Torts Commons^™

Developing Internationally Uniform Liability Principles For Harms From Genetically Modified Organisms , Ryan C. Hansen

ExpressO

This paper analyzes the current legal principles regarding liabillity for harms from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the U.S. and E.U., as well as the various international policies and mechanisms affecting GMOs

Prenatal Tort Law And The Personhood Of The Unborn Child: A Separate Legal Existence, Gregory J. Roden

St. Thomas Law Review

This article will examine the state of prenatal tort and wrongful death law at the time the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade and compare such examination to Justice Blackmun's assessment of it in his Roe opinion. Justice Blackmun's opinion in Roe v. Wade briefly takes up the area of prenatal tort law wherein he discusses some of the (allegedly) inchoate rights of the unborn: In areas other than criminal abortion, the law has been reluctant to endorse any theory that life, as we recognize it, begins before life birth or to accord legal rights to the unborn except in …

Tortious Interference And The Law Of Contract: The Case For Specific Performance Revisited, Deepa Varadarajan

Faculty Publications

What is the role of contract law in remedying breach? The question of the appropriate legal remedy, specific performance versus money damages, has provided adequate fodder for three decades of debate in the law and economics discourse. In the legal discipline at large, the topic has spurred centuries of debate, as illustrated by Oliver Wendell Holmes's famous line: “The only universal consequence of a legally binding promise is, that the law makes the promisor pay damages if the promised event does not come to pass.” Holmes's approach to contractual remedy would evolve during the latter half of the twentieth century …

Litigation Governance: A Gentle Critique Of The Third Circuit Task Force Report, John C. Coffee Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

The Third Circuit Task Force on the Selection of Class Counsel (the "Task Force") has worked hard, considered everything, and exhaustively summarized the problems associated with class counsel auctions. Its views will undoubtedly resonate with most of the Bench and the vast majority of the Bar-neither of whom were enthusiastic about the prospect of auctions in the first place. Personally, I agree with the Task Force that auctions are not the most promising reform and that they may exacerbate, rather than correct, existing problems. Still, what is missing from the Task Force Report is the candid recognition that the agency …

An Unconstitutional Deprivation Of Access To The Courts: An Analysis Of Section 19 Of Chapter 99-225, Florida Statutes, Edward S. Schwartz

St. Thomas Law Review

I will begin by summarizing the salient features of the current Florida common law of premises liability and the changes Section 19 effects in that law. Since the access to courts analysis depends, in part, on determining whether the Legislature has impaired rights of action existing in 1968, I will also analyze the pre-1968 premises liability law of Florida.

Some Defense Perspectives On The Tort Reform Act Of 1999, Jack W. Shaw Jr.

St. Thomas Law Review

The 1999 Florida Legislature enacted a far-reaching Tort Reform Act (the "Act"). That bill was signed into law by Governor Bush, who stated that he had some misgivings about certain provisions of the bill, but became convinced that its beneficial aspects far outweighed its troublesome aspects. The Act is lengthy and complex, comprised of fifty-three (53) pages and thirty-six (36) sections. This article will discuss some of the statutory changes in the areas of comparative fault, statutes of limitation and repose, defenses, limitations on liability, and punitive damages. Counsel should be aware, however, that the Act also contains provisions covering …

The Rise Of Equine Liability Activity Acts, Sharlene A. Mcevoy

Animal Law Review

In recent years, the equine industry has become concerned by court decisions which undermine the traditional view that persons who participate in horseback riding activities assume the risk of any iJ\iury they incur. Ms. McEvoy examines significant cases and state statutes designed to meet the challenges posed by these decisions, as well as the legislative history behind a Connecticut statute.

Class Action Chaos? The Theory Of The Core And An Analysis Of Opt-Out Rights In Mass Tort Class Actions, Michael A. Perino

Faculty Publications

From breast implants to cigarettes, mass tort class actions are a prominent and controversial part of the contemporary litigation landscape. A critical component of these actions is the ability of class members to “opt out” and thereby exclude themselves from the effect of any class judgment. The tension between individual autonomy and the desire for global resolution of mass controversies has led to an intense debate concerning the circumstances under which opt-out rights should be constrained, if at all.

This Article makes five distinct contributions to the class action literature. First, the Article applies the game theoretic concept of the …

The Fungusamongus: Sick Building Survival Guide, Robert E. Geisler

St. Thomas Law Review

No abstract provided.

Florida's Comprehensive Medical Malpractice Reform Act: Is It Time For A Change, Jessica Fonseca-Nader

St. Thomas Law Review

This Comment will focus on a review of the Act, its intended purposes and goals, and its effects on medical malpractice. I attempt to show that the benefits, if any, which have resulted from the Act are not worth the adverse effects the statute has had on seriously injured plaintiffs. Part II discusses the history of the Act, focusing on the constitutional challenges and modifications the Act has met and often overcome. Part III is an analysis regarding what a medical malpractice claimant must overcome to bring an action against the wrongdoer. In addition, I address pertinent sections of the …

The Economic Loss Rule And Intentional Torts: A Shield Or A Sword, Frank Nussbaum

St. Thomas Law Review

The economic loss rule may have merit in light of current trends, in regard to products liability cases, to allocate the risk between innocent and negligent parties. However, it is an inappropriate rule to vitiate common law torts created as a matter of public policy to protect society from intentional wrongdoers. If applied without reasonable boundaries, the economic loss rule will have evolved and mutated from a shield into a sword that can be used to eliminate long standing common law and statutory tort remedies created to protect society from undesirable conduct.

Clergy Sexual Misconduct: Confronting The Difficult Constitutional And Institutional Liability Issues, James T. O'Reilly, Joann M. Strasser

St. Thomas Law Review

Sexual misconduct among clergy members is a rare but troubling societal phenomenon, made more evident in the 1990s by dramatic news reporting and high-profile litigation demands. Revelation is no longer just an uplifting part of the New Testament; revelation is a tabloid tactic for uplifting television ratings and newspaper sales by assailing massive sexual scandals in the churches. This article focuses on a clash of doctrines that is developing in tort cases, when institutional churches are sued for failure to adequately oversee and control their errant ministers and priests. The clash arises because the religious doctrines of faith, responsibility and …

Recovery For Economic Loss Following The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Victor P. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

The physical cleanup following one of the worst oil spills in history, that of the Exxon Valdez, is done. The legal cleanup, however, has barely begun. Over 100 law firms participating in over 200 suits in federal and state courts involving more than 30,000 claims are presently engaged in litigation. Fishermen, cannery workers, fishing lodges, tour boat operators, oil companies whose shipments were delayed, and even California motorists facing higher gasoline prices have filed claims against Exxon and its fellow defendants.

Most claimants face a formidable roadblock, the so-called Robins doctrine. Under Robins Dry Dock & Repair Co. v. Flint …

Uncommon Law And The Bill Of Rights: The Woes Of Constitutionalizing State Common-Law Torts, Elaine W. Shoben

Scholarly Works

During the two-hundred-year history of the Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court occasionally has used those first ten Amendments to constitutionalize state common-law torts. In this essay, Professor Elaine Shoben argues that the Court would be well advised to forgo that practice. Pointing to the Court's experience in constitutionalizing defamation law under the First Amendment, Professor Shoben says when the Court meddles in state tort law, the result is a highly complex and very unsatisfactory body of law. On the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights, this author recommends that if the Court feels compelled to reform a state common-law …

Recovery For Pure Economic Loss In Tort: Another Look At Robins Dry Dock V. Flint, Victor P. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

In Robins Dry Dock and Repair Co. v. Flint, the Supreme Court laid down the general proposition that claims for pure economic loss are not recoverable in tort. Although courts have sometimes ignored or distinguished Robins, its holding is still a central feature of tort law. In a recent en bane decision regarding claims by those injured by a chemical spill in the Mississippi River, the Fifth Circuit engaged in an extensive debate over the continued vitality of Robins and concluded (despite five dissenters) that it remained good law.

The Robins rule is overbroad, lumping together a number of …

Accountable Accountants: Is Third-Party Liability Necessary?, Victor P. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

Should accountants be liable to third parties if they conduct an audit in negligent manner? A half century ago, in Ultramares Corporation v. Touche, Niven & Co., Cardozo argued that they should not, unless their performance could be characterized as fraud. In recent years, courts in a minority of jurisdictions have concluded that Cardozo's argument is no longer compelling and they have found that "foreseeable" third parties could bring a tort action for ordinary negligence against the accountants. In addition to being subject to tort actions, accountants may also be liable under federal and state securities laws.

Suits against …

Book Review Of Legal Cause In The Law Of Torts, D. Barry Hill

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.