Torts Commons^™

Volume 49 Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 49 Masthead

A Comparative Study Of Chinese And American Approaches To Shaping International Outer Space Law And Norms, Ariel G. Silverman

Seattle University Law Review

This article explores convergences and divergencies in the United States and PRC’s responses to the stalemate in the United Nations over the future of outer space resource governance. I do so by systematically analyzing these leading space-faring nations’ policy-positions and tactics deployed to shape norms around three substantive areas of outer space resource governance: rights of ownership and scope of utilization of space resources, mechanization of the “benefits sharing” principle, and the rights and responsibilities of the private sector. I theorize that these leading space-faring nations have adopted divergent approaches due to their differing historical relationships with international law and …

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

The Mind Has A Firewall: An Attempt To Preserve Human Mind Integrity., Sayed G. Batran

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues for the recognition of mind integrity as a distinct human right. It contends that existing protections, such as bodily integrity, privacy, and freedom of thought, are no longer sufficient to shield an individual’s mental domain from new forms of external interference enabled by neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, and pervasive data-driven systems. Mind integrity is defined as the right to govern one’s own mental life—to form, revise, and hold thoughts, beliefs, and desires based on reasons one endorses—free from significant, non-consensual interference or manipulation, regardless of the method used. The thesis first identifies concrete risks and regulatory vacuums by …

Winnowing The Wheat From The Chaff: The Continuing Controversy Over Article Iii Standing And The Certification Of Rule 23(B)(3) Damages Classes Containing "Uninjured" Members, William G. Beatty

William & Mary Business Law Review

The controversy surrounding the inclusion of uninjured class members in Rule 23(b)(3) damages classes has deeply divided the federal circuit courts of appeals and continues to do so. This Article explores the constitutional roots of the issue, beginning with the foundational element of Article III standing, and discusses the question of how many uninjured members, if any, Rule 23 permits in a class seeking certification before problems with commonality and predominance arise.

The Article discusses the details of the Laboratory Corp. of America v. Davis case (LabCorp), which, in the spring of 2025, presented the Supreme Court with …

Abuse Of Contract: A Proposal For A New Cause Of Action, Miriam A. Cherry

William & Mary Law Review

With the growth of online commerce and the platform economy, many companies are including provisions in their online terms and conditions that extend far beyond what reasonable consumers would expect. Some terms and conditions purport to bind customers to separate contracts in future transactions that have little to do with the first contract. Other boilerplate purports to cover family members of the customer who created an account. Some retailers have argued that people shopping in their brick-and-mortar stores are subject to terms and conditions because those shoppers had at some point previously created an online account. For example, Disney argued …

Finding Luis: A Creative Nonfiction Account Of Law & Society, Jason M. Leggett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This essay explores the contradictions in legal theory and human experience through creative nonfiction. Its main purpose is to argue that a truly just society requires acknowledging the profound influence of individual narratives on the law. This is supported by blending personal narratives, critical analysis, and philosophical inquiry to reveal the gap between codified law and lived realities for marginalized individuals. This unique Legal Poetics methodology employs a series of six vignettes, such as the author's and Luis's shared experiences with traumatic brain injury and the denial of justice, as data. By integrating autoethnography, law as narrative, and performativity theories, …

Moore Vs. Primadonna Co., Llc, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 6. (Jan. 29, 2026), Collin Faught

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

THE COURT HELD THAT A PLAINTIFF INJURED AT A SELF-SERVICE BUSINESS NEED NOT SHOW THE TASK WAS TRADITIONALLY PERFORMED BY EMPLOYEES TO INVOKE MODE-OF-OPERATION LIABILITY.

“The Monster That Ate Jurisprudence”: The Misfire Of Civil Rico In Third-Party Payor Recovery, Jillian Rae Bloom

University of Miami Business Law Review

A law created to dismantle organized crime is now being misused to target pharmaceutical companies. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), originally intended to combat criminal enterprises, has since expanded far beyond its intended purpose. Third-party payors (TTPs), such as health insurers, have increasingly relied on RICO to sue pharmaceutical companies for deceptive marketing practices that allegedly cause significant financial harm. While it is important to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their fraudulent conduct, applying RICO in these cases represents a troublesome overreach. The link between the alleged fraud and TPPs alleged harm is too attenuated to meet …

Roman–Dutch Law, Scottish Civil Procedure And Fusing Of The Common And Civil Jurisprudence, Zia Akhtar

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

The range and breadth of Roman law have extended and been assimilated into the distant corners of Europe based on the concept of Jus Commune. Law of Scotland is one of the countries which has adopted Roman legal principles in its substantive law. The Scots law is a non-codified Civil law in which legal principles have been drawn from both the civilian (i.e. Roman law) and common law traditions. It also owes its evolution to the jurists who developed the causes of action in the civil courts of the country. These Roman law foundations still persist in Scottish law and …

Adaptable Ai Apprentices: Law Practice Sidekicks, Henry H. Perritt, Jr.

University of Miami Law Review

Two case studies involving motorcycle-accident negligence and administrative law in the context of drone regulation violations explore the transformative potential of generative AI in legal practice. Four AI engines—DeepSeek, Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok—were asked to analyze transcripts of client interviews by identifying legal claims and assessing their strengths and weaknesses.

The results demonstrate that current AI technology effectively processes natural-language client interviews, identifies viable legal theories, and assesses claim strengths and weaknesses in both tort and administrative law contexts. The AI systems demonstrated proficiency in parsing legal theories and citing relevant statutes and administrative regulations, though case citations were frequently …

Brief Of Amicus Curiae Gregory Klass In Support Of Respondents In Veolia Water Technologies, Inc. V. Antero Treatment Llc, No. 2025sc21 (Colo. Jan. 20, 2026)., Gregory Klass

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In September, 2025, the Colorado Supreme Court granted certiorari in Veolia Water Tech. v. Antero Treatment to resolve the following question: “Whether the economic loss rule bars a fraud claim when the parties were in a contractual relationship, the fraud claim seeks the same relief as the plaintiff’s contract claim, and the fraud concerns the defendant’s performance under the contract.”

This scholar’s amicus brief addresses four questions under Colorado law: (1) Does an exploratory contract to determine whether a transaction is desirable prevent liability in tort for fraud in the inducement of the principal contract? (2) What is the significance …

Memoir: The Brain, Neuroethics, And Bioethics, Leslie C. Griffin

Scholarly Works

This Essay examines how developments in neuroscience (or brain science) affect our views of law, medicine, ethics, and religion. Part I shows how lack of clarity about brain death can lead to premature organ donation. Part II argues that health care too often provides inadequate brain care and incomplete rehabilitation. Part III explains why recovery may be possible for those braininjured patients who are told it is not. Part IV demonstrates how the fear of a brain-injured patient oddly affects my perspective on Tort and Criminal Law, which are being influenced by neuroscientific advances. Part V examines the new developments …

Artificial Intelligence, Judicial Evolution, And Insurance, Renee Henson

Faculty Publications

AI-driven platforms have the potential to inflict traditional injuries in new ways. Proprietary algorithms trained on large volumes of personal data can cause mental, emotional, and sometimes physical injuries via conversational exchanges, harmful content recommendations, and the promotion of extremist content. This "algorithmic liability" fundamentally challenges existing legal doctrines and statutory protections, thereby exposing deficiencies in current insurance coverage frameworks. 

Historically, courts dismissed algorithmic liability claims early in litigation, invoking Section 230 immunity and First Amendment protections, and resisted classifying algorithmic tools as "products" for the purposes of products liability law. Recent jurisprudence, however, signals a critical turning point. On …

What Is Hate Speech? A Proposal For An Ordinary And Legal Definition, Hannah Van Dijcke

SJD Dissertations

The term “hate speech” has been stretched in legal and public debates to cover speech ranging from insults to Holocaust denial. This definitional stretching has consequences beyond mere conceptual confusion: it risks obscuring the profound harm that hate speech does, and it facilitates the term’s misuse.

In this dissertation, I aim to precisely define hate speech and its harm, both in an ordinary (colloquial or non-legal) sense and in a legal sense. To do so, I examine real-world examples of speech widely understood to express hate, including texts from the context of the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, and conduct …

Inferring Duty Under The “Stop Campus Hazing Act”: National Fraternity And Sorority Liability, Gregory S. Parks

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Boggs V. Johnston Asphalt, Llc, 334 A.3d 965 (R.I. 2025)., Gracie May Mccall

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Toys As Evidence, Randall K. Johnson

Faculty Works

This Essay asks and answers a single question, which was posed during a recent symposium at the National Museum of Toys & Miniatures. Could the study of revealed preferences, which is the idea that observed behaviors are the best indicator of one’s beliefs, improve our collective understanding about what constitutes unlawful discrimination in certain U.S. markets? A possible answer, which is informed by the Brown v. Board of Education decision, is the study of revealed preferences may improve our collective understanding for three reasons.

One reason is the study of revealed preferences provides a window into how some producers and …

Recovering From The Ego Death Of The Internet: How The Communications Decency Act Has Shattered Cyber-Libertarianism And The Non-Exceptionalist Move Toward A Brighter Digital World, Peyton Friedlander

Michigan Technology Law Review

For nearly thirty years, the legal framework for analyzing liability for claims of tortious wrongdoing on the Internet has been governed by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“CDA”). However, much has changed since the Act’s inception. Since Congress enacted the CDA, courts have interpreted its provisions far beyond their original meaning, creating a regime that ultimately destroys a prospective plaintiff’s ability to recover the equitable remedies once available to those seeking redress for online invasions of privacy and reputational harms.

As the Internet continues to grow and changes in technology rapidly develop, it is time to re-center equitable …

A New Middle Ground: The Continuous Treatment Doctrine As A Solution To Rhode Island’S Incomplete Tort Reform, Justin Edward Keyes

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.