TortsProf Blog

IL Asbestos Duty Case

In Simpkins v. CSX Corp., 929 N.E.2d 1257 (Ill. App. June 10, 2010), the court overturned the dismissal of a case brought by the estate of the wife of a worker who allegedly brought home asbestos on his clothes and body, causing the wife to be exposed.  The wife contracted mesothelioma and her estate sued the worker's employer.  The court discussed general duty principles, stressing foreseeability.  It followed decisions from Tennessee and New Jersey, but did not discuss opposing cases from elsewhere.

Thanks to Mark Weber for the tip.

--CJR

TV Preacher Can Sue ABC For Defamation

In an opinion filed Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the trial court's dismissal of a suit by televangelist Rev. Frederick Price against ABC for defamation based on a video of a sermon that aired on "20/20."

A copy of the opinion is available here.

The AP/law.com has more.

Thanks to Lisa Smith-Butler for the alert.

- SBS

Class Actions and Coupons

Miller-McCune, a relatively new policy institute in southern California focused on pragmatic solutions to public policy issues, published a piece earlier this month focusing on the compensation of claimants, and particularly their attorneys, in class actions.  A number of people are quoted in the story, including Mary Davis (Kentucky), Ted Frank (Center for Class Action Fairness, Manhattan Institute, PoL), Robin Effron (Brooklyn), Brian Fitzpatrick (Vanderbilt), and Peter Thompson (Hamline).  The story is here.

--CJR

More on the BP Claims Process

This Pacifica Radio update on the BP claims process includes analysis by TortsProf's Sheila Scheuerman.

--CJR

Southeastern Law Scholars Conference

    The Charleston School of Law is pleased to host a Southeastern Law Scholars Conference to be held on the campus of the Charleston School of Law on October 22-23, 2010.  This regional conference will bring together junior law school faculty to present published papers or works-in-progress across all disciplines within the law.  The conference is open to all junior law faculty (one to seven years teaching experience) at law schools in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  To ensure an atmosphere conducive to feedback, space is limited to twenty participants. 

    The conference will begin with dinner for all participants on Friday, October 22, 2010.  On Saturday, October 23, 2010, conference participants will present either a completed paper or work-in-progress, and comment on the papers and ideas presented by others.  As the host school, the Charleston School of Law will provide dinner on Friday, October 22, as well as breakfast and lunch on Saturday, October 23.  There is no registration fee.  Participants, however, are responsible for their own travel expenses. 

    To participate in the conference, please send an email to conference organizer, Associate Professor Sheila B. Scheuerman at sscheuerman@charlestonlaw.edu by Monday, September 20, 2010.  Please note whether you will be attending dinner on Friday, October 22, in your email.  In addition, please include the title of your presentation topic.  A short abstract would also be helpful.  Please direct any questions, comments or suggestions to Sheila B. Scheuerman at the email address above. 

- SBS

BP Spill Fund vs. 9/11 Fund

An article in Saturday's NY Timescompares the work ahead of Ken Feinberg with the BP Oil Fund, with his prior work on the 9/11 Fund.

- SBS