Torts Commons^™

Replacing Strict Liability With A Contract-Based Products Liability Regime, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

When strict products liability first appeared on the scene some thirty-five years ago, it was heralded as a boon to consumers whose claims to compensation had hitherto been frustrated by the law of sales. Warranty law, it was said, worked fairly well in purely "commercial" transactions, but tort law did a better job in cases where ordinary consumers suffered personal injuries or property damage from defective products. To be sure, defenders of warranty law pointed out that the newly-drafted Uniform Commercial Code (the "Code" or "U.C.C.") was much more consumer friendly than the old Uniform Sales Act. Nevertheless, the proponents …

Toward The Proper Role For Mass Tort Class Actions, Mary J. Davis

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This Article seeks to advance the use of mass tort class actions and proposes that they are not only appropriate, but desirable, when evaluated against the backdrop of substantive tort law policies. Moreover, the substantive goals of tort law as applied in the mass tort context support the conclusion that the individualized case-by-case adjudication standard, as applied through our adversary system as it is presently constituted, fails to further the search for fairness as well as truth in the mass tort context, and therefore, does not achieve the fairness or justice that we seek through our judicial process.

The guiding …

Product Category Liability: A Critical Analysis, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Professor Wertheimer has proposed that courts be allowed to hold producers strictly liable for product-related injuries, even though their products are not otherwise defective, as long as the overall risks associated with such products outweigh their benefits. However, this would subject the sellers of inherently dangerous products, such as cigarettes, to potentially devastating liability since their products cannot be made less dangerous. There are better ways to control the consumption of hazardous products if society wishes to do so.

Part I of this article discusses the scope and purpose of the defect requirement in section 402A and in the proposed …

Paying For Suffering: The Problem Of Human Experimentation, Larry I. Palmer

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Insurance-Based Compensation System For Product-Related Injuries, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In recent years, an increasing number of commentators have begun to express doubts about the effectiveness of the tort system. According to these critics, tort law does not deter accidents, nor does it spread accident costs efficiently. Worst of all, the tort system is extremely expensive to operate. Some of this criticism has spilled over into the products liability area. Products liability law has been condemned as expensive, ineffective, and regressive; in addition, it has been blamed for higher product prices, foreign competition, problems within the liability insurance industry, corporate bankruptcies, lack of product development, and the removal of useful …

Limits On Preemption And Punitive Damages: Can They Be Related?, Peter Zablotsky

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Restatement's Rejection Of The Misappropriation Tort, Gary Myers

Faculty Publications

Some legal theories, like the proverbial vampire, refuse to die. The common law tort of misappropriation is one such legal theory, and the recent Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition (Restatement) may finally lead to the demise of this outdated cause of action. Misappropriation began advisedly enough as a means of protecting certain intellectual property rights from unjust usurpation, often by direct competitors employing improper means. Arising before comprehensive copyright, patent, and trademark laws were fully developed, the tort may have played an important role in protecting intangible proprietary interests.The tort's high water mark was the 1918 Supreme Court decision in …

The Four Phases Of Promissory Estoppel, Eric Mills Holmes

Seattle University Law Review

Case law accurately delineates the four evolutionary stages of promissory estoppel. As an overview, promissory estoppel has evolved in American case law in four developmental stages: (1) Estoppel Phase, consisting initially of “defensive equitable estoppel” to estop contract defenses based on statutes of limitations and the statute of frauds. In the second part of this first phase, courts have extended “estoppel” based on representations of facts to “promissory” representations and enforced the promissory basis of the representation, thereby creating an affirmative theory of relief. Thus, this first phase of promissory estoppel consists of defensive equitable estoppel and offensive equitable estoppel. …

Learned Intermediaries And Sophisticated Users: Encouraging The Use Of Intermediaries To Transmit Product Safety Information, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The general rule, under both negligence principles and strict products liability, is that a producer or supplier is required to warn users or consumers of its products. In most cases, this duty can be satisfied by placing a warning label on the product itself or by providing safety information in an owner's manual or in other literature attached to or enclosed with the product. However, there are some situations where it is difficult or impracticable to provide a direct warning to the ultimate user or consumer. In such cases, producers and suppliers should be able to satisfy their duty to …

Spousal Emotional Abuse As A Tort? , Ira Mark Ellman, Stephen D. Sugarman

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comment On The Tort/Crime Distinction: A Generation Later, Michael C. Harper

Faculty Scholarship

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Professor Epstein has used the occasion of this Symposium to again voice his disapproval of the modern regulatory state.' Those of you who know me will not be surprised to hear that I disagree with the bald assertions and assumptions he makes concerning that issue. In my view, compelling reasons justify the kinds of environmental and, at least in the absence of pervasive independent employee collective representation at the work place, worker safety laws attacked by Professor Epstein.² However, I will refrain from compounding the diversion by engaging Professor Epstein on these normative issues.

Instead, I will …

Eliminating Proximate Cause As An Element Of The Prima Facie Case From Strict Products Liability, Peter Zablotsky

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Tort Liability For Asbestos Removal Costs, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

During the past twenty years, Congress and the general public have become increasingly aware of the health hazards caused by exposure to toxic substances. Consequently, Congress has enacted statutes, such as CERCLA, requiring parties who are responsible for toxic waste to clean up the toxic waste sites and to reduce the level of toxic chemicals in the environment. Asbestos is one toxic substance that government has targeted in particular. The federal government and many states have enacted laws requiring asbestos-containing materials to be segregated or removed from schools and public buildings.

Even when government regulations do not mandate specific abatement …

Tort Liability For Psychiatric Damage, Mitchell Mcinnes

Dalhousie Law Journal

One of tort law's great failures is its treatment of claims for psychiatric damage (or, to use a misleading but more popular term, nervous shock'). While a great deal of progress has been made since the days when liability would lie only if a plaintiff also suffered physical injury', or at least reasonably feared for her personal safety3 , the law remains largely unsatisfactory and in need of reform. Illogical and arbitrary rules abound with the result that worthy claimants are often denied compensation. Recent attempts at clarification and rationalization by the House of Lords4 and the High Court of …

Comments On The Reporters' Study Of Enterprise Responsibility For Personal Injury, Jerry J. Phillips

San Diego Law Review

This Article critiques the substantive law and damage proposals of the Reporters' Study on Enterprise Liability, which was published in 1991 by the American Law Institute. Contrary to the Reporters' recommendations, the author proposes retaining the consumer expectations test and strict liability for product suppliers. He argues that it is not practical to shift medical malpractice liability, as proposed by the Study, from doctors to hospitals. In the area of damages, the author proposes retaining the rules of recovery for pain and suffering, punitive damages, and the collateral source rules essentially as they are now, instead of adopting the changes …

The American Law Institute's Reporters' Study On Enterprise Responsibility For Personal Injury: A Timely Call For Punitive Damages Reform, Victor E. Schwarz, Mark A. Behrens

San Diego Law Review

This Article focuses on the Reporters' Study on Enterprise Responsibility for Personal Injury, specifically the Reporters' recommendations for punitive damages reform. The Article discusses the Study's analysis of the need for punitive damages reform, with which the author agrees. The Article also discusses the Study's recommendations concerning reform of the standard by which punitive damages should be awarded, recommendations to set reasonable limits on the size of punitive damage awards, and the recommendation of a shield against punitive damages for products that comply with federal regulatory standards. The authors find that generally the recommendations are fair and reasonable. They believe …

Who Pays In The End For Injury Compensation - Reflections On Wealth Transfers From The Innocent, Alfred F. Conard

San Diego Law Review

This Article recognizes that the people who actually pay for tort judgments are generally not the wrongdoers, but the enterprises that have employed or insured the tortfeasors, or purveyed the faulty products. The enterprises then recover their expenditures by charging higher prices to their consumers, or by reducing the benefits that they confer on investors, workers, and the general public. The consumers, the workers, the public, and the investors are the innocent human beings who contribute to paying for tort judgments. This Article addresses what kinds of losses justify forcing the innocent to contribute, and suggests reforms that seem to …

A Lost Opportunity: A Review Of The American Law Institute's Reporters' Study On Enterprise Responsibility For Personal Injury, Jeffrey O'Connell, Chad M. Oldfather

San Diego Law Review

This is a critical analysis of the Reporters' Study on Enterprise Responsibility for Personal Injury. Although recognizing that the Study is comprehensive and well researched, the authors express disappointment at the lack of vision contained in the Study. They find that the authors of the Study failed to find their way out of the maze of the tort system, and in exploring so many nooks and crannies they become lost in the details, rather than looking at the big picture. The authors of this Article provide a brief overview of the Study, and proceed with analysis. They conclude that the …

Enterprise Responsibility For Personal Injury: Further Reflections, Kenneth S. Abraham, Robert L. Rabin, Paul C. Weiler

San Diego Law Review

This Article, written by three contributors to the Reporters' Study on Enterprise Responsibility for Personal Injury, offers further reflections about specific areas and proposals in the Study that have evoked important questions and comments. It addresses the concern that there are too many lawyers and lawsuits in the United States, and that it is this overpopulation of lawyers that is causing excessive tort litigation. It also addresses high damage awards and insurance premiums, it recommends refining products liability, and recommends organizational responsibility for medical malpractice. This Article is a supplement to the Study, and offers further examination of important issues …

Impacts Of Modern Life Support Techniques On Wrongful Death Actions Brought After Final Personal Injury Judgments, Elizabeth Clark

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment examines both the history of wrongful death actions and modern applications of law. This historical overview reveals that most courts reject the doctrinal bases of wrongful death actions. Specifically, when one has recovered on behalf of a decedent for fatal injuries, these courts tend to construe wrongful death statutes in a manner that denies statutory beneficiaries of a cause of action. To the extent that problems of finality and overcompensation are real, this Comment asserts that the remedy does not lie in misconstruing wrongful death acts so as to deny beneficiaries all recovery. Rather, the answer lies in …

Federal Preemption Of State Products Liability Doctrines, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Federal agencies now regulate the manufacture, design, and labeling of hundreds of consumer products. For example, the Consumer Product Safety Commission promulgates "consumer product safety standards" for a number of consumer products. Likewise, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 authorizes the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to develop safety standards for automobiles and other motor vehicles. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exercises extensive control over prescription drugs, biologics, medical devices, and over-the-counter drugs. The FDA also regulates food labeling.6 Finally, Congress has established statutory labeling requirements for cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products, and alcoholic beverages. …

Tort Remedies For Victims Of Domestic Abuse, Douglas D. Scherer

Scholarly Works

This Article discusses the use of intentional tort actions by victims of domestic abuse who seek monetary damages. Part I discusses the phenomenon of domestic abuse, with emphasis on physical and emotional harm and factures that justify punitive and compensatory damage awards. Part II discusses the torts of battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the appropriateness of these actions in domestic abuse cases. Part III discusses the interspousal immunity doctrine and demonstrates the limited extent to which the doctrine bars domestic abuse tort actions. Finally Part IV discusses judicial acceptance of tort actions in domestic abuse cases. …

Tort Law: The Languages Of Duty, Jay Tidmarsh

Journal Articles

Summarizing the developments in Indiana tort law is a daunting, perhaps impossible task. In more than 115 reported opinions, state and federal courts wrestled with issues, many of them issues of first impression, which ranged across the spectrum of tort law. A constant thread runs through many of these cases. The thread is duty. Time and again during the past year, Indiana courts were required to decide whether a particular set of facts gave rise to a duty of care by the defendant or an obligation of avoidance by the plaintiff.

Some of the cases involved novel legal duties, while …

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 …

To Quote Or Not To Quote: The Status Of Misquoted Material In Defamation Law, Sharon A. Mattingly

Vanderbilt Law Review

To quote or not to quote' is no longer a valid question in defamation law because courts have lessened the burden on writers to use the exact words of the speaker in quoted language. If individuals feel that the press has misquoted them, they have three realistic options: First,ignore the misquotation; second, contact the media and request a re-traction; and third, file a lawsuit claiming defamation and seeking monetary damages.' The first alternative is the easiest, but given the emotional overtones of defamation, it is also the most unlikely. If the media were more sensitive and less defensive, the second …

The Employer's Intentional Tort - Should It Be Recognized In Canadian Jurisdictions?, Leigh West

Dalhousie Law Journal

At the inception of Canadian worker compensation legislation, an historic trade off agreement was made between employers and their workers. By virtue of this agreement, the right of workers to sue their employer in tort was removed and in return workers were to receive swift, certain, but limited, compensation payments for job-related injuries and illness, regardless of fault. With a few minor exceptions, this agreement made worker compensation the exclusive remedy available to an injured worker. It also lodged with the various provincial worker compensation boards the responsibility to adjudicate whether or not the injury or illness claimed was one …

Book Reviews, Risk Editorial Board

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Reviews of the following books prepared by the editors of Risk on the topic of toxic tort litigation and/or public regulation of toxic substances:

Frank B. Cross, Environmentally Induced Cancer and the Law: Risks, Regulation and Victim Compensation, (1989).

Chemical Contamination and Its Victims: Medical Remedies, Legal Redress, and Public Policy (David W. Schnare & Martin T. Katzman, eds., 1989.

The Role of Science in Toxic Tort Litigation: Evaluating Causation and Risk: Drawn from Papers Presented at the TIPS Annual Meeting, August 1988, Toronto, Canada. Chicago, Ill: Tort and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association.

Compensation For Smoking-Related Injuries: An Alternative To Strict Liability In Tort, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The Surgeon General has described cigarette smoking as the "single most important preventable environmental factor contributing to illness, disability and death in the United States." Each year, smoking-related diseases claim more than 350,000 lives. Smoking-related illnesses also impose a huge economic burden on society. Estimates of health care costs range from $12 billion to $22 billion per year, and productivity losses due to illness and death are even greater.

Arguably, cigarette companies and their customers ought to bear the health costs of smoking. At the present time, however, the tobacco industry has largely escaped responsibility for these costs. Instead, smoking-related …

Using The Constitution: Separation Of Powers And Damages For Constitutional Violations, James A. Thomson

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Construction On The Road To Recovery: New York Limits Loss Of Enjoyment Of Life, Bonnie Sue Goodman

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.