The foundations of tort law in various European legal systems differ considerably. Until now, there has not been an attempt to harmonise the entire field of tort law in a consistent manner. To rectify this, a group of tort lawyers has proposed to address the fundamental questions underlying every tort law system. The result is this important series of books, which searches for a common law of Europe without the necessity yet to lay these principles down in formal legal texts, such as a European civil code. Identifying the most relevant factors in establishing liability as wrongfulness, causation, damage, fault, and the area of strict liability, the authors concentrate on the tort liability factor under discussion in each volume, combining theoretical abstract analysis with the discussion of concrete cases. Each author gives an overview of the particular tort liability factor under his or her national legal system - primarily by working out the concept and its importance in establishing liability - and then applies the analysis to actual cases. The subsequent conclusions aim at the coordination of the results and other important factors. In summary, each volume tries to make clear what common ground pertaining to each tort liability factor underlies all the legal systems concerned with respect to the law of tort. Each volume also provides the academic and practitioner with the fundamental issues relating to that factor underlying the law of tort in the countries covered.

Should digital platforms be responsible for intimate images posted without the subject's consent? Could the viewers of such images be liable simply by viewing them? This book answers these questions in the affirmative, while considering the social, legal and technological features of unauthorized dissemination of intimate images, or 'revenge porn'. In doing so, it asks fundamental socio-legal questions about responsibility, causation and apportionment, as well as conceptualizing private information as property. With a focus on private law theory, the book defines the appropriate scope of liability of platforms and viewers, while critiquing both the EU's and US' solutions to the problem. Through its analysis, the book develops a new theory of egalitarian digital privacy.

When watching the evening news you can be led to believe that most slip and fall claims are bogus and nothing more than a scam designed to fleece business owners and the insurance industry for money. But not all Plaintiffs are scam artists, and not all victims are seeking to cash in on their injury. Falls can affect each of us. The next victim could be your mother, your brother, your spouse or child...and oh yes, even you! The truth of the matter is, each year millions of personal injury lawsuits are filed by victims of a slip, trip and fall accidents, most of which are settled out of court. However, over the past decade there has been a noticeable rise in the average settlement as well as jury verdicts. As an expert witness, Russell J. Kendzior has been retained in more than 700 slip, trip, and fall lawsuits and has now compiled over 50 of his top cases in Floored! Rather than debate the truth behind slip, trip and fall litigation Kendzior sets the record straight and provides the reader with a behind the curtain view of the people filing these lawsuits and the companies being sued. This book is a great resource that explains what can be done to prevent the injury and thus the lawsuit through the eyes of a safety expert and stories of real-world victims.

Tort law regulates most human activities: from driving a car to using consumer products to providing or receiving medical care. Injuries caused by dog bites, slips and falls, fender benders, bridge collapses, adverse reactions to a medication, bar fights, oil spills, and more all implicate the law of torts. The rules and procedures by which tort cases are resolved engage deeply-held intuitions about justice, causation, intentionality, and the obligations that we owe to one another. Tort rules and procedures also generate significant controversy-most visibly in political debates over tort reform. The Psychology of Tort Law explores tort law through the lens of psychological science. Drawing on a wealth of psychological research and their own experiences teaching and researching tort law, Jennifer K. Robbennolt and Valerie P. Hans examine the psychological assumptions that underlie doctrinal rules. They explore how tort law influences the behavior and decision-making of potential plaintiffs and defendants, examining how doctors and patients, drivers, manufacturers and purchasers of products, property owners, and others make decisions against the backdrop of tort law. They show how the judges and jurors who decide tort claims are influenced by psychological phenomena in deciding cases. And they reveal how plaintiffs, defendants, and their attorneys resolve tort disputes in the shadow of tort law. Robbennolt and Hans here shed fascinating light on the tort system, and on the psychological dynamics which undergird its functioning.

Class actions in privacy law are rapidly growing as a legal vehicle for citizens around the world to hold corporations liable for privacy violations. Current and future developments in these class actions stand to shift the corporate liability landscape for companies that interact with people's personal information. Privacy class actions are at the intersection of civil litigation, privacy law, and data protection. Developments in privacy class actions raise complex issues of substantive law as well as challenges to the established procedures governing class action litigation. Their outcomes are integral to the evolution of privacy law and data protection law across jurisdictions. This book brings together established scholars in privacy law, data protection law, and collective litigation to offer a detailed perspective on the present and future of collective litigation for privacy claims. Taking a comparative approach, this book incorporates considerations from consumer protection law, procedural law, cross-border litigation, tort law, and data protection law, which are key to understanding the development of privacy class actions. In doing so, it offers an analysis of the novel challenges they pose for courts, regulatory agencies, scholars, and litigators, together with their potential solutions.

This book develops a theory of tort law that integrates deontic and consequential approaches by applying justificational analysis to identify the factors, circumstances, and values that shape tort law. Drawing on Kantian and Rawlsian philosophy, and on the insights of game theorist Ken Binmore, this book refocuses tort law on a single theory of responsibility that explains and justifies the broad range of tort doctrine and concepts. Under this theory, tort law asks people to appropriately incorporate the well-being of others into the decisions they make, explains when that duty applies, and explains the scope and limits of that duty. The theory also incorporates a theory of the evolutionary development of social values that people use, and ought to use, in meeting that duty and explains how decision-making from behind the veil of ignorance allows us to evaluate the is in light of the ought.

This fourth edition of Business Law offers comprehensive and accessible coverage of the key aspects of business law. Established legal topics such as the English legal system, Contract, Consumer, Intellectual Property, Company and Employment Law, and emerging areas such as Health, Safety and Environmental Law are all addressed in the context of business. The work has been thoroughly updated to include all the major recent developments in business law, such as the new EU Trade Secrets Directive and case outcomes decided since the publication of the last edition. The book also discusses the impact of Brexit. In addition, the book features extensive diagrams and tables, revision summaries, reading lists, and clear key case boxes for easy reference. This book is ideal reading for undergraduate law and business studies students, while also applicable to practitioners and those with a more general interest in business law.

This book is a second edition of Interpretation of Contracts (2007). The original work examined various issues surrounding the question of how contracts should be interpreted by courts, in particular focusing on the law of contract interpretation following Lord Hoffmann's exposition of the principles of contextual interpretation in Investors Compensation Scheme Ltd v West Bromwich Building Society [1998] 1 WLR 896. As with the original, this new edition provides an overview of the subject, concentrating on elements of controversy and disagreement, rather than a detailed analysis of all the contract law rules and doctrines that might be regarded as interpretative in one sense or another. The book will be concerned with interpretation of contracts generally (following the rule that there are not different rules of interpretation for different kinds of contracts), but with reference to commercial contracts in particular, since this is the area in which the contextual interpretative approach was developed, and where it has most relevance. The overall aim of the second edition remains the same as the first - to produce an accessible and readable guide to contract interpretation for law students, scholars and practitioners.

The principal objective of this book is simple: to provide a timely and effective means of navigating the current maze of case law on causation, in order that the solutions to causal problems might more easily be reached and the law relating to them more easily understood. The need for this has been increasingly evident in recent judgments dealing with causal issues: in particular, it seems to be ever harder to distinguish between the different 'categories' of causation and, consequently, to identify the legal test to be applied on any given set of facts. Causation in Negligence will make such identification easier, both by clarifying the parameters of each category and mapping the current key cases accordingly, and by providing one basic means of analysis which will make the resolution of even the thorniest of causal issues a straightforward process. The causal inquiry in negligence seems to have become a highly complicated and confused area of the law. As this book demonstrates, this is unnecessary and easily remedied.

Tort law, a fundamental building block of every legal system, features prominently in mass culture and political debates. As this pioneering anthology reveals, tort law is not simply a collection of legal rules and procedures, but a set of cultural responses to the broader problems of risk, injury, assignment of responsibility, compensation, valuation, and obligation.
Examining tort law as a cultural phenomenon and a form of cultural practice, this work makes explicit comparisons of tort law across space and time, looking at the United States, Europe, and Asia in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. It draws on theories and methods from law, sociology, political science, and anthropology to offer a truly interdisciplinary, pathbreaking view. Ultimately, tort law, the authors show, nests within a larger web of relationships and shared discursive conventions that organize social life.

All European legal systems recognise a boundary between the domains of tort and contract. While there have been voices contending that this distinction is no longer valid or at least that there should be a unification of the two sets of rules in particular contexts, others claim that there is still a very important distinction to be maintained. In fact the boundary between the two areas is often blurred and whether it is drawn in one place or another varies from country to country, giving rise to the paradox that what is considered a matter of contractual liability in one legal system is governed exclusively by tort law in another.This volume explores how differences between tort and contract affect the foundations of liability, the nature and amount of the compensation, the extent of liability and whether defences and limitation periods corresponding to the distinct causes of action give rise to substantially different outcomes. It also analyses to what extent actions in tort and in contract exclude each other and, when this is the case, how their concurrence is organised. Lastly it devotes its attention to specific situations such as pre-contractual liability and the liability of professionals.

This is an important book which explores the classification of obligations. This is a very topical subject and it is fitting that it is examined here by contributors who are among the best-known writers in this field. The contributions include A New 'Seascape' for Obligations: Reclassification on the Basis of Measure of Damages by Jane Stapleton; Basic Obligations by James Penner; and an essay by Peter Birks himself entitled, Definition and Division: A Meditation on Institutes. These essays combine practical and academic perspectives which usefully highlight contemporary trends in the law of obligations. The book will be a valuable addition to the libraries of all teachers involved in this area of law.

The 'reasonable person' is used to assess the acceptability of behaviour in many areas of the law including criminal law and accident law. However the reasonable person has also attracted substantial criticism from egalitarian critics and feminists insofar as it presupposes contested notions of 'normal' behaviour and may discriminate against certain classes of defendant. Rethinking the Reasonable Person systematically investigates whether there are deeper foundations to these criticisms and discusses how the legal standard might be reconstructed in a more egalitarian way.

This book is based closely on the lectures delivered by Tony Weir in 1996 as part of the Clarendon Law lectures series sponsored by Oxford University Press. It is an exciting and provocative book which contains a number of controversial propositions, defended with vigour by its author. The three lectures reproduced here deal with liability in tort for intentionally inflicted economic loss. They are characterized by a very unusual combination of bold leading statements and multi-layered supporting analysis. There are also useful Appendices containing full case transcripts of recent, significant cases, including Millar v Bassey and de Voto v Pacific. This book will be irresistible to all scholars of the law of tort, and the author's reputation alone will ensure this book is well-received.

There is no universally accepted definition of moral damages, but the concept is usually understood in the context of torts that cause psychological harm to a person or a person's rights that are difficult to quantify. Heaven's Chancellery describes the difficulties of obtaining legal compensation for damages by victims of such moral injustice. To convey the legal impossibility of just compensation for intangible, and therefore immeasurable, damage, the author presents a fictional account of Adam, a scientist who believes the earthly judicial system has wronged him. Adam finds true compensation only when he is invited on a journey to seek justice in Heaven's Chancellery. By utilizing a narrative fiction, the author invites a wide audience of readers to examine the complications of compensation for intangible damage. Even if moral damage is deemed impossible to fully compensate through the legal terms that we have been used for centuries, the story of Adam's journey in Heaven's Chancellery upholds a possibility of an alternative avenue for justice previously denied to him by the earthly convent. This book will be of interest to students of law and the general reader alike.

Presenting the law of tort as a body of principles, this authoritative textbook gives an incisive understanding of the subject. Each tort is carefully structured and examined within a consistent analytical framework that guides students through its preconditions, elements, defences and remedies. Clear summaries and comparisons accompany the detailed exposition, and further support is provided by diagrams and tables which clarify complex aspects of the law. Critical discussion of legal judgments encourages students to develop strong analytical and case-reading skills, whilst key reform proposals and leading cases from other jurisdictions illustrate different potential solutions to conundrums in tort law. Ten additional chapters on more advanced topics can be found online, completing the learning package. This new edition has been updated to take account of important cases, legislative developments and law reform studies since July 2015.

Utilizing a comparative examination of case-law from England, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, this volume provides a comprehensive and systematic study of the law of intervening causation (novus actus interveniens) to present an analysis of this particular judicial limitation of liability device. The work provides a structure from which to formulate core general legal principles and identify the various legal tests utilized by the courts.

"A well-documented and eminently readable examination of the tort reform debate in the United States."
-- "The Advocate"

"A compendium of defenses against decades of tort reform misinformation and disinformation, this monograph will best serve undergraduates as a library reference."
-- "The Law and Politics Book Review"

"This book is an important addition to the growing body of works . . . that consumer advocates and attorneys can use to defend the civil justice system in the legislatures, in courtrooms, and in the court of public opinion."
--"Trial Magazine"

Late night comedians and journalists eagerly seized upon the case of an elderly woman who sued McDonald's when she spilled hot coffee in her lap as a prime example of frivolous litigation. But as Rustad and Koenig argue, cases such as these are an incomplete and misleading characterization of tort law. Corporations have successfully waged a public relations battle to create the impression that most lawsuits are spurious, when in fact the opposite is true: tort law plays a crucial role in protecting consumers from dangerous and sometimes life-threatening hazards. Without legal remedies, corporations would suffer no penalty for choosing profits over public health and safely.

In Defense of Tort Law is the first book to systematically examine the social, legal and policy dimensions of the tort reform debate. This insightful analysis of solid empirical data looks beyond popular myths about frivolous lawsuits, and tackles a variety of contentious issues: Should punitive damages be capped? Who is favored by tort law? Who loses, and why?

Koenig and Rustad's detailed case study analysis also reveals disturbing genderinequities in a legal system that is largely dominated by men. Because women are disproportionately injured by medical products, impermissible HMO cost cutting, medical malpractice and sexual exploitation, restrictions on the rights to recovery in these fields inevitably creates gender injustice. Engaging and up to date, In Defense of Tort Law also identifies aspects of the current law that require further elaboration, including the need for measures to combat cybercrime against consumers.

The landscape of mass litigation in Europe has changed impressively in recent years, and collective redress litigation has proved a popular topic. Although much of the literature focuses on the political context, contentious litigation, or how to handle cross-border multi-party cases, this book has a different focus and a fresh approach. Taking as a starting-point the observation that mass litigation claims are a 'AEonuisance'AEo for both parties and courts, the book considers new ways of settling mass disputes. Contributors from across the globe, Australia, Canada, China, Europe and the US, point towards an international convergence of the importance of settlements, mediation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR). They question whether the spread of a culture of settlement signifies a trend or philosophical desire for less confrontation in some societies, and explore the reasons for such a trend. Raising a series of questions on resolving mass disputes, and fuelling future debate, this book will provide a challenging and thought-provoking read for law academics, practitioners and policy-makers.

This two-volume collection, prepared by a leading scholar in this field, brings together the seminal articles on the law and economics of tort law. The selection of papers addresses topics such as the Coase theorem, the choice between property and liability rules, the difference between negligence and strict liability, the economics of causation, damages and vicarious liability and the economics of affirmative duties. This is a classic collection that provides an essential foundation in the core issues fundamental to an understanding of tort law.

Routledge Q&As give you the tools to practice and refine your exam technique, showing you how to apply your knowledge to maximum effect in an exam situation. Each book contains up to fifty essay and problem-based questions on the most commonly examined topics, complete with expert guidance and fully worked model answers. These books provide you with the skills you need for your exams by: Helping you to be prepared: each title in the series has an introduction presenting carefully tailored advice on how to approach assessment for your subject Showing you what examiners are looking for: each question is annotated with both a short overview on how to approach your answer, as well as footnoted commentary that demonstrate how model answers meet marking criteria Offering pointers on how to gain marks, as well as what common errors could lose them: 'Aim Higher' and 'Common Pitfalls' offer crucial guidance throughout Helping you to understand and remember the law: diagrams for each answer work to illuminate difficult legal principles and provide overviews of how model answers are structured Books in the series are also supported by a Companion Website that offers online essay-writing tutorials, podcasts, bonus Q&As and multiple-choice questions to help you focus your revision more effectively.

The lectures presented in this volume examine the fast-growing compensation culture and the consequential pressure on courts to widen the range of situations in which individuals can claim damages from the State. Within domestic legal systems, there has been a considerable extension of tortious liability which is impinging on the State and its resources. These lectures address statutory and administrative compensation, and examine the influence of group actions and of globalization. Pressure on domestic legal systems has been increased by transnational courts, notably the Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice. Carol Harlow argues that this trend towards judicialization is undesirable, and that greater use should be made of extrajudicial remedies. She contends that the issue of compensation is too important to be left to the courts.

Advances in genetic technology will lead to novel legal challenges. This book identifies four potential genomic claims which may be articulated as novel negligence challenges. Each of these claims is considered from the perspective of the English courts' approach to novel kinds of damage. It is argued that these novel genomic claims are unlikely to be favourably received given the current judicial attitude to new forms of damage. However, Victoria Chico argues that the genomic claims could be conceived of as harm because they concern interferences with autonomy. Each claim is considered from the perspective of a hypothetical English negligence system imbued with explicit recognition of the interest in autonomy. Chico examines how recognition of this new form of damage would lead to novel genomic negligence claims being treated in a way which they would not, if considered within traditional parameters of harm in negligence.