TortsProf Blog

AALS

As Bill warned, there has been a hiatus as all three of us attended the AALS Annual Meeting in New York.  Ellen Bublick, the Chair-Elect of the Torts and Compensation Section, compiled a section newsletter [PDF] that includes information about upcoming conferences and recent publications.  Congratulations to Robert Rabin, who was presented this year's William L. Prosser Award at the section's program!

--CJR

Padilla v. Yoo: No Torts

As you've probably seen (e.g., Chicago Tribune, Opinio Juris), Jose Padilla is suing John Yoo (Berkeley) for his role in the "torture memos" (complaint is here [PDF]).  Despite various factual allegations that could potentially support a tort claim (albeit one with some challenging immunity problems), the ultimate claims are Constitutional and statutory (presumably with immunity problems still too), with the complaint requesting declaratory relief, attorney fees, and one dollar in damages.

--BC

Congress Overturns Lawn Dart Ban!

Okay, not really, but The Onion's radio news story has some fun with lobbyists for, er challenging products.

--BC

New York Med Mal "Crisis"? And the Solution is a $50k Fee on All Doctors?

The New York Sun reports on a plan by the New York Insurance Commissioner to impose a $50,000 fee on all doctors in the state "as a way to protect the solvency of the state's medical malpractice insurance companies."   Needless to say, doctors are speaking out against the proposed surcharge. 

Eric Turkewitz has a through post on the Sun's report as well as the underlying med mal "crisis" in NY.

- SBS

Top 10 Torts Downloads on SSRN

Happy New Year to all!   Wrapping up 2007, listed below are the top 10 downloads for papers posted on SSRN from Nov. 2, 2007 to Jan. 1, 2008 in the Journal of Torts & Products Liability Law:

Rank	Downloads	Paper Title
1	155	Re-torts Ronen Perry, New York University - School of Law, Date posted to database: October 17, 2007 Last Revised: November 13, 2007
2	153	Moral Cognition and Computational Theory John Mikhail, Georgetown University - Law Center, Date posted to database: November 13, 2007 Last Revised: December 3, 2007
3	127	Rome II and Tort Conflicts: A Missed Opportunity Symeon C. Symeonides, Willamette University - College of Law, Date posted to database: November 22, 2007 Last Revised: November 22, 2007
4	75	The Anti-Innovation Bias of Tort Law Gideon Parchomovsky, Alex Stein, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Date posted to database: November 8, 2007 Last Revised: November 8, 2007
5	59	Creating Masculine Identities: Harassment and Bullying 'Because of Sex' Ann McGinley, University of Nevada, Las Vegas - William S. Boyd School of Law, Date posted to database: December 3, 2007 Last Revised: December 4, 2007
6	58	Did the Right Make America a Lawsuit Nation?: Thomas Geoghegan's See You in Court Theodore H. Frank, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Date posted to database: November 28, 2007 Last Revised: December 3, 2007
7	56	What if Samuel D. Warren Hadn't Married a Senator's Daughter?: Uncovering the Press Coverage that Led to The Right to Privacy Amy Gajda, University of Illinois - College of Law, Date posted to database: November 5, 2007 Last Revised: December 14, 2007
8	56	Towards a European Tort Law? Damages Actions for Breach of the EC Antitrust Rules: Harmonising Tort Law Through the Back Door? Francisco Marcos, Albert Sánchez Graells, Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia de la Comunidad de Madrid, Instituto de Empresa Business School - Observatory on Competition Policy, Date posted to database: November 12, 2007 Last Revised: December 5, 2007
9	51	Fairness Through Guidance: Jury Instruction on Punitive Damages After Philip Morris v. Williams Neil Vidmar, Matthew W. Wolfe, Duke University - School of Law, Duke University - School of Law, Date posted to database: November 5, 2007 Last Revised: December 14, 2007
10	47	Disability and Work: The Transformation of the Legal Status of Employees with Disabilities in Canada Michael S. Lynk, University of Western Ontario, Date posted to database: December 12, 2007 Last Revised: December 12, 2007

- SBS

Hilden on Libel Tourism

Julie Hilden has a new Writ column exploring the phenomenon of "libel tourism," where plaintiffs exploit the relatively liberal defamation laws in Britain.  She ultimately recommends a treaty to permit judges in both the U.S. and the U.K to evaluate jurisdictional questions with more flexibility, given the problems engendered by such forum shopping.

--BC

(Sorry for the slowness in posting lately -- holidays, computer issues, attacks of rabid monkeys, etc., etc.  May be slow during AALS -- speaking of which, if anyone is interested in getting together there, let me know.)