Torts Commons^™

A Proposed Tort To Address The Negligent Enablement Of Cloud Data Breaches, Michael L. Rustad

American University Business Law Review

[INTRODUCTION] The term “cloud computing” means the remote storage of software applications, tools, and data accessed through the internet. Cloud customers enter into subscription agreements with providers who give 24/7, on-demand, as-needed access to software, storage, and networking services owned and managed by providers through a web browser. “Many businesses are transitioning to the cloud for data storage, remote work, and collaboration.” Cloud providers operate their software as a software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) model, under which customers pay a subscription fee to access the software. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are examples of subscription services that deliver television programs and videos through …

Preserving Platform Innovation With A Narrow Exception: Section 230(C)(1) Immunity For Algorithmic Recommendations, John "Jack" Di Masi

American University Business Law Review

This Comment examines Section 230(c)(1)’s immunity for online platforms that use machine-learning algorithms to recommend third party content and proposes a narrow exception for truly “bad-actor” cases. It reviews Section 230’s text, as well as its early cases, showing that Congress intended broad protection for editorial functions such as content organization. It then traces how recommendation algorithms evolved and how courts treat algorithmic sorting as a neutral tool. This Comment addresses conflicting interpretations and defends broad immunity for routine curation. This Comment argues that immunity should be stripped only after a balancing test under a three-factor “bad-actor” framework—one that evaluates …

Open Source Ai, Open Liability Ai, Bryan H. Choi

Publications

The release of open-source AI foundation models has been advertised as “good for the world.” But free public access comes with significant risks of harm. The tacit assumption has been that the “open source” label carries with it automatic immunity from legal liability. Accordingly, critics and skeptics of open-source AI have focused their attacks primarily on whether open-source AI properly qualifies as “open source.”

But the rule of liability for open-source AI should not depend on openness. This Essay explains that the notion of open-source exceptionalism draws upon a discredited theory of charitable immunity. Conventional tort law principles do not …

Defamation, Privacy, And The First Amendment: Cases & Problems (3rd Ed.), George Biashvili

Books

I created this resource in anticipation of teaching my Torts II class, which will primarily explore defamation and privacy torts. Though I searched for a suitable coursebook, I found that none contained all of the opinions I consider essential for teaching the nuances and complexities of these subjects. Additionally, I wanted to spare my students the exorbitant price tags associated with traditional law school texts. Hence, I assembled a collection of relevant privacy and defamation cases that align with the objectives of my course. Each case is accompanied by a set of questions to further stimulate class discussion. Where I …

Bernstein V. Morris, 114 Nev. Adv. Op. 72 (Dec. 23, 2025), Vanessa Arias

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Third-party beneficiaries are allowed to sue settlor’s attorney for legal malpractice if they can prove an injury occurred and that the attorney's actions were the cause.

Duality In Contract And Tort, Tim Friehe, Joshua C. Teitelbaum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

We study situations in which a single investment serves the dual role of increasing the expected value of a contract (a reliance investment) and reducing the expected harm of a post-performance accident (a care investment). We show that failing to account for the duality of the investment leads to inefficient damages for breach of contract and inefficient standards for due care in tort. Conversely, we show that accounting for the duality yields contract damage measures and tort liability rules that provide correct incentives for efficient breach and reliance in contract and for efficient care in tort.

Did Anderson V. Tiktok Get It Right? Holding Social Media Providers Accountable For Harm To Adolescents, Allison Mitton

BYU Law Review

When dangerous social media challenges go viral and cause harm to adolescents and young children, should the platform be held liable for pushing that content? As it currently stands, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1934 prevents this from happening. However, Anderson v. TikTok—a recent suit brought on behalf of a ten-year-old girl who died after asphyxiating herself while participating in the viral “Blackout Challenge”—seeks to change that.

The Third Circuit court in Anderson held that social media algorithms should be considered first-party speech, or the platform’s own expressive activity, rather than third-party speech, displaying its users’ expressive …

Torts, Kelly Cahill Timmons

Mercer Law Review

2024–2025 was a big year for tort law in Georgia, particularly on the legislative side. Governor Brian Kemp achieved his primary goal for the 2025 legislative session, working with the Georgia General Assembly to enact significant tort reform measures. These measures change Georgia law on the collateral source rule, the relevance of seatbelt evidence, and—most notably—in the area of negligent security. All of these changes benefit tort defendants. The Supreme Court of Georgia also made its mark on tort law during the Survey period, deciding several cases involving the liability of professionals and adopting rules that— more often than not—benefited …

From Classroom To Courtroom: Vicarious Liability In Clinical Education, Grace M. Owens

Mercer Law Review

Vicarious liability has progressively extended its reach into the healthcare field. The advancement of clinical education and increased presence of medical students in the healthcare setting raises the question of who bears the legal responsibility for a student’s wrongful acts or omissions during the provision of medical care. In an attempt to conform to traditional tort ideals, should a medical student be solely responsible for their own actions? Conversely, should the medical institution or supervising physician pay the price of a student’s mistakes? Statham v. Quang demonstrates this tension and represents the Supreme Court of Georgia’s attempt to strike a …

Like Balance On Ice: Towards A New Approach To The Open And Obvious Doctrine Under Kentucky Law, Hayden T. Crosby

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Reasonability Rule For Medical Damages In Tort: In Defense Of Chargemaster Recovery, Avery E. Tunstill

Washington Law Review

In a personal injury suit, Washington law requires the plaintiff to prove that their medical costs are reasonable to recover damages for those costs. Tort reform proponents attempt to use this reasonability rule to limit tort damages awards. They argue that a plaintiff should only recover a portion of a hospital’s bill because most people do not pay a hospital’s sticker price—or the “chargemaster rate”—for medical care. Some reformers argue that recovery rates should instead be based on a set figure. Others argue in favor of eliminating the collateral source rule, which prohibits juries from reducing tort damages awards in …

Opioids And Oblivion: Corporate Bankruptcy And The Erosion Of Accountability In Big Pharma, Ying Yuan

Washington Law Review

In June 2024, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma that nonconsensual releases for nondebtors are unconstitutional. The decision marked a key development in mass tort litigation involving Purdue Pharma, the company at the center of the opioid crisis. The Sackler family sought to use Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings to shield themselves from liability, but the Court’s ruling invalidated the use of nondebtor releases to protect third parties from claims without the full consent of affected parties. While the ruling strengthens creditor protections, it creates uncertainty regarding how mass tort bankruptcies can efficiently compensate victims, particularly in …

Courting Jural Rights: The Kentucky Constitution And The Super Common Law Of Torts, Sarah L. Swan

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How Corporate Individualism Challenges Modern Tort Theory, Daniel Harris

University of Miami Business Law Review

According to the modern tort theory, that dominates in the legal academy, deep pocket entities that profit from facilitating harmful activity must compensate those foreseeably injured by that activity. The rationale is that allowing enterprises to externalize the costs they impose on others encourages excessively risky behavior. Therefore, cost internalization must be mandated to achieve the twin goals of tort law: compensation of tort victims and deterrence of potentially harmful conduct.

The thesis of this Article is that the academic model is misleading and incomplete. The concerns of the tort system are not limited to compensation and deterrence. Our legal …

Fifty More Years Of Ineffable Quo? Workers' Compensation And The Right To Personal Security, Michael C. Duff

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Duty To Warn In The Age Of Automation, Alexander B. Lemann

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

When The Taxpayers Are Not Innocent: The Need For Punitive Damages Against Municipalities Under The Fair Housing Act, Charlotte Saltzman

Fordham Law Review

Combatting housing discrimination by municipalities is a core function of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Courts disagree, however, as to whether punitive damages can be awarded against municipal defendants. The purpose of this Note is twofold. First, it compares the Second Circuit’s recent decision in Gilead Community Services, Inc. v. Town of Cromwell, which held that punitive damages were appropriate against the Town of Cromwell, with the reasoning of district courts that came to the opposite conclusion in reliance on § 1983 precedent. Second, notwithstanding the sufficiency of the statutory analysis, it evaluates the public policy concerns of awarding …

Recalibrating Risk Under Dobbs, Yvonne Lindgren, Michelle Oberman

Fordham Law Review

In response to mounting evidence of the devastating harms patients have experienced under abortion bans, abortion opponents and the Supreme Court of Texas have argued that the bans are clear but that doctors are willfully refusing to provide care. Instead of reforming the bans, they argue that doctors should be sued in medical malpractice for their failure to meet the standard of care. This Article interrogates that claim, investigating whether the crisis in reproductive healthcare that has resulted from delayed and denied care can be remedied by suing doctors. Specifically, can medical malpractice litigation provide guardrails against the erosion in …

Recalibrating Risk Under Dobbs, Yvonne F. Lindgren, Michelle Oberman

Faculty Works

In response to mounting evidence of the devastating harms patients have experienced under abortion bans, abortion opponents and the Supreme Court of Texas have argued that the bans are clear but that doctors are willfully refusing to provide care. Instead of reforming the bans, they argue that doctors should be sued in medical malpractice for their failure to meet the standard of care. This Article interrogates that claim, investigating whether the crisis in reproductive healthcare that has resulted from delayed and denied care can be remedied by suing doctors. Specifically, can medical malpractice litigation provide guardrails against the erosion in …