TortsProf Blog

NY: Golfer Not Liable for Failure to Yell "Fore"

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division's dismissal of a golfer's tort action based on his golfing partner's failure to warn of an impending swing of the club:

"The manner in which Anand was injured — being hit without warning by a ’shanked’ shot while one searches for one’s own ball — reflects a commonly appreciated risk of golf,” the judges wrote.

The (short) opinion is here.  WSJ Blog coverage is here.

--CJR

 

 

 

 

 

Tyler Clementi's Family Files Notice of Claim Against Rutgers

The family of Tyler Clementi, the student who committed suicide in September after video of his inimate encounter with another man was broadcast on the internet, has filed a notice of claim against Rutgers University:

The notice, filed by Westmont attorney Stephen DeFeo, contends the university failed to protect Clementi against “unlawful or otherwise improper acts perpetrated against” the Rutgers freshman.

“It appears Rutgers University failed to act, failed to put in place and/or failed to implement, and enforce policies and practices that would have prevented or deterred such acts, and that Rutgers failed to act timely and appropriately,” the notice reads.

myCentralJersy.com has the story.

--CJR

AALS Torts & Compensation Section Meeting on Vaccines and Drugs

Saturday January 8, 2011

 1:30-3:15 PM

Section on Torts and Compensation Systems

Market Street, Third Floor Level, Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco Union Square

 

Vaccines and Drugs: A Brave New Tort World

(Papers to be published in the Indiana Health Law Review)

Moderator: Catherine M. Sharkey, New York University School of Law

Speakers: James R. Copland, Director, Manhattan Institute Center for Legal Policy, New York, NY

Mary J. Davis, University of Kentucky College of Law

Robert L. Rabin, Stanford Law School

Malcolm E. Wheeler, Partner, Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP, Denver, CO

The proliferation of vaccine and pharmaceutical drug-related injuries challenges our conceptions of how the tort system can best meet its compensatory and regulatory aims in the 21st century. In 1986, Congress created the National Childhood Vaccine Act, establishing a no-fault compensation scheme for vaccine-related injuries. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, Inc. to decide whether design defect claims against vaccine manufacturers are preempted. This follows closely on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Wyeth v. Levine, finding that failure to warn claims against a drug manufacturer were not preempted. Our panelists—who include two prominent torts and products liability scholars (Professors Davis and Rabin), a seasoned litigator (Mr. Wheeler), and a policy expert (Mr. Copland)—will explore whether it makes sense to have separate legal regimes for vaccines and other pharmaceuticals. They will also address issues at the core of tort law in the modern administrative state: the need for no-fault victim compensation and the respective roles of litigation and governmental regulation.

Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.

Note that we finally have a location!

--CJR

Philadelphia Tops ATRA's 2010 Judicial Hellholes Report

Last week, the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) announced its 2010 Judicial Hellholes Report (pdf).  From the news release:

"Traditionally, Judicial Hellholes have been considered places where civil judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner, generally against defendants in civil lawsuits," explained ATRA general counsel Victor Schwartz. "The jurisdictions we name as Judicial Hellholes each year are not the only unfair courts in the nation, but they are among the most unfair, based on our survey of litigants and considerable independent research."

Philadelphia, PA topped the list this year, followed by LA and Humboldt County, California. 

ATRA also has moved its Judicial Hellholes feature "to an an online format that will feature year-round reporting on significant civil justice developments."

- SBS