TortsProf Blog

Monday's Guest Blogger: Geoffrey Rapp

 
Geoffrey C. Rapp is Professor of Law at the University of Toledo College of Law. Professor Rapp is a graduate of Harvard College (AB) (1998) and Yale Law School (JD) (2001).

Rapp graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Economics from Harvard, where he was a Research Assistant at the National Bureau of Economic Research and earned a public school teaching certificate in Social Studies. At Yale Law School, he was a Teaching Fellow and Head Teaching Fellow in the Department of Economics and a Teaching Fellow in the Computer Science Department. He served as a Notes Editor on the Yale Law Journal.

Rapp then clerked for The Honorable Cornelia G. Kennedy, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Detroit, Michigan. Rapp was a Visiting Professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law and has also taught at Wayne State University School of Law and Michigan State University College of Law, and worked in private practice.

Rapp’s research interests include substantive tort law, regulation of business entities and financial markets, the economic aspects of sports law, and the statistical analysis of legal and policy problems. Rapp is a contributor to the Sports Law Blog and has published pieces in The Washington Post, The Hartford Courant, and CNN.com. He has been frequently interviewed by local and national media, including National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, The New York Times, Toronto’s National Post, BBC Radio, The Christian Science Monitor, The Toledo Blade and The Washington Times. Professor Rapp is the author of a monthly column, Diary of a Dad, for the Toledo Area Parent News (circulation 40,000).

Personal Injury Law Roundup No. 100 - April 15, 2011

It's tax day, hooray hooray!  Plus our hundredth personal injury law roundup!

New Cases, Resolutions

• Match.com sued by client after alleged sexual assault by date met on site.  (NBC LA)
• Valet parker sues LeBron James's mom after alleged battery.  (Miami Herald)
• Rhode Island not liable in fall from "Cliff Walk."  (WSJ.com)

Appeals

• French Supreme Court says the enforcement of a U.S. punitive damages award is not always precluded under public policy (though it rejected the particular award).  (International Law Office)

Reform, Legislation, Policy

• Legislation would eliminate some of the more problematic parts of CPSIA. (Overlawyered and links therein)
• Bill would increase oversight of imported pharmaceuticals.  (Pharmalot)

Miscellaneous

• Ford "greatly" expanding recall of F-150 pickups due to problem that might result in unexpected deployment of airbags.  No lawsuits are mentioned (and a Google search reveals no lawyers seeking clients through AdSense yet), but one assumes they're coming.  (Reuters)

--BC

Bill Precluding Punitives for Undocumented Immigrants

Arizona already has a constitutional amendment precluding illegal immigrants from receiving punitive damages, but the legislature has now attempted to make that retroactive to 2004.  The bill is evidently an effort to prevent the payment of damages found in a particular suit against two Arizona ranchers found liable for false imprisonment.

--BC

Japanese Individuals, Businesses Seek Compensation for Nuclear Disaster

From the story, it sounds like there's a chance of a fairly quick resolution and agreement for payments.

Bloom on the Focus of Tort Litigation

Anne Bloom (Pacific-McGeorge) has posted to SSRN Zen and the Art of Tort Litigation.  The abstract provides:

Legal analysis in tort litigation should encourage deeper engagement with the plaintiff’s pain and suffering. Focusing more on understanding the causes and experience of human suffering – the Zen approach – will advance traditional tort goals of compensation and deterrence, as well as provide the plaintiff with a more positive litigation experience. This Article argues that current practices in tort litigation place too much emphasis on bodily harm and expert testimony, and unnecessarily position the plaintiff as a victim. Alternatively, a Zen approach recognizes that the body and mind are linked, places greater weight on direct, experiential testimony, and acknowledges the complexity and fluidity of the plaintiff’s identity.

--CJR

West Virginia Jury Rejects Medical Monitoring Claims

After a two week trial, a West Virginia jury returned a defense verdict in favor of Massey Energy Co. in a class action for medical monitoring based on the plaintiffs' alleged exposure to toxic coal dust. 

Mass Tort Defense has the details.

- SBS

PA House to Vote on Tort Reform Measure Today

WHYY reports that the Pennsylvania House is voting today on House Bill 1, a measure that replaces joint liability among tortfeasors with several liability with a few exceptions. 

- SBS