Panel on Pluralism in Tort Law and Litigation at Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities

As previously mentioned, I was part of a panel on Pluralism in Tort Law and Litigation at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, which took place on Saturday, March 20 at Brown University.  Professor Alan Calnan (Southwestern) moderated the panel, and other participants included Professors Christopher Robinette (Widener) and Sheila Scheuerman (Charleston).  Below are the abstracts and links to audio from the presentations and Q&A.  Thanks to Alan Calnan for moderating and to all for participating.

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I.  Prof. Alan Calnan -- Introduction (audio)

II.  Prof. Christopher Robinette -- "The Instrumentalism in Tort Reforms" (audio)

The traditional view among legal historians is that tort was largely deontic private law until the late nineteenth century.  Due to factors such as the Industrial Revolution and the advent of liability insurance, tort became (more) instrumentalist.  A survey of major tort reforms over the course of the last century provides evidence to support this view.  Each of the reforms--workers' compensation, no-fault automobile insurance, products liability, and "modern" tort reforms (such as damage caps)--is based in instrumentalism.  Furthermore, the reforms become increasingly integrated into tort law as time passed.  The earliest reform, workers' compensation, was a substitute for tort law.  By the time of the modern reforms, instrumentalism is operating within tort itself, and covers a multitude of tort cases.

III.  Prof. Byron Stier -- ""Examining Litigant Autonomy in Mass Torts: Insights from the Individualism of Ayn Rand" (audio)

Class actions and other aggregate procedural methods raise questions about the relationship of the individual to the group.  Litigant autonomy -- the litigant's interest in controlling his or her lawsuit -- has generally been considered merely one value among others in mass tort litigation, and only recently has a robust commitment to litigant autonomy been seen to call into question the entire structure of class action practice.  In looking for insight into the proper place for litigant autonomy in class actions or other management methods, we might fruitfully turn to political debates concerning the relationship of the citizen to the state, for both settings examine the rights of the individual against the perceived needs of the group or collective.  For discussion of that political question, I look to an unusual source -- outside law, to the literature of one known for her radical political individualism, Ayn Rand.  Her novel, "We The Living," which was published in 1936 and is set in the aftermath of the communist revolution in Russia, puts forth a moral argument for individualism stemming from the sanctity of one's own life, and of one's control of one's own life, for one's own ends, not the group's; she also argues that personal tragedy and systemic corruption accompany an approach that fails to respect individuals' lives and choices.  Turning back to mass tort litigation, I suggest that our notion of litigant autonomy can be informed by Rand's themes and that current class action rules show flaws similar to the collectivism that Rand critiques. Viewing litigant autonomy not merely as one value among others, but instead as an organizing principle that must be respected as a core right, I suggest that current class action rules regarding notice, opt-out, and settlement are problematic because they do not allow adequate expression of individual preference and they blunt each class member's individuality.  In addition, by avoiding individual control, the current class action rules create fertile ground for corruption and collusive settlements.

IV.  Prof. Sheila Scheuerman (audio)

In my presentation, I examine whether and when tort law should permit
"no injury" claims -- claims where the plaintiff's harm has not yet
materialized.  Examples of these suits include medical monitoring
actions, products liability claims where a known defect exists, but the
product has not yet malfunctioned, as well as consumer fraud claims
where the consumer's decision was not affected by the defendant's
alleged misrepresentation.  Recent years have seen an influx of these
suits under an array of tort and contract theories.  Traditionally,
however, tort doctrine has premised liability on an injury to an
identified party.  But is "injury" a necessary pre-requisite?  I address
whether tort values support these "no injury" causes of action.  In
other words, should "no injury" claims be actionable under the varied
rationales for the tort system and, if so, under what circumstances?

V.  Questions and Answers (audio)

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BGS