The Evolution from Strict Liability to Fault in the Law of Torts
The Evolution from Strict Liability to Fault in the Law of Torts

Author: Anthony Gray

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-02-25

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 1509941002

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Gradually, the law of tort has shifted away from a strict-liability approach to one where fault predominates. This book charts important case law documenting this shift. It seeks to understand how and why it occurred. Given that the Rylands v Fletcher decision is typically seen as a prime exemplar of strict liability, it focusses particularly on that case, as part of the historical development of tort law. It considers the intellectual arguments made in favour of strict liability, and for fault-based liability. Having done so, it then focusses on particular areas of the law of tort, including nuisance, defamation and trespass. It is somewhat anomalous that though most would view these as examples of torts of strict liability, fault considerations have become prominent in their application. This presents an uneasy compromise, where torts that are notionally strict in nature are infused with fault considerations, often through exceptions or defences. This book advocates for further development in the law of tort to better reflect a primarily fault-based approach to liability, at least in the common law. This would make the law of tort more coherent.

The Evolution from Strict Liability to Fault in the Law of Torts
The Evolution from Strict Liability to Fault in the Law of Torts

Author: Anthony Gray (Law teacher)

Publisher: Hart Publishing

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 9781509941025

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"Gradually, the law of tort has shifted away from a strict-liability approach to one where fault predominates. This book charts important case law documenting this shift. It seeks to understand how and why it occurred. Given that the Rylands v Fletcher decision is typically seen as a prime exemplar of strict liability, it focusses particularly on that case, as part of the historical development of tort law. It considers the intellectual arguments made in favour of strict liability, and for fault-based liability. Having done so, it then focusses on particular areas of the law of tort, including nuisance, defamation and trespass. It is somewhat anomalous that though most would view these as examples of torts of strict liability, fault considerations have become prominent in their application. This presents an uneasy compromise, where torts that are notionally strict in nature are infused with fault considerations, often through exceptions or defences. This book advocates for further development in the law of tort to better reflect a primarily fault-based approach to liability, at least in the common law. This would make the law of tort more coherent"--

Tort Law in America
Tort Law in America

Author: G. Edward White

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2003-03-27

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 9780198020271

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Widely regarded as a standard in the field, G. Edward White's Tort Law in America is a concise and accessible history of the way legal scholars and judges have conceptualized the subject of torts, the reasons that changes in certain rules and doctrines have occurred, and the people who brought about these changes. Now in an expanded edition, Tort Law in America features a new preface that places the book within the current scholarship and two new chapters covering developments in American tort law over the past fifteen years. White approaches his subject from four perspectives: intellectual history, the sociology of knowledge, the phenomenon of professionalization in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in America, and the recurrent concerns of tort law since its emergence as a discrete field. He puts the intellectual history of this unique branch of law into the general picture of philosophy, sociology, and literature in what is not only a major work of legal scholarship but also a tour de force for anyone interested in American intellectual history.

Unification of Tort Law
Unification of Tort Law

Author: Francesco Donato Busnelli

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 9041121854

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Covers various European countries, Israel, South Africa, and the United States.

The Evolution of 'RESPONSABILITE Du FAIT Des CHOSES' in French Tort Law:
The Evolution of 'RESPONSABILITE Du FAIT Des CHOSES' in French Tort Law:

Author: LL.D., Dr Samuel Bezzina, Samuel LL.B., N.P.(Dip.), LL.D.

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2014-12-15

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9781502385338

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This book will compare various different European Tort law regimes with emphasis on indirect liability for things. French courts seem to have developed the notion of responsibility without fault in such a way and to such an extent that it seems, prima facie, that the custodian is responsible for any damage which is caused by the thing under his custody, and that he cannot simply prove the absence of his fault in order to escape liability. The thesis looks at the mechanisms of this notion, together with the possible exonerations available as a defence for the defendant. The rigorous approach to civil responsibility in the Code Civil had to be revised by jurists at the end of the nineteenth century. This is mainly because the precarious condition of victims of accidents of work necessitated such re-evaluation. In most countries, liability is based on the classical notion of fault. Germany was the first country to deviate from the principle of fault, although this was originally very limited and only a closed group of victims could benefit. Originally, the wording of the French article, on which today liability without fault is based, was interpreted as referring only to liability for animals and buildings. Eventually, however, the meaning was extended to include all things which cause harm, and not only buildings or animals. In French law the position is very clear. There are only three conditions for exoneration: force majeure, acts of third parties, contributory fault. At Common Law, we find the court-developed concept of 'res ipsa loquitur'. This maxim means that the thing speaks for itself. It allows the claimant to succeed in an action for negligence even when there is absolutely no evidence as to what caused the accident and therefore of whether it was attributable to negligence on the part of the defendant. Under Austrian Law, while the principle of fault is the most important pillar of the law of delict, it is to be observed that the Austrian court has applied by analogy the provisions of strict liability to circumstances not provided for by the law. The position in Malta seems to be that the sections of fault liability cannot be extended by analogy to other instances not found in the law. The thesis will arrive to a conclusion as to whether the principle of liability without fault would be a better alternative to Maltese fault liability.

Torts in a Nutshell
Torts in a Nutshell

Author: Edward J. Kionka

Publisher: West Academic Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 584

ISBN-13:

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"This Nutshell provides a comprehensive explanation of the basic principles and rules of American tort law as it exists today. This Nutshell has been used for over twenty-five years by law students, law graduates preparing for the bar exam, and others seeking an overview of tort topics. Coverage includes intentional torts and defenses, negligence and its defenses, strict liability, special liability rules for particular activities (such as landowners? liability, products liability, employers, employees, and contractors, and others), damages, the relation between tort and contract, immunities, survival and wrongful death, defamation, privacy, and misrepresentation. The introductory chapter provides background on the definitional dilemma; functions, goals and justifications of tort law; the evolution of tort law; and the roles of judges and juries. Citations to the Restatement of Torts are included. Discussions frequently include not only the rule but also its rationale for a clearer understanding and to aid memory."

Cases and Materials on Torts
Cases and Materials on Torts

Author: Richard A. Epstein

Publisher: Aspen Publishing

Published: 2020-02-13

Total Pages: 1706

ISBN-13: 1543820905

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Cases and Materials on Torts preserves historical and conceptual continuity between the present and the past, while addressing the most significant contemporary controversies in such fast-moving areas like public nuisance, global warming, and product liability, with new litigation against internet providers. Toward these dual ends, Richard A. Epstein and Catherine M. Sharkey have retained in the Twelfth Edition the great older cases, both English and American, that have proved themselves time and again in the classroom, and which continue to exert great influence on the modern law. Our book also provides a rich exploration of the dominant corrective justice and law-and-economics approaches to tort law, as exemplified both in the retained and new cases and materials. New to the Twelfth Edition: Extensive new treatment of public nuisance cases to address the profound expansion of the once-sleepy area of public nuisance law into the realms of the opioid crisis, toxic torts, and global warming. Major reconsideration of who counts as a seller in the chain of distribution for goods sold online with product liability updates for various forms of e-commerce, such as Amazon’s liability for defective products sold on its site. Updates to incorporate two major new Torts Restatements on Intentional Harms and Liability Insurance. The Reforms of the Michigan No-Fault Legislation Enhanced treatment of privacy in the era of “Big Data” to address trend of large data collectors like Facebook and Google to determine what is reasonable online, incorporating major privacy legislation such as California’s Consumer Privacy Act and the European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). Expansion of materials that address race and gender disparities in the setting of damages awards; and, in the realm of punitive damages innovative remedies directing some portion of the award to public interest groups. Professors and students will benefit from: Clear organizational framework of the book. Important lines of cases that help understand legal reasoning and the evolution of precedent Inclusion of key academic commentary and elaboration of central intellectual disputes over the nature and function of the tort law Ability to pick and choose modules of interest – such as defamation, privacy, and economic harms – which are of increasing importance in real world of tort litigation. Extensive notes with topic headlines that elaborate basic concepts and extend into the most complex contemporary issues facing courts. Great attention given to cutting edge tort developments.

The Strict Liability in Fault and the Fault in Strict Liability
The Strict Liability in Fault and the Fault in Strict Liability

Author: John C. P. Goldberg

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 46

ISBN-13:

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Tort scholars have long been obsessed with the dichotomy between strict liability and liability based on fault or wrongdoing. We argue that this is a false dichotomy. Torts such as battery, libel, negligence, and nuisance are wrongs, yet all are “strictly” defined in the sense of setting objective and thus quite demanding standards of conduct. We explain this basic insight under the heading of “the strict liability in fault.” We then turn to the special case of liability for abnormally dangerous activities, which at times really does involve liability without wrongdoing. Through an examination of this odd corner of tort law, we isolate “the fault in strict liability” -- that is, the fault line between the wrongs-based form of strict liability that is frequently an aspect of tort liability and the wrongs-free form of strict liability that is found only within the very narrow domain of liability for abnormally dangerous activities. We conclude by defending these two features of the common law of tort: the strictness of the terms on which it defines wrongdoing and its begrudging willingness to recognize, in one special kind of case, liability without wrongdoing.

Justifying Strict Liability
Justifying Strict Liability

Author: Marco Cappelletti

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022-06-23

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0192859862

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The imposition of strict liability in tort law is controversial, and its theoretical foundations are the object of vigorous debate. Why do or should we impose strict liability on employers for the torts committed by their employees, or on a person for the harm caused by their children, animals, activities, or things? In responding to this type of questions, legal actors rely on a wide variety of justifications. Justifying Strict Liability explores, in a comparative perspective, the most significant arguments that are put forward to justify the imposition of strict liability in four legal systems, two common law, England and the United States, and two civil law, France and Italy. These justifications include: risk, accident avoidance, the 'deep pockets' argument, loss-spreading, victim protection, reduction in administrative costs, and individual responsibility. By looking at how these arguments are used across the four legal systems, this book considers a variety of patterns which characterise the reasoning on strict liability. The book also assesses the justificatory weight of the arguments, showing that these can assume varying significance in the four jurisdictions and that such variations reflect different views as to the values and goals which inspire strict liability and tort law more generally. Overall, the book seeks to improve our understanding of strict liability, to shed light on the justifications for its imposition, and to enhance our understanding of the different tort cultures featuring in the four legal systems studied.

The Law of Torts
The Law of Torts

Author: John G. Fleming

Publisher: Lawbook Company

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 824

ISBN-13:

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Intentional wrongs - Negligence - Strict liability - Nuisance - Occupiers and owners of property - Employers' liability - Products liability - Defamation - Right of privacy - Abuse of legal procedure - Misrepresentation - Interference with domestic relations - Interference with economic relations_____