Litigation Commons^™

Implied Warranty Claims Under The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act: Resolving Fifty Years Of Uncertainty, Stephen E. Friedman

Pace Law Review

This Article addresses whether Congress intended for consumers to bring implied warranty claims on consumer products under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act in all instances or only when a defective product is covered by a written warranty. The question, unresolved almost fifty years after the Act’s passage, is of great practical importance because consumers who bring claims under the Act are eligible for attorneys’ fees and other potential advantages not available to plaintiffs bringing warranty claims under state law. This Article analyzes the two current approaches courts have taken to address the issue: a broad approach where consumers can bring a …

The Green Amendment: Assessing The Latest Tool In The Environmental Tool Belt, Carolyn Drell, Mia Petrucci

Pace Environmental Law Review

In the new edition of Maya K. van Rossum’s book, The Green Amendment: The People’s Fight for a Clean, Safe, and Healthy Environment, she presents the case for adopting green amendments protecting environmental rights into state constitutions and the Federal Constitution. This book review examines van Rossum’s arguments and raises legal concerns that prevent green amendments from providing a silver bullet solution to environmental harms. Despite these concerns that will likely resonate with practitioners, van Rossum increases the accessibility to the topic of green amendments for a wider audience, which is ultimately a net win for environmental advocacy.

Following The Science: Judicial Review Of Climate Science, Maxine Sugarman

Washington Law Review

Climate change is the greatest existential crisis of our time. Yet, to date, Congress has failed to enact the broad-sweeping policies required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the rate scientists have deemed necessary to avoid devastating consequences for our planet and all those who inhabit it. In the absence of comprehensive legislative action to solve the climate crisis, the executive branch has become more creative in the use of its authorities under bedrock environmental statutes to develop new climate regulations. Environmental advocates, states, and industry groups that oppose such regulations or assert that agencies could accomplish more under existing …

A Run For Your Money: The Supreme Court Of Georgia In Taylor V. Devereux Foundation, Inc. Upholds The Constitutionality Of The Statutory Cap On Punitive Damages, Rachel N. Ratajczak

Mercer Law Review

The sky is the limit! This idiom rings true, except for plaintiffs in many states who dream of million-dollar punitive damage awards. Many states have statutorily capped punitive damage awards, despite their role as “quasi-criminal . . . private fines” to punish defendants for their wrong-doing, and to deter future similar conduct by others. Challenges to statutory caps have plagued both federal and state courts for decades.

In 2023, the Supreme Court of Georgia in Taylor v. Devereux Foundation, Inc. addressed whether O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1(g), Georgia’s statutory cap on punitive damages, violates the right to trial by jury, separation …

Confederate Standoff: The Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies Standing Requirements In Sons Of Confederate Veterans V. Henry County Board Of Commissioners, Clay Wright

Mercer Law Review

The Supreme Court of Georgia’s ruling in Sons of Confederate Veterans v. Henry County Board of Commissioners marks a transformative moment in the evolution of Georgia’s standing doctrine. The case delves into the dimensions of standing in Georgia courts, specifically addressing whether community stakeholders, such as citizens, residents, taxpayers,and voters, must prove an individualized injury to establish standing when raising a general grievance against their local government.

Trial Practice And Procedure, Joseph M. Colwell, Christopher B. Mcdaniel

Mercer Law Review

This Article addresses selected opinions and legislation of interest to Georgia civil trial practitioners issued during the survey period of this publication.

Climate Change In The Courts: A 2023 Retrospective, Maria Antonia Tigre, Margaret Barry

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Drawing from the jurisdictions covered in the Sabin Center's United States (U.S.) and Global Climate Litigation databases, this report offers insights into key developments, emerging themes, evolving legal strategies, and the pulse of climate litigation in 2023.

Police Officers, Policy, And Personnel Files: Prosecutorial Disclosure Obligations Above And Beyond Brady, Lauren Giles

Fordham Law Review

Police officers play a significant role in the criminal trial process and are unlike any other witness who will take the stand. They are trained to testify, and jurors find them more credible than other witnesses, even though officers may have more incentive to lie than the ordinary witness. Despite the role of police officers in criminal proceedings, state statutes say virtually nothing about evidence used to impeach police officers, often contained in the officer’s personnel file. Worse still, the standard for disclosing information in an officer’s personnel file varies among and within states, resulting in inconsistent Brady disclosures. This …

Divide, "Two-Step," And Conquer: How Johnson & Johnson Spurred The Bankruptcy System, Patrick Maney

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Underage And Unprotected: Federal Grand Juries, Child Development, And The Systemic Failure To Protect Minors Subpoenaed As Witnesses, Lucy Litt

University of Cincinnati Law Review

Grand juries in the United States were originally intended to protect people from unwarranted criminal prosecution by the government; however, criticism of federal grand juries in the U.S. throughout the past five decades demonstrates that these deliberative bodies protect prosecutors at the expense of the people subjected to their investigations. Worse still, federal grand jury proceedings circumvent fundamental constitutional rights, direct judicial oversight, and many of the procedural protections of criminal trials; they enable prosecutors to strip unaccused individuals subpoenaed solely for witness testimony of their safety, rights, and liberty. Prosecutorial misconduct has received increasingly widespread attention, especially in recent …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

The Death Knell And The Wild West: Two Dangers Of Domestic Discovery In Foreign Adjudications, Shay M. Collins

Michigan Law Review

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1782(a), parties to foreign legal proceedings can obtain discovery orders from United States federal courts. In other words, if a foreign party needs physical evidence located in—or testimony from a person residing in—the United States to support their claim or defense, they can ask a district court to order the production of that evidence. For almost two decades, § 1782(a) practice has operated as a procedural Wild West. Judges routinely consider § 1782(a) applications ex parte—that is, without giving the parties subject to the resulting discovery orders a chance to oppose them—and grant those applications at …

The Puzzle Of Floating Forum Selection Clauses, Robin J. Effron, John F. Coyle

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Aaron Twerski: Practical Wisdom At Ground Zero, Anthony J. Sebok

Articles

This Article celebrates Professor. Aaron Twerski’s “practical wisdom” in crafting a solution (with Jim Henderson) to a problem faced by Judge Alvin Hellerstein in the so-called 9/11 First Responder cases. The problem was that Congress did not include these plaintiffs within the Victims Compensation Fund (“VCF”) despite there being every reason to suspect that the interaction of workersman’s compensation law and tort law, if left to operate on their own, would generate a politically unacceptable outcome. Despite his clear misgivings – —expressed decades earlier – —about allowing those who control the workplace to enjoy the benefits of limited liability guaranteed …

The Evolution Of Sodomy Decriminalization Jurisprudence In Transnational And Comparative Constitutional Perspective, Ayodeji Kamau Perrin

Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, I demonstrate that legal mobilization by activist litigants combined with a comparative methodological jurisprudence has been central to the “transnational legal process” of the generation and diffusion of the sodomy decriminalization norm since the 1950s. My analysis of the transnational comparative jurisprudence relies on a comprehensive legal survey of seven decades of decriminalization jurisprudence (1954–2022), primarily using successful cases. Although the scholarship on the well-known Dudgeon, Toonen, and NCGLE cases often asserts the influence that these cases had on subsequent domestic court constitutional jurisprudence, I suggest that it is the domestic privacy jurisprudence of lobbyists, …

Anything But Prideful: Free Speech And Conversion Therapy Bans, State-Federal Action Plans, And Rooting Out Medical Fraud, Jordan Hutt

Fordham Law Review

At a time when conversion therapy might seem archaic to many people, this practice remains prevalent across the United States and finds legal support in the halls of federal courthouses. In 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in Otto v. City of Boca Raton, held that two ordinances banning conversion therapy in Boca Raton and Palm Beach violated First Amendment free speech rights. Specifically, Otto held that conversion therapy bans were content-based restrictions subject to strict scrutiny. Conversely, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third and Ninth Circuits’ prior decisions upheld conversion therapy bans …

The Rise And Fall Of Premises Liability For Injuries Arising From Third-Party Criminal Activity In Mississippi, Mark J. Goldberg

MC Law Review

On July 1, 2019, the Landowners Protection Act (the “Act”) became effective in Mississippi. The Act modified existing law as to premises liability for failure to protect against the criminal acts of third-parties in two respects. First, a new Code section was enacted, granting property owners several protections from such claims. Second, Mississippi’s joint and several liability statute was amended to allow for apportionment of fault between premises owners and intentional tortfeasors, i.e., criminal actors.

In the debate leading to the Act’s passage, proponents of the legislation provided that it was intended to codify prior court rulings and ensure that …

Itlos Advisory Opinion On Climate Change: Summary Of Briefs And Statements Submitted To The Tribunal, Maria Antonia Tigre, Korey Silverman-Roati

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This report provides a summary of the briefs and statements submitted to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in response to the Co-Chairs of Commission of Small Island States (COSIS)’ request for an advisory opinion on climate change-related legal questions. The central issue before the ITLOS is whether State Parties to UNCLOS have specific obligations regarding the prevention, reduction, and control of marine environmental pollution stemming from climate change, as well as the protection and preservation of the marine environment concerning climate change impacts. While States and civil society organizations have put forward a variety of …

Silencing Litigation Through Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey, Christopher K. Odinet

Faculty Scholarship

Bankruptcy is being used as a tool for silencing survivors and their families. When faced with claims from multiple plaintiffs related to the same wrongful conduct that can financially or operationally crush the defendant over the long term—a phenomenon we identify as onslaught litigation—defendants harness bankruptcy’s reorganization process to draw together those who allege harm and pressure them into a swift, universal settlement. In doing so, they use the bankruptcy system to deprive survivors of their voice and the public of the truth. This Article identifies this phenomenon and argues that it is time to rein in this destructive use …

Kompetensi Mutlak Badan Penyelesaian Sengketa Konsumen Dalam Sengketa Lelang Barang Gadai: Studi Putusan Nomor 16 Pk/Pdt.Sus-Bpsk/2020, Barus Mario Ari Leonard, Sri Laksmi Anindita

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The authority of Consumer Dispute Settlement Agency (BPSK) in settling consumer dispute is regulated in a limited cause. In the Verdict No. 16 PK/Pdt.Sus-BPSK/2020, Judges verdict that BPSK has no authority in giving verdict for settling dispute between pawn giver and pawn taker in the case of pawn auction. This happen though the verdict of BPSK has been approved by Judges of first degree court and appellate court. The verdict was analyzed in this writing with the qualitative method. BPSK is alternative dispute resolution board between consumer and business industry. Agreement with pawn company and pawn giver was mainly debt …

Place Your Bets: The Legal Integration Of Sports Betting With Cryptocurrency, Andrew Topps

UNH Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

Out Of Bounds? The Legal Implications Of The Emerging Rivalry Between Liv Golf And The Pga Tour, Michael Dube, Libba Galloway, Chantel Mccabe, Michael Mccann, Alan Milstein

UNH Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Breakdown Of Where Nil Currently Stands, Justin Cavegn

UNH Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

Play Like A Girl, Get Paid Like A… Man?, Amanda M. Malool

UNH Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

Change Is Growth: The Future Of The Ncaa And College Athletics, Conner Poulin

UNH Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Role Of U.S. Government Regulatioms, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides detailed coverage of information resources on U.S. Government information resources for federal regulations. Features historical background on these regulations, details on the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations, includes information on individuals can participate in the federal regulatory process by commenting on proposed agency regulations via https://regulations.gov/, describes the role of presidential executive orders, refers to recent and upcoming U.S. Supreme Court cases involving federal regulations, and describes current congressional legislation seeking to give Congress greater involvement in the federal regulatory process.

Why Law Isn’T Jazz: A Response, James A. Gardner

The Docket

No abstract provided.

Framing Effects, Rhetorical Devices, And High-Stakes Litigation: A Cautionary Tale, Marcus Moore

All Faculty Publications

Opposing lawyers frame the facts of a case to serve their client, craft leading questions, and exert pressure on the witness to go along with their desired answer. To counter this, counsel for the witness must anticipate this and prepare the witness to tacitly ask themselves before answering such questions: whether a frame is being employed?; and if so, they should respond in their own words, rather than in the terms put to them by the opposing lawyer. Courts might counsel themselves to employ similar caution when incorporating discussion taken from politics or related policy debate. They may not be …

Fee Shifting, Nominal Damages, And The Public Interest, Maureen Carroll

Law & Economics Working Papers

As the Supreme Court recognized in its 2021 decision in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, nominal damages can redress violations of “important, but not easily quantifiable, nonpecuniary rights.” For some plaintiffs who establish a violation of their constitutional rights, nominal damages will be the only relief available. In its 1992 decision in Farrar v. Hobby, however, the Court disparaged the nominal-damages remedy. The case involved the interpretation of federal fee-shifting statutes, which enable prevailing civil rights plaintiffs to recover a reasonable attorney’s fee from the defendant. According to Farrar, a plaintiff can prevail by obtaining the “technical” remedy of nominal damages, but …

African Courts And International Human Rights Law, John Mukum Mbaku

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and since then, the international community, with the help of the United Nations, has adopted other international human rights instruments designed to recognize and protect human rights. Since international human rights instruments do not automatically confer rights that are justiciable in domestic courts, each African country must domesticate these instruments in order to create rights that are justiciable in its domestic courts. Given the fact that many African countries have not yet domesticated the core international human rights instruments, international human rights law’s ability to positively impact …