment finality. The Court first applied harmless error to constitutional violations by shifting the statutory test away from the error's effect on substantial rights to its impact on the jury's verdict. Over …

Contractual Incapacity And The Americans With Disabilities Act, Sean M. Scott

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The doctrine of contractual incapacity allows people with mental disabilities to avoid their contractual liability. Its underlying premise is that the law has an obligation to protect people with such disabilities both from themselves and from unscrupulous people who would take advantage of them; mental incapacity provides this protection by rendering certain contracts unenforceable. The Disability Rights Movement (“DRM”), however, has challenged such protective legal doctrines, as they rest on outmoded concepts about people with mental disabilities.

This essay argues that the mental incapacity doctrine undermines the goals of the DRM and the legislative goals of the Americans with Disabilities …

The Female Body In The Workplace: Judges And The Common Law, Maritza I. Reyes

Journal Publications

If the common law serves to liberate women, everybody, including judges, should understand the role they do play and should play in the development of the common law. As a career law clerk in the federal courts, I witnessed the decision-making process inside the chambers of federal judges and in the courtrooms. I came to the conclusion that judges, more than statutory law, influence what happens to female bodies in the workplace. Litigants initially drive the common law by filing complaints. However, judicial decisions affect not only the litigants in their individual cases, they also serve as precedent for future …

Limiting Lessons From Property: Re-Imagining The Public Domain In The Image Of The Public Trust Doctrine, Deidre Keller

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.