Legal Remedies Commons^™

Equity Crowdfunding - The Jobs Act (Almost) To The Rescue, Zachary Ballas

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note examines the JOBS Act's reforms to private securities offerings, particularly its provisions for equity crowdfunding, and evaluates their potential to modernize securities law while balancing investor protection and capital formation. It highlights the Act's amendments to Regulations A and D, the introduction of Regulation Crowdfunding under Title III, and compares the U.S. regulatory approach with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) framework. While the Act aims to reduce wealth disparity and promote economic growth, its effectiveness in achieving these goals and safeguarding investors remains uncertain.

Erie Step Zero, Alexander A. Reinert

Articles

Courts and commentators have assumed that the Erie doctrine, while originating in diversity cases, applies in all cases whatever the basis for federal jurisdiction. Thus, when a federal court asserts jurisdiction over pendent state law claims through the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction in a federal question case, courts regularly apply the Erie doctrine to resolve conflict between federal and state law. This Article shows why this common wisdom is wrong.

To understand why, it is necessary to return to Erie’s goals, elaborated over time by the U.S. Supreme Court. Erie and its progeny are steeped in diversity-driven policy concerns: concerns …

Aggregation As Disempowerment: Red Flags In Class Action Settlements, Howard M. Erichson

Notre Dame Law Review

Class action critics and proponents cling to the conventional wisdom that class actions empower claimants. Critics complain that class actions over-empower claimants and put defendants at a disadvantage, while proponents defend class actions as essential to consumer protection and rights enforcement. This Article explores how class action settlements sometimes do the opposite. Aggregation empowers claimants’ lawyers by consolidating power in the lawyers’ hands. Consolidation of power allows defendants to strike deals that benefit themselves and claimants’ lawyers while disadvantaging claimants. This Article considers the phenomenon of aggregation as disempowerment by looking at specific settlement features that benefit plaintiffs’ counsel and …

Pain And Suffering Damages In Personal Injury Cases: An Empirical Study, Yun-Chien Chang, Theodore Eisenberg, Tsung Hsien Li, Martin T. Wells

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Many jurisdictions award pain and suffering damages, yet it is difficult for judges or juries to quantify pain. Several jurisdictions, such as California, cap pain and suffering damages or other noneconomic damages, and legal scholars have proposed ways to control such damages. Reforms and proposals, however, have been based on limited empirical evidence. It remains an open question whether components of economic damages explain pain and suffering damages. This study employs a unique dataset of Taiwan district court cases and uses detailed information on the components of pecuniary damages. Pain and suffering damages highly correlate with the plaintiff’s medical expenses, …

Show Me The Money: Determining A Celebrity’S Fair Market Value In A Right Of Publicity Action, Cody Reaves

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

As the power of celebrity continues to grow in the age of social media, so too does the price of using a celebrity’s name and likeness to promote a product. With the newfound ease of using Twitter, Facebook, and even print media to use a celebrity’s identity in conjunction with a product or company, right of publicity concerns arise. When a company uses a celebrity’s name and likeness without the celebrity’s authorization to market or sell a product, companies open themselves up to right of publicity suits. Many of these cases settle out of court. But when these cases do …

Newsroom: Logan On Trump And Libel Law 01-03-2017, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Middleman - Intermediary Liability: United States, Marketa Trimble

Boyd Briefs / Road Scholars

Professor Marketa Trimble appeared on a panel at the 120th International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property World Conference hosted in Sydney, Australia on October 16, 2017. This panel session discussed intermediary liability in the digital world in key jurisdictions, including the availability of site blocking injunctions and address the practical effects and inherent limitations of such injunctions in the digital era.

Transnational Enforcement, Marketa Trimble

Boyd Briefs / Road Scholars

Winston & Strawn and the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology hosted a seminar on Global Strategies for IP on September 14, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. Professor Marketa Trimble joined an esteemed group of panelists and guests lecturing on the underlying problem of IP infringement outside the U.S., its impact on U.S. companies, and available remedies.

Time Is Money: An Empirical Assessment Of Non-Economic Damages Arguments, John Campbell, Bernard Chao, Christopher Robertson

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Non-economic damages (pain and suffering) are the most significant and variable components of liability. Our survey of fifty-one U.S. jurisdictions shows wide heterogeneity in whether attorneys may quantify damages as time-units of suffering (per diem) or demand a specific amount (lump sum). Either sort of large number could exploit an irrational anchoring effect. We performed a realistic, online, video-based experiment with 732 human subjects. We replicated prior work showing that large lump sum demands drive larger jury verdicts, but surprisingly found no effect of similarly-sized per diem anchors. We did find per diem effects on binary liability outcomes, and thus …

Testing The White Hat Effect In Patent Litigation, Bernard Chao, Roderick O’Dorisio

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Ideally, juries assess cases on the evidence presented at trial. To the extent that they are unrelated to the merits, the identities of the parties or their individual stories should not matter. But jurors are human, and both academics and practicing lawyers have long believed that how parties frame their cases to the jury can influence outcomes.' We examine two such frames common to patent law. First, we look at whether accused infringers can improve their chances of prevailing by being the aggressor. Prior studies have observed that accused infringers that file declaratory judgment actions to vindicate their rights win …

Clarifying Uncertainty: Why We Need A Small Claims Copyright Court, John Zuercher

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This article is concerned with the question of whether copyright law in the United States is currently equipped to achieve its original goal, set within the U.S. Constitution, to promote innovation and progress. This article suggests that copyright law is not equipped to achieve this goal because a paradox inherent in copyright law is hindering copyright litigation and causing uncertainty. The paradox is found in 17 U.S.C. § 106, which protects transformative works that are derivative, and 17 U.S.C. § 107, which protects transformative works as fair use. Ideally, the federal courts would solve this dilemma by interpreting the appropriate …

Incorporating Social Justice Into The Law School Curriculum With A Hybrid Doctrinal/Writing Course, 50 J. Marshall L. Rev. 221 (2017), Rosa Castello

UIC Law Review

Educating future lawyers is about more than just teaching them substantive law. We are preparing professionals who will go out into our world and shape and affect it in deep and impacting ways. They will make law, enforce law, determine policy, defend people, advocate, and influence lives and businesses. Therefore, any thorough law school education should teach social justice and encourage students to become more engaged in activism. One way to incorporate social justice into the law school curriculum is to offer specific courses focused on social justice. However, administrators may be concerned about demand for such classes or ability …

Contracts, Causation, And Clarity, Daniel P. O'Gorman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Helping Students Develop Affirmative Evidence Of Cross-Cultural Competency, Neil Hamilton, Jeff Maleska

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

Abstract forthcoming.

Civil Rights Remedies In Higher Education: Jurisprudential Limitations And Lost Moments In Time, Lia Epperson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

A Tort In Search Of A Remedy: Prying Open The Courthouse Doors For Legal Malpractice Victims, Susan S. Fortney

Fordham Law Review

Using this broad connotation of justice, this Article questions whether many victims of legal malpractice are denied access to justice. In writing about the regulatory function of legal malpractice as a tort, Professor John Leubsdorf argues that legal malpractice relates to three important functions of the law of lawyering: “[D]elineating the duties of lawyers, creating appropriate incentives and disincentives for lawyers in their dealings with clients and others, and providing access to remedies for those injured by improper lawyer behavior.” Arguably, persons injured by lawyer misconduct are denied access to justice if our civil liability system does not provide them …

Individual Accountability For Corporate Crimes After The Yates Memo: Deferred Prosecution Agreements & Criminal Justice Reform, Paola C. Henry

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Civil Redress And Historical Memory Act Of 2029: A Legislative Proposal, William J. Aceves

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

During the extant “War on Terror,” U.S. and foreign nationals who did not engage in hostilities were detained and mistreated abroad by the United States or by other countries with the acquiescence of the United States. These individuals were accused of being terrorists or were suspected of associating with terror groups, but they were, in fact, innocent. They were eventually released and were never charged by the United States with any crime. Despite their innocence, the United States has failed to provide them with any form of redress for their mistreatment. The Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations refused to apologize …

Improving The Effectiveness Of South Korean Product Liability Including Punitive Damages: A Comparative Analysis Between The United States And South Korea, Minsung Kim

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

As South Korean Product Liability Act was revised to adopt the U.S. doctrine of punitive damages, there is a theoretical necessity of reviewing the relations between the theory of product liability and the U.S. doctrine of punitive damages. The theory of product liability is closely related to the strict liability but the doctrine of punitive damages has been developed to regulate malicious misconducts. Due to the different basic concepts, the strict liability and malicious misconducts, the theory of product liability might not include the doctrine of punitive damages. In addition to the compatibility issue, functions of the punitive damages are …

Cybersecurity, Identity Theft, And Standing Law: A Framework For Data Breaches Using Substantial Risk In A Post-Clapper World, James C. Chou

American University National Security Law Brief

No abstract provided.

Calculating Damages In An Uncertain World, John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

There is a rule in the world of remedies that has always struck me as unfair. The rule, generally speaking, is that damages are not available unless they can be proven with certainty. For example, suppose that I own a pub and hire a karaoke DJ for Friday night. Karaoke is popular in my town and I advertise the event widely. On Friday afternoon, however, the DJ breaches and I’m left without entertainment. During the night, patrons show up and ask about the DJ. Many of them express disappointment; some decide to remain and have a couple drinks but some …

Reforming Military Justice: An Analysis Of The Military Justice Act Of 2016, David A. Schlueter

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 USC §§ 801-946, is the statutory template for the United States' military justice system. The UCMJ addresses topics such as court-martial jurisdiction, and pretrial, trial, and appellate procedures. It also includes punitive articles which proscribe, not only common law offenses, but also offenses unique to the military. Congress made significant changes to the UCMJ in the Military Justice Act of 2016. The legislation not only amended a significant number of existing articles, but also added many new articles. In addition, Congress completely reorganized the punitive articles. In this article, Professor Schlueter addresses …

What If The International Criminal Court Could Prosecute President Al-Assad For The Chemical Weapon Attacks In Ghouta?, Paul Cho

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

The Uncertain Case For Appraisal Arbitrage, Jay B. Kesten

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Commercial Bribery: Choice And Measurement Within A Remedies Smorgasbord, Doug Rendleman

Washington and Lee Law Review

Searching for the most suitable money remedy for a simple commercial bribe promptly lands a lawyer, judge, professor, student, or researcher in a remedial smorgasbord. De- emphasizing injunctions, commercial bribery offers a spectrum of monetary remedies.

The plaintiff has two defendants, the briber and the bribee. He has two major remedies, damages and restitution. The overlapping policies consist of compensating the plaintiff, preventing the defendants’ unjust enrichment, deterring the defendants and others, and punishing the defendants. Courts implement these policies with compensatory damages, restitution, and punitive damages. A bribe can be returned as damages or restitution, a significant distinction. Punishment …

Disgorgement Of Defendant's Gains From "Opportunistic" Breach Of Contract: Its Fit In Rhode Island, Kelsey A. Hayward

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A New Hope: Tortious Interference With An Expected Inheritance In Rhode Island, Rebecca M. Murphy, Samantha M. Clarke

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Winning The Battle But Losing The War: Towards A More Consistent Approach To Prevailing Party Fee Shifting In The Contractural Context, John R. Schleppenback

Florida A & M University Law Review

As a general matter, history has not been very kind to losers. In the turmoil of the Middle Ages, loss on the battlefield could also mean the looting of one's property, the sacking of one's home, and potentially even the assault of one's spouse. The nineteenth century was the era of "to the victors belong the spoils," meaning that an electoral win allowed the prevailing political party a complete monopoly on political appointments and government contracts to the exclusion of the loyal opposition. Even today, professional athletes would sooner face anonymity than defeat on the playing field, living by the …

Taking It To The Bank: Creating A New Constitutional Standard And Using Blue Carbon Banking To Compensate The Miccosukee Tribe For The Federal "Taking" Of Their Tribal Lands, Amy Judkins

Florida A & M University Law Review

The typical remedy for a property owner whose property interests have been diminished from government regulations—as is the case with the federal government's regulation of the Miccosukee's tribal lands—would be compensation sought under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The last clause of the Fifth Amendment— the Takings Clause—provides that "private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation." The Supreme Court has explained that the purpose of the Takings Clause is to prevent the government from "forcing some people alone to bear public burdens which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by …

The Texas Supreme Court Retreats From Protecting Texas Students, Albert Kauffman

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

This Article criticizes the 2016 Texas Supreme Court school finance decision, the latest of seven decisions starting in 1989, for its disregard of both the record in the case and the realities of the Texas Constitution and Texas politics. The Article also focuses on how standards for reviewing legislation have changed and the Texas Supreme Court's irrational and unfounded retreat to the "money doesn't make a difference" theory of school finance. Finally, the Article recommends a return to an objective, comprehensible, enforceable and constitutional system of review, and concludes with a prayer for holdings that recognize the inequities of the …