Torts Commons^™

The Intracorporate Conspiracy Trap, J. S. Nelson

Cardozo Law Review

In the recent case of Commonwealth v. Lynn, Pennsylvania prosecuted a Roman Catholic priest who had not abused children himself but who, to protect the archdiocese that employed him, covered up information about priests who had abused children and reassigned the priests to new parishes. This case was the first of its kind to bring criminal charges against an official of the Church solely for how he supervised the careers of priests to protect his employer.

Because the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine prohibits it, the state - as is now typical of both state and federal jurisdictions around the country …

International Mass Tort Litigation: Forum Non Conveniens And The Adequate Alternative Forum In Light Of The Bhopal Disaster, Stephen L. Cummings

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Hague Evidence Convention In U.S. Courts: Aerospatiale And The Path Not Taken, Société Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale V. U.S. District Court For The Southern District Of Iowa, 107 S. Ct. 2542 (1987), Roger C. Wilson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Informers Defamation And Public Policy, Daniel More

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Myth Of A Value-Free Injury Law: Constitutive Injury Law As A Cultural Battleground, Michael L. Rustad

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Long-Term Tort: In Search Of A New Causation Framework For Natural Resource Damages, Sanne H. Knudsen

Northwestern University Law Review

No abstract provided.

(Still) "Unsafe At Any Speed": Why Not Jail For Auto Executives?, Rena I. Steinzor

Faculty Scholarship

Americans can be forgiven for wondering what has gone so drastically wrong with the companies that sell automobiles. In 2014, 64 million, a number equivalent to one in five of the cars on the road, was recalled. Safety defects such as the lack of torque in ignition switches installed in GM compact cars like the Cobalt put motorists in the terrifying position of coping with a stalled engine and loss of power brakes while traveling at high speeds. GM had the audacity to classify this condition was not a safety defect, but instead was merely “inconvenient” for its customers. It …

A Controversy Fueled By Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (Mtbe), Anthony Cognetti

University of Baltimore Journal of Land and Development

Over the past few decades, Maryland has been faced with a controversial issue pertaining to methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) groundwater contamination.1 In 1979, MTBE was added to gasoline in an attempt to reduce smog-producing air pollutants.2 While its chemical properties have been scientifically proven to reduce air pollutants, this “environmentally friendly” chemical eventually became a topic of great debate as MTBE was leaking through underground storage tanks and contaminating groundwater sources.3 Many states thereafter filed lawsuits against gasoline refining companies for their role in adding MTBE, and most of them have received remarkably high settlements in return.4 The State …

Retaliation And The Reasonable Person, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

When a worker complains about discrimination, federal law is supposed to protect that worker from later retaliation. Recent scholarly attention focuses on how courts limit retaliation claims by narrowly framing the causation inquiry. A larger threat to retaliation law is developing in the lower courts. Courts are declaring a wide swath of conduct as insufficiently serious to constitute retaliation.

Many courts hold that it is legal for an employer to threaten to fire a worker, to place the worker on administrative leave, or to negatively evaluate the worker because she complained about discriminatory conduct. Even if the worker has evidence …

Equitable Estoppel & Workers' Compensation Immunity: Why Litigants And The Courts Are Getting Ahead Of Themselves, Neil A. Ambekar

Florida A & M University Law Review

Every U.S. jurisdiction has created a separate body of law to address workplace injuries - the workers’ compensation scheme. These no-fault systems provide employees injured on the job lost wages and medical benefits. It also immunizes employers from negligence claims arising out of most workplace accidents. This article discusses a growing phenomenon in Florida’s workers’ compensation scheme, the use of estoppel to negate employer immunity. This article lays out the various theories of estoppel—primarily judicial and equitable—that may be asserted in the context of on-thejob injury litigation. This article goes on to explain why Florida courts should refrain from application …

A Blanket Of Immunity Will Not Keep Florida Dry: Proposed Adjustments To Florida's Drainage Regulations And Sovereign Immunity Laws To Account For Climate Change Impacts, Theresa K. Bowley

Florida A & M University Law Review

Addressing stormwater drainage in Florida has been an ongoing challenge since the middle of the twentieth century when the State began to experience rapid growth. Drainage problems already occur in Florida during seasonal high tides, heavy rains, and in storm surge events, and the impacts projected by climate change will exacerbate flooding. Identification of deficiencies in Florida’s existing drainage systems should include the responsibility and liability of drainage systems to be retrofitted to adapt to climate change. Part I of this paper explains the connection between global climate change and its effects on stormwater drainage in Florida. The existing governmental …

Using Historic Preservation Laws To Halt The Destruction Of Porch Culture In The Lower Ninth Ward Of New Orleans, Jamila Jefferson-Jones

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Rights, Loss And Compensation In The Law Of Torts, Andrew Botterell

Law Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation Under A Theory Of Strict Liability, Michael R. Lieberman

Buffalo Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Recent Development: Espina V. Jackson: The Local Government Tort Claims Act Limits Local Government's Liability For Constitutional Tort Claims Committed By Its Employees; Local Government Employees Acting With Actual Malice Are Liable For Their Own Torts; And Multiple Wrongful Death Actions Arising From The Same Underlying Conduct May Be Aggregated For Purposes Of The Damages Cap, Kristin E. Shields

University of Baltimore Law Forum

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that the damages cap of the Local Government Tort Claims Act (“LGTCA”) limits a local government’s liability for damages caused by an employee’s tortious act in violation of the state constitution. Espina v. Jackson, 442 Md. 311, 317, 112 A.3d 442, 446 (2015). The court also held that this limitation does not contradict the supremacy of the state constitution. Id. at 335, 112 A.3d at 456. Furthermore, the court held the LGTCA damages cap is not an unreasonable restriction on the right to remedy under Article 19 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. …

Scottie Pippen’S Airball: On The Role Of Fiduciary Duty Law In Illinois Professional Liability Cases, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 777 (2015), William Lynch Schaller

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Expansion Of Admiralty Jurisdiction Into The Realm Of Workers’ Compensation: Newly Applying Learned Hand To Jones Act Personal Injury Claims To Incentivize Dangerous Seafaring Work And Protect Workers From The Perils Of The Sea, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 877 (2015), Blair Pooler

UIC Law Review

This Comment proposes a novel application of Learned Hand’s calculus of negligence to divide the protections for traditional and non-traditional maritime workers.

An Overview Of The Grossly Inconsistent Definitions Of “Gross Negligence” In American Jurisprudence, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 471 (2015), Olga Voinarevich

UIC Law Review

On one side of the spectrum, certain courts, such as New York, define gross negligence as conduct that borders intentional wrongdoing. On the other side of the spectrum, courts continue to recognize the degrees of negligence and differentiate between various degrees of care. Between these two approaches, there is inconsistency. For instance, some Illinois decisions equate gross negligence to recklessness, while others define it as nothing more than “very great negligence.” This Article concludes that the latter may be the proper standard relied upon by a majority of the recent decisions interpreting Illinois law, but advocates for a uniform definition …

Cocktails On Campus: Are Libations A Liability?, Susan S. Bendlin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Fda Approval Of Drugs And Devices: Preemption Of State Laws For “Parallel” Tort Claims, Marcia Boumil

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

The U.S. Supreme Court’s important ruling in Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. v. Bartlett concerns whether the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) approval of a generic drug insulates the drug manufacturer from liability under state tort laws from claims of injury due to an alleged “design defect.” The Court previously ruled that FDA approval does not preempt state law claims based upon failure-to-warn, at least with respect to brand name products. In contrast, the Court previously ruled that the federal regulatory process leading to FDA approval of generic equivalents of brand drugs—and designation of the drug label—does preempt state law as …