TortsProf Blog

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.

Keating on Beuermann on Strict Liability

At JOTWELL Torts, Greg Keating reviews Christine Beuermann's Reconceptualising Strict Liability for the Tort of Another.

Legally Speaking Ohio: Invasion of Privacy and Drug Testing

At Legally Speaking Ohio, Marianna Brown Bettman provides a thorough analysis of Lunsford v. Sterilite of Ohio, L.L.C., in which the Supreme Court of Ohio held that at-will employees have no cause of action for invasion of privacy when consenting to an employer-required direct observation method of submitting a urine sample for drug testing.

JOTWELL Torts: Simons on Abraham & White on Conceptualizing Tort Law

At JOTWELL, Ken Simons reviews Ken Abraham and Ted White's Conceptualizing Tort Law:  The Continuous (and Continuing) Struggle.

JOTWELL Torts: Bublick on Twerski on Consumer Expectations Versus Risk-Utility

At JOTWELL, Ellie Bublick reviews Aaron Twerski's An Essay on the Quieting of Products Liability Law.

JOTWELL: Abraham on Baker on Risk

At JOTWELL, Ken Abraham reviews Tom Baker's Uncertainty > Risk:  Lessons for Legal Thought from the Insurance Runoff Market.  

JOTWELL Torts: Engstrom on Lahav & Siegelman on the Declining Plaintiff-Win Rate

At JOTWELL, Nora Engstrom reviews Alexandra Lahav & Peter Siegelman's The Curious Incident of the Falling Win Rate:  Individual vs System-Level Justification and the Rule of Law.

Wriggins on Teaching Torts with a Focus on Race and Racism

I missed this post from February.  Jenny Wriggins posted about teaching Torts and race at the Race and the Law Prof Blog.  Her conclusion:

Racism is becoming stronger in the U.S., despite the long struggles for racial justice in the U.S. and despite the fact that it is so deeply wrong.  Our country has not completely addressed the history of race and racism in law.  And this definitely is true in the teaching of tort law.  Now is the time to make a serious start on this essential project. 

First Coronavirus Lawsuit

At Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog, Ron Miller covers the first coronavirus lawsuit.  It stems from the Grand Princess cruise ship.

Bernstein at the Faculty Lounge

Anita Bernstein is blogging at the Faculty Lounge.  Her most-recent post is about June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo, argued yesterday at SCOTUS.

Bettman on Supreme Court of Ohio on Wrongful Termination

At Legally Speaking Ohio, Marianna Brown Bettman provides a thorough analysis of the Supreme Court of Ohio's decision in House v. Iacovelli.  In that case, the court stated:  “It is less likely that a wrongful-termination-in-violation-of-public-policy claim is necessary when remedies for statutory violations are included in the statutory scheme.”  The court rejected the wrongful discharge claim; the fact there was no remedy for the individual employee affected did not alter the court's decision.

This reminds me of a recent Iowa case:  Ferguson v. Exide Techs., Inc., 936 N.W.2d 429, 434-435 (Iowa 2019) (“[W]hen the legislature includes a right to civil enforcement in the very statute that contains the public policy a common law claim would protect, the common law claim for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy becomes unnecessary.”).  The major difference between the two is that the Iowa holding leaves the individual employee with a claim. 

JOTWELL Torts: Zipursky on Fallon on Constitutional Torts

At JOTWELL, Ben Zipursky reviews Richard Fallon's Bidding Farewell to Constitutional Torts.

Conk on the Cato Institute and Qualified Immunity

At Otherwise, George Conk details the Cato Institute's recent battle against qualified immunity.

JOTWELL Torts: Sebok on Herstein on Moral Responsibility in Negligence

At JOTWELL, Tony Sebok reviews Ori Herstein's Nobody's Perfect:  Moral Responsibility in Negligence.

JOTWELL Torts: Goldberg on Descheemaeker on Compensating Emotional Harm

At JOTWELL, John Goldberg reviews Eric Descheemaker's Rationalising Recovery for Emotional Harm in Tort Law, 134 L.Q. Rev. 602 (2018).

Bell on the Model Uniform Products Liability Act

At Notice & Comment, Bernard Bell has posted "Fortieth Anniversary: The Commerce Department’s Foray Into Re-Writing Products Liability Law," which describes the history of the Model Uniform Products Liability Act.