TortsProf Blog

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.

JOTWELL Torts: Robinette on Abraham & White on Tort Law and the Construction of Change

At JOTWELL Torts, I review Ken Abraham and Ted White's Tort Law and the Construction of Change:  Studies in the Inevitability of History.

JOTWELL Torts: Engstrom on Burch & Lahav on Information Forcing

At JOTWELL Torts, Nora Freeman Engstrom reviews Elizabeth Chamblee Burch and Alexi Lahav's Information for the Common Good in Mass Torts.

JOTWELL Torts: Nolan on Geistfeld on Proximate Cause

At JOTWELL, Donal Nolan reviews Mark Geistfeld's Proximate Cause Untangled.

JOTWELL Torts: Sebok on Dana on Public Nuisance

At JOTWELL Torts, Tony Sebok reviews David Dana's Public Nuisance Law:  When Politics Fail. 

JOTWELL Torts: Goldberg on Cornell on Negligence

At JOTWELL Torts, John Goldberg reviews Nicolas Cornell's Looking and Seeing.

JOTWELL Torts: Keating on Engstrom & Rabin on Public Health Litigation

At JOTWELL Torts, Greg Keating reviews Nora Engstrom and Bob Rabin's Pursuing Public Health Through Litigation:  Lessons from Tobacco and Opioids.

JOTWELL Jurisprudence: Jimenez on Steel on the Fairness Argument for Tort Law

At JOTWELL Jurisprudence, Felipe Jimenez reviews Sandy Steel's On the Moral Necessity of Tort Law:  The Fairness Argument.

JOTWELL Torts: Avraham on Cheng et al. on Sequencing in Damages

Over at JOTWELL Torts, Ronen Avraham reviews Sequencing in Damages by Edward Cheng, Ehud Guttel & Yuval Procaccia.

Torrey on Harmonizing Wrongs and Compensation

At Workers' Compensation Law Prof Blog, David Torrey, a Pennsylvania workers' compensation judge who also teaches at Pitt, covers my latest article, with a focus on the WC material.

JOTWELL Torts: Steel on Benbaji on Kant on Welfare and Freedom

At JOTWELL Torts, Sandy Steel reviews Yitzhak Benbaji's Welfare and Freedom:  Towards a Semi-Kantian Theory of Private Law.

JOTWELL Courts: Mullenix on Russell on Frivolous Defenses

At JOTWELL, Linda Mullenix reviews Thomas Russell's Frivolous Defenses.

JOTWELL Torts: Sebok on Knobe & Shapiro on Proximate Cause

At JOTWELL, Tony Sebok reviews Joshua Knobe & Scott Shapiro's Proximate Cause Explained:  An Essay in Experimental Jurisprudence.

"Personal Rights" in China's New Civil Code

China has a new civil code that will take effect on January 1st, and it includes a section on "personal rights."  George Conk has coverage at Otherwise; here is a sample:

The section - of which we will soon publish a translation - is a real contribution to China's developing civil law.  It embeds in fundamental law personal rights to life, bodily integrity, personal security from unlawful searches, personal and organizational names, health, reputation, and privacy.  It bars commercialization of organ donation while preserving the voluntary right.  Remarkably it establishes a right to be free from sexual harassment - a right the Supreme People's Court last year recognized.  But its location in the nation's first comprehensive civil code highlights and secures the principle. 

NJ: Supreme Court Accepts Attorney-Client Arbitration Agreements

In the context of a legal malpractice case, the New Jersey Supreme Court accepts arbitration clauses in attorney-client contracts, but requires a full explanation to the client of the advantages and disadvantages.  The case is Delaney v. Sills, and George Conk has commentary at Otherwise.

JOTWELL Torts: Goldberg on Lahav on Remedies

At JOTWELL, John Goldberg reviews Alexandra Lahav's The Knowledge Remedy.