Personal Injury Law

Journal of Legal Studies on Malpractice Reforms

Posted on June 23, 2008
Ron Miller has an interesting post about a 2007 article in the Journal of Legal Studies' symposium supplement. As Miller sees it, the study has some good and some bad for folks on all sides. --BC

No Exxon Valdez Opinion

Posted on June 23, 2008
Order list here [PDF]. --BC (Note: I initially said "no Exxon Valdez cert." Obviously wasn't awake yet. Cert was granted last fall.

"Doubt Is Their Product"

Posted on June 23, 2008
I don't think we've yet linked to David Michaels's book Doubt Is Their Product (reviews and such here, David's chat at FireDogLake here). I haven't yet read the book (coughcoughreviewcopy?coughcough), but it is on my summer list. According to the...

"To the Trenches" - NYT on Tort Reform

Posted on June 22, 2008
The NYT today has a piece about tort reform today and the ongoing lobbying battles. --BC

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Potential Torts Openings?

Posted on June 21, 2008
In the same vein as Sheila's post yesterday, Prawfsblawg has a list of hiring chairs for 2008-09. Although many schools are not specific about their needs at this point, Wisconsin and Berkeley specifically list Torts as an area of interest....

Torts Opening at Southern Illinois

Posted on June 20, 2008
From the Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois: Southern Illinois University School of Law seeks to hire an Assistant or Associate Professor of Law to teach Torts, Advanced Torts, and other courses to be negotiated. Title & Rank: Assistant or...

Directorship's Boardroom Guide to State Litigation Climates

Posted on June 20, 2008
The Directorship has released its second annual Boardroom Guide to State Litigation Climates. (PDF version also available). According to the Guide: Directorship?s Best and Worst States for Business The 10 Best 1. Tennessee 2. Utah 3. Indiana 4. Ohio 5...

Don't Eat Legos! Unless They're The Yummy Ones!

Posted on June 19, 2008
The Laboratorium notes a post on Penny Arcade regarding fruit snacks in the shape of Legos. And yes, they're real, not a clever Photoshop job. Bad idea. --BC

Davis on Liability of Coaches for Pro Athletes' Injuries

Posted on June 19, 2008
More sports and torts! Timothy Davis (Wake Forest) has uploaded Tort Liability of Coaches for Injuries to Professional Athletes: Overcoming Policy and Doctrinal Barriers to SSRN. Here's the abstract: The resolution of seemingly straightforward disputes that arise in sports often...

Crimtorts Symposium Issue

Posted on June 18, 2008
The Crimtorts symposium issue of the Widener Law Journal is rolling off the presses. The articles are available below: Christopher J. Robinette, Introduction (Available through SSRN) Kenneth W. Simons, The Crime/Tort Distinction: Legal Doctrine and Normative Perspectives Download simons_symposium_pp_719732...

"Putting Duty In Its Place": Esper & Keating Reply to Goldberg & Zipursky

Posted on June 17, 2008
Dilan Esper (Stein & Flugge LLP) and Gregory C. Keating (USC) have posted "Putting Duty In Its Place: A Reply to Professors Goldberg and Zipursky" on SSRN. The abstract provides: In Abusing 'Duty' we argued that California courts have been...

Federalist Society Talk on Alien Tort Claims Act

Posted on June 17, 2008
The New York City Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society is sponsoring "What Corporate Acts Create Exposure for International Law Violations?" on Wednesday June 25th at the Cornell Club in NYC. Speakers include Richard L. Herz, Litigation Coordinator, NGO Earthrights...

Judge Permits Discovery of Anonymous AutoAdmit Poster

Posted on June 16, 2008
Two Yale law students have sued various posters at AutoAdmit for defamation and other torts. One of them, "AK47," sought permission to proceed anonymously and to quash (based on free speech grounds) a subpoena seeking his identity. The trial court...

Center for American Progress on Malpractice Reform

Posted on June 16, 2008
The Center for American Progress has a number of articles recently posted about malpractice liability, insurance, and so on. It's all in the context of health care reform more generally, and worth a read. --BC

Prosser and Campaign 2008

Posted on June 15, 2008
"Prosser on Torts" has made an appearance in the election campaign here. --CJR

Nevada: More Disclosure of Malpractice Information

Posted on June 14, 2008
Yesterday the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners decided to expand the information about physicians available on its website. Currently the website lists the names of physicians who have been disciplined and the nature of the infraction. In the wake of...

Another Settlement in Rhode Island Club Fire

Posted on June 14, 2008
This time it's $25 million from Sealed Air Corp., whose polyethylene foam may have been used in the building. Sealed Air says that their packaging material was misused as soundproofing -- and contends that the plaintiffs didn't even have evidence...

What Happened to the Prosser Notebook?

Posted on June 13, 2008
You may remember that back in November and December I wrote a series of posts about a notebook one of my students loaned me. It was his grandfather's Torts notebook from the 1938-39 academic year at the University of Minnesota....

Chandler's Computer Models of Negligence

Posted on June 12, 2008
Back in January at AALS, I ran into Professor Seth Chandler (Houston) presenting a poster on computer models of negligence. Chandler's models (or "demonstrations") are available at the Wolfram Demonstrations Project. To run them, you must download Mathematica Player, but...

Another Intamin Ride Cable Snaps

Posted on June 11, 2008
Details are a little sketchy, but RideAccidents.com has photos of the Intamin drop ride in Spain with a cable snapped. It appears that the ride operator hit the emergency stop button in time to prevent any injuries. The ride design...

Two New Class Actions Based on Restaurant Menus

Posted on June 11, 2008
The National Law Journal (via law.com) reports on two new class actions filed against several nationwide restaurant chains alleging that their menus misrepresent the nutritional content of various items: The lawsuits also allege that much of the menus' nutrition information...

Does Fido Have to Prove Reliance?

Posted on June 11, 2008
According to the Daily Business Review (via law.com), a new type of class action has been filed against various pet food manufacturers: false advertising claims. The suit filed in federal court in Miami alleges that pet manufacturers falsely advertise when...

9th Circuit Appoints Special Prosecutor To Determine Attorney Discipline in Nicaraguan Pesticide Case

Posted on June 10, 2008
The Recorder (via Law.com) reports that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has appointed a special prosecutor to determine sanctions for two Los Angelese attorneys' conduct in the Nicaraguan pesticide cases. Thomas Girardi and Walter Lack...

Kia Liable for $6M for Brake Defects

Posted on June 10, 2008
PennLive (via AP) reports that a New Jersey jury has found Kia liable for a defective brake system in its 1995 to 2001 Kia Sephia, and has awarded $6 million to a class of New Jersey purchasers. (Details from this...

Cert Granted in Williams v. Philip Morris

Posted on June 09, 2008
SCOTUSBlog is liveblogging today's orders and opinions and reports that the Court granted cert. in the Williams v. Philip Morris case. You can browse our damages category for many posts about Williams and other punitive damages cases. A later post...

Lawsuit Filed By Theme Park Actor Shot By Coworker

Posted on June 06, 2008
Wild West City, located in the wild west lands of New Jersey, "recreates 1880s life in Dodge City, Kansas," complete with shootouts. A couple of years ago, Scott Harris, an actor/stuntman at the park, was playing a part in one...

Sebok Interview on Public Nuisance

Posted on June 06, 2008
Over at Law And More, Jane Genova interviews Cardozo prof and FindLaw columnist Tony Sebok on his views on the Rhode Island lead paint case and public nuisance generally. (Via PointofLaw) - SBS

Third Time's The Charm or Three Strikes & You're Out?

Posted on June 06, 2008
We are still waiting for the Court's decision on the cert petition in Philip Morris v. Williams, the Oregon punitive damages case upholding a 100 to 1 ratio despite remand from the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition has been punted...

Can the Spirit be Allocated Some Fault?

Posted on June 05, 2008
Here's one to store away in your exam folder. The Smoking Gun reports on the case of Matthew Lincoln, who is suing Lakewind Church for injuries he suffered during a service. At the service, hosted by a visiting minister, parishioners...

Top 10 Recent Torts Downloads on SSRN

Posted on June 05, 2008
Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 163 Ten Half-Truths About Tort Law John C.P. Goldberg, Vanderbilt University - School of Law, Date posted to database: April 21, 2008 Last Revised: April 21, 2008 2 139 Jefferson Meets Coase: Land-Use Torts, Law...

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