Transportation Law Commons^™

The Birth Of The Franchised Dealer Model, Daniel A. Crane

Book Chapters

Chapter 1 traces the history of the franchise dealer model of car distribution, from the early wild west days of the internal combustion automobile to the political confrontations between Detroit’s Big Three and the “mom and pop” car dealers during the mid-twentieth century. The chapter examines the thinking of legendary management figures such as Henry Ford and Alfred P. Sloan, explains the dealer protection rationale behind state franchise dealer laws, and shows how the legacy car companies largely acquiesced in those laws until Tesla’s entry onto the scene.

Charting The Course : The Role Of Imo Within The Unclos Legal Framework In Tackling Challenges Of Contemporary Shipping, M. C. Romero, R. Beckman, T. Nguyen, J. Ong, G. Theocharidis

Reports

This report documents the proceedings of the two-day workshop, "Charting the Course: The role of IMO within the UNCLOS legal framework in tackling challenges of contemporary shipping," jointly organized by the World Maritime University (WMU) and the Centre for International Law (CIL) of the National University of Singapore (NUS). The event took place in Malmö, Sweden, from June 9 to 10, 2025.

The central theme was the complementary relationship between the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and IMO regulations, with an emphasis on the flag State’s duties under UNCLOS Article 94. The workshop’s core …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Corporate Governance Speech, Sarah C. Haan

Seattle University Law Review

The State has always regulated the intra-firm communications that make corporate governance possible, most commonly by mandating disclosures of information by a corporation to its shareholders. Some such laws are labeled “securities regulation,” but securities regulation is a broad category that extends to speech by actors who are outside the corporate enterprise as well. Also, the conventional securities regulation category does not capture all such laws; other examples, including informationforcing mandates, can be found in state corporate law. This Article uses the term “corporate governance speech” to describe the communications among shareholders, directors, and officers through which corporate governance is …

Green Dividends: A Case Study In Green Dividends And The Conditions For Private Ordering Solutions, Anne M. Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

This Essay introduces a novel private ordering solution to facilitate corporate investments in pro-social and environmental initiatives: Green dividends. Green dividends are an optional increase in shareholder dividends that are returned to the company to be reinvested in environmental initiatives or kept by a shareholder.

Green dividends pose an alternative to the current gridlocked debate that corporations can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, and shouldn’t even try to act in pro-social or environmental ways. Turning the common refrains on their head converts each narrative into an element for a successful private ordering solution: authority, accountability, shareholder buy-in, and government- backed enforcement. With Green …

Does Climate Disclosure Work To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Emerging Evidence Suggests Cautious Optimism, Cynthia A. Williams

Seattle University Law Review

Significant regulatory resources have been spent developing global, voluntary climate and sustainability disclosure standards, such as the TCFD, TNRD, and ISSB’s Sustainability and Climate Disclosure standards, or domestically required disclosures, such as in the EU and in the U.S. Thus, it is important to evaluate whether this disclosure, particularly voluntary, qualitative disclosure, will have the power to shift the allocation of capital, will have a significant effect on the management of climate risk within firms, and ultimately will reduce climate change risk and biodiversity loss.

In this Article, several interrelated questions will be discussed. First, what does the empirical evidence …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Conference Report Of Wmu Maritime Affairs Conference 2025 : Transforming A Maritime Future : Digitalization And Decarbonization, World Maritime University

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

In Search Of A Sea-Life Balance In An Adverse Environment : Understanding Seafarers' Life, Work And Turnover, Bikram Singh Bhatia, Raphael Baumler, Maria Carrera-Arce

Reports

The Officers’ Union of International Seamen (OUIS) commissioned the World Maritime University (WMU) to conduct the Work & Health Balance at Sea (WHEAB) project to examine some dimensions of seafarers’ working lives.

Building on exploratory interviews, a survey was designed and administered. The current report presents findings on work patterns (onboard and home periods), working hours, work-related stress, safety management system, shore leave, mental well-being, and career intention.

The survey gathered responses from 4,372 seafarers, mainly from India (n=1,098; 25.1%), the Philippines (n=690; 15.8%), the United States (U.S.) (n=501; 11.5%), and other worldwide regions (n=2,083; 47.6%). The overrepresentation of U.S. …

Neighborliness Vs. Car Culture: Traffic Violence, Pedestrian Deaths In Philadelphia, And Vision Zero's Concept Of Equity, Regina Austin

Journal of Law and Mobility

Vision Zero (VZ) is a transportation policy adopted by major cities like Philadelphia that aims to reduce or eliminate traffic violence, primarily through improvements in the transportation infrastructure. VZ prioritizes engineering (over enforcement), community engagement, and perhaps most importantly, equity. In the battle for superiority among users of land-based travel modes in America, automobile drivers have benefited from arterial highways that speed traffic flows around and through urban enclaves to reach center city business districts and from a car culture that encourages dominant behavior behind the wheel. Pedestrians have been among the losers.

In Philadelphia, as elsewhere, pedestrians who are …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Corporate Scenarios: Drawing Lessons From History, Madison Condon

Seattle University Law Review

As corporations are increasingly pressed to reveal information about their exposure to climate-related risks, they are often asked to undertake and disclose the outcome of “scenario analysis.” In this exercise, corporations, including financial institutions, examine how their business would fare under different pathways the future may take. One oft-used scenario, for example, is the International Energy Agency’s “Net-Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Energy Sector.” This Essay presents a history of the use of scenarios as a corporate planning tool, particularly in the oil industry, arguing that it is key for understanding our present moment and the role of …

Dark Accounting Matter, Colleen Honigsberg

Seattle University Law Review

Physicists calculate that approximately 85% of the matter in the universe is composed of “dark matter” that “does not absorb, reflect, or emit electromagnetic radiation and is therefore difficult to detect.” The S&P 500 currently trades at a price-to-book value of 4.2, suggesting that book value accounts for less than 20% of the S&P 500’s market value. The remaining 80% appears nowhere in these firms’ balance sheets—it is invisible to contemporary accounting techniques and constitutes “dark accounting matter.”

Some “dark accounting matter” is composed of factors commonly described as components of “ESG.” Human capital, for example, is an intangible asset …

Human Masters/Robot Servants: Highly Automated Vehicle Design, Intoxicated Drivers & Vicarious Liability, William H. Widen, Marilyn Wolf

Journal of Law and Mobility

A traditional engineering role is to design a safe product. Safety engineering is an exercise in harm avoidance ex ante. In contrast, liability attribution is an exercise to compensate for loss post hoc—traditionally viewed as a legal matter. We observe that, when a natural person incurs liability for a loss that exceeds insurance coverage, economic ruin can follow. Neither engineering nor law focus on the loss suffered by defendants considering law as a “safety risk.” The highly automated vehicle (HAV) design space, however, provides an opportunity to prevent this kind of economic harm from occurring ex ante just as attention …

Maritime Digitalization And Decarbonization: A Sustainable Future, World Maritime University, Korea Research Institute Of Ships And Ocean Engineering, Korea Maritime Institute

Books

The book with the title “Maritime Digitalization and Decarbonization: A Sustainable Future” is the second major outcome following the publication of the Proceedings of WMU Maritime Week (WMW) 2024.

The purpose of WMU Maritime Week 2024 (WMW) was to convene experts from diverse sectors to discuss contemporary maritime issues, generate practical and academic insights, and contribute to the advancement of the international maritime community. Following the success of WMW 2024, the aim is to deliver a top-notch annual conference in the maritime field, producing practical and academic outputs through in-depth discussions of critical contemporary issues in the maritime field. …

Public International Air Lawfare: China’S Use And Abuse Of The Skies., Major Emily K. Johnson

American University National Security Law Brief

Following World War II, China entered a years-long period of civil war between the Kuomintang government, which was then in power as the government of the Republic of China, and the Chinese Communist Party. After years of conflict, the Kuomintang was forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan in 1949, effectively and reluctantly ceding the Chinese mainland to the Chinese Communist Party. Despite its best efforts, the Kuomintang never regained control of mainland China in the ensuing years; however, it never dissolved and instead remained in place on Taiwan.

As a result, Taiwan, which lies a mere 80-100 miles …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Changemakers: Steven Colantuono: Juris Doctorate: Embracing The Road To Success, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Employees’ Dilemma: Balancing Internal Reporting, Whistleblowing, And Insider Trading Risks, Geeyoung Min

Seattle University Law Review

The Essay examines how recent developments in insider trading regulations and whistleblower reward programs can lead to unintended and counterproductive results of discouraging employees from using internal reporting channels within corporate compliance programs. While the presence of a robust and well-functioning corporate compliance program is a critical factor both in mitigating the level of public enforcement actions against companies and in protecting corporate managers from liability in private litigation, these programs often provide little incentive for employees to report potential misconduct internally.

Corporate compliance programs are designed to promote the upward information flow within the company, which is essential for …

Understanding The Big Three’S Wavering Support Of Environmental And Social Shareholder Proposals, Jeff Schwartz, Jefferson Jensen

Seattle University Law Review

Because of their substantial equity portfolios, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street (the Big 3) are central players in corporate governance. It is, therefore, critical to understand how they vote. One puzzle is that their support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social matters appears to waiver. In 2020, for instance, BlackRock supported 11.1% of environmental proposals at S&P 500 firms. In 2021, it seemingly reversed course, supporting 55.2%. It then flipped again, supporting 32.1% in 2022. Such statistics suggest that the Big 3 are constantly changing their views on these topics. This Article seeks to better understand whether this is …

How The Antidiscrimination Law Of Commercial Transactions Really Works, Helen Norton

Seattle University Law Review

A variety of businesses now cite 303 Creative when seeking First Amendment protection for their refusal to serve certain customers based on those customers’ protected class status. How this litigation will play out remains to be seen. But future courts need not, and should not, repeat the 303 Creative Court’s misunderstanding of how the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions actually works.

Part I of this Essay explains the Court’s longstanding understanding of the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions, and then describes the Court’s failure to engage with this precedent in 303 Creative. Part II then identifies the 303 Creative decision’s …

The Federal Maritime Commission’S New Framework For Ocean Carrier Accountability: Analysis Of The Mcs Industries And Oj Commerce Decisions, Heewan Noh, Jie Shi

Cardozo Law Review de•novo

This article examines two 2024 Federal Maritime Commission (FMC or “Commission”) cases that significantly impact the interpretation of ocean carrier accountability under the Shipping Act of 1984: MCS Industries, Inc. v. COSCO Shipping Lines Co. Ltd. and OJ Commerce, LLC v. Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft A/S & Co. KG. This article argues that the FMC, whose mission is to “[e]nsure a competitive and reliable international ocean transportation supply system that supports the U.S. economy and protects the public from unfair and deceptive practices,” continues to make ongoing efforts to clarify and enforce protecting shippers’ rights. These efforts focus particularly on (i) …

Is There A Regulator In The Polish Electronic Delivery Market? The Role Of The President Of Uke, Mateusza Chołodecki

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

This paper examines the regulatory role of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) within the electronic delivery market in Poland, focusing specifically on the statutory competencies granted by the Electronic Delivery Act. The paper identifies significant limitations of the President of UKE’s current regulatory scope, by analysing these competencies and their alignment with Poland’s postal and telecommunications regulatory frameworks. The analysis reveals that the regulatory powers of the President UKE that concern electronic delivery services are narrowly defined, primarily covering oversight over tariffs, T&Cs, and operator designation, without broader supervisory authority or clearly articulated regulatory objectives. Consequently, …

Is An Autonomous Vehicle A Roller Coaster Or A Hollywood Film? Trust, Safety, And Industry Self-Regulation, Tracy Hresko Pearl

BYU Law Review

Regulation of autonomous vehicles continues to be a daunting task in the United States, and the federal government has not yet succeeded in creating a regulatory scheme that intelligently addresses the risks and benefits of these vehicles. There are multiple reasons for this regulatory lag. Autonomous vehicles are developing at such a rapid pace that lawmakers, who often struggle with technological literacy, struggle to keep up. Additionally, government agencies lack the level of expertise, experience, and data that the industry possesses.

Industry self-regulation offers a meaningful alternative for increasing the safety of autonomous vehicles and building consumer trust. The success …

Flight To Fraud, Emily Davis, Ricardo Partida

Capstones

Taxi hustlers are an enduring, intractable issue for New York City's airports. Through analysis of city data, court documents, and on-site observations, this investigation reveals how unauthorized drivers exploit travelers, charging excessive fares while posing safety risks. Despite public awareness campaigns and enforcement efforts by the Port Authority and others agencies, the problem continues to evolve. NYCity News Service reporters Emily Davis and Ricardo Partida investigate how these hustlers operate in plain sight of airport authorities.

Link: https://daviscapstone2025.carrd.co/

A Long Road Ahead: Examining The Constitutionality Of New York City’S Congestion Pricing Plan, Emily Dulberg

Brooklyn Law Review

New York City attempted to implement New York’s first congestion pricing scheme, the Central Business District Tolling Program (CBDTP). The CBDTP was paused by Governor Kathy Hochul amidst concerns that the scheme will have negative impacts on families who have not financially recovered from the pandemic. The CBDTP sought to charge drivers a fee each time they entered the Central Business District (CBD), an area below 60th Street in Manhattan. The purpose of this plan was to raise funds for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to improve mass transit while simultaneously decreasing pollution and traffic congestion in New York City. …

Tort Liability, Privacy, And Regulatory Considerations For Level 3 Autonomous Vehicles, Ryan H. Jones

Michigan Technology Law Review

Recent developments in emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous vehicles, have generated inquiries about the incorporation of these technologies into the law, as well as the philosophical and ethical questions that accompany their use. This paper considers existing legal doctrine and regulatory frameworks as applied to the niche area of Level 3 autonomous vehicles. Specifically, this paper considers tort liability in the form of negligence and products liability, privacy risks, and regulatory considerations in relation to Level 3 vehicles. Finally, societal risks and potential solutions are considered to provide insight into potential areas of additional work.

Ideal Enforcement: How Do We Achieve Optimal Enforcement Of Traffic Law As Ubiquitous Enforcement Becomes Technologically Conceivable?, Bryant Walker Smith, Jeffrey Michael, Johnathon Ehsani

Michigan Technology Law Review

Safety. Mobility. Technology. Data. Equity. Autonomy. Community. Justice. Power. Trust. These themes have resonated over the last few years across a wide range of specific issues—some that are new and others that have only recently received the broader attention that they demand. A coming age of “perfect enforcement,” in which both public and private actors use increasingly powerful, pervasive, and affordable technologies to automatically identify and penalize every deviation from public or private rules, captures all these issues: They meet—in the language of physics, they interfere, whether constructively or destructively—to affect both perception and reality. The potential role of technology …

Kenya And The Bbnj Agreement : Focusing On The Importance Of Ratification And Implementation Of Area-Based Management Tools Including Mpas Why Kenya Should Ratify And Implement The Bbnj Agreement, Andrew Lumbasi Barasa

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Transportation Racism And State-Created Danger: A Civil Rights Litigation Strategy For Pedestrians Harmed By Traffic Violence, Riley Freedman

Washington Law Review

Pedestrian fatality rates in the United States are markedly high compared to peer nations and are on the rise. The distribution of these deaths shows an alarming racial gap: Black pedestrians are twice as likely to be killed compared to white pedestrians. One significant factor that explains the disparity is the greater presence of wide, high-speed roads—built to move traffic quickly at the expense of pedestrian safety—in Black neighborhoods. In some cases, there is evidence that governments intentionally placed roads through and around Black neighborhoods for racially discriminatory reasons.

This Comment argues that a pedestrian harmed or killed by a …