TortsProf Blog

JOTWELL Torts: Goldberg on Volokh on Defamation by AI

At JOTWELL, John  Goldberg reviews Eugene Volokh's Large Libel Models?  Liability for AI Output.

Beswick on Liability of Judges for Wrongful Imprisonment

Over at New Private Law Blog, Sam Beswick covers "The Liability of Judges for Wrongful Imprisonment."  The lede:

Last month, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Federal Court of Australia each gave judgments on lawsuits against sitting judges for abusing their contempt-of-court power. The US case arose after an Ohio Municipal Court Judge sentenced a spectator in his courtroom gallery to 10 days’ jail for refusing the judge’s unprompted demand that she take a drug test. She spent one night in prison during which she was subjected to pregnancy tests and full-body CAT scans. The Australian case concerned a Family Court judge in Queensland who began a hearing by accusing a self-represented litigant of not complying with disclosure orders, sentencing him to 12 months’ imprisonment in what the Federal Court characterized as “a gross parody of a court hearing” (¶129). The man spent a harrowing seven days in prison and became suicidal.

In both cases, the judges’ contempt orders were appealed and declared invalid. The Ohio Court of Appeals considered that the municipal judge had abused his discretion and violated the courtroom spectator’s due process rights. The Full Court of the Family Court of Australia described the Family Court judge’s hearing as “devoid of procedural fairness” and his order “an affront to justice” (¶9). The individuals in both cases sued the judges for their wrongful imprisonment. Their suits raised two issues: (1) whether the judges’ actions amounted to a violation of a right for which the plaintiffs had legal recourse; and (2) whether the judges’ judicial office immunized them from liability to the plaintiffs. The Sixth Circuit considered only issue (2) and dismissed the case before it as barred by the doctrine of absolute judicial immunity. The case before the Australian Federal Court, by contrast, succeeded: judicial immunity was rejected and the judge was held personally liable to pay damages for the tort of false imprisonment.

In my view, these two cases illustrate a divergence in principle underscoring the liability of public officers generally to civil suit. I explore this idea in a forthcoming article examining claims against police and prison officers: whereas immunity principles drive the adjudication of such suits in the United States, the principle of equality under ordinary law is the jurisprudential starting point in countries such as Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

JOTWELL Torts: Avraham on Gilboa, Kaplan & Sarel on Climate Change as Unjust Enrichment

At JOTWELL, Ronen Avraham reviews Maytal Gilboa, Yotam Kaplan & Roee Sarel's Climate Change as Unjust Enrichment.

JOTWELL Torts: Keating on Blankfein-Tabachnick & Kordana on Private Law Theory

At JOTWELL, Greg Keating reviews David Blankfein-Tabachnick & Kevin Kordana's On Rawlsian Contractualism and the Private Law.

JOTWELL Torts: Kendrick on Keating on Irreparable Injury and Deterrence

At JOTWELL, Leslie Kendrick reviews Greg Keating's Irreparable Injury and the Limits of the Law of Torts.

JOTWELL Torts: Robinette on Lahav on Products Liability History

At JOTWELL, I review Alexandra Lahav's A Revisionist History of Products Liability.

JOTWELL Torts: Engstrom on Jolly, Hans & Peck on Juries

At JOTWELL, Nora Freeman Engstrom reviews Richard Jolly, Valerie Hans & Robert Peck's The Civil Jury:  Reviving an American Institution.

Feedspot Top 20 Products Liability Blogs

The list is here.

JOTWELL Torts: Bernstein on Tenzer on Social Media

At JOTWELL, Anita Bernstein reviews Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer's Social Media and the Common Law.

JOTWELL Torts: Wriggins on Gold on Mandatory Landlord Insurance

At JOTWELL, Jenny Wriggins reviews Allyson Gold's Insuring Justice.

JOTWELL Torts: Nolan on Giliker on Vicarious Liability

At JOTWELL, Donal Nolan reviews Paula Giliker's Vicarious Liability in the Common Law World.

JOTWELL Contracts: Hoffman on Hylton on Waivers

At JOTWELL, David Hoffman reviews Keith Hylton's Waivers.

JOTWELL Torts: Sebok on Cheng, Guttel, & Procaccia on Waivers of Liability

At JOTWELL, Tony Sebok reviews Edward Cheng, Ehud Guttel, & Yuval Procaccia's Unenforceable Waivers.

JOTWELL Torts: Avraham on Adar & Perry on Negligence

At JOTWELL, Ronen Avraham reviews Yehuda Adar & Ronen Perry's Negligence Without Harm.

JOTWELL Torts: Tilley on Cardi & Chamallas on Negligent Rape

At JOTWELL, Cristina Tilley reviews Jonathan Cardi & Martha Chamallas's A Negligence Claim for Rape. 

The History of Wilkinson v. Downton

The 1897 English case of Wilkinson v. Downton is famous for establishing the equivalent of intentional infliction of emotional distress long before that was a viable cause of action in the United States.  The case involved a pub patron playing an attempted practical joke by telling the pub owner's wife that her husband, who was away at the races, was "smashed up" in an accident involving a horse-drawn vehicle.  The wife experienced traumatic emotional damages.

On the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales (ICLR) Blog, Professor Rachael Mulheron QC (Hon) of Queen Mary University of London Department of Law provides the background history of the case, including what became of the pub.

Thanks to David McFadden for the tip.

JOTWELL Torts: Bublick on Kendrick on Public Nuisance

At JOTWELL, Ellie Bublick reviews Leslie Kendrick's The Perils and Promise of Public Nuisance.

JOTWELL Torts: Lahav on Simon on Bankruptcy and Mass Torts

At JOTWELL, Alexandra Lahav reviews Lindsey Simon's Bankruptcy Grifters.

JOTWELL Torts: Steel on Stone on Liability without Wrongdoing

At JOTWELL, Sandy Steel reviews Rebecca Stone's Private Liability without Wrongdoing.

JOTWELL Con Law: Lidsky on Tilley on Defamation

At JOTWELL, Lyrissa Lidsky reviews Cristina Carmody Tilley's (Re)Categorizing Defamation.