Automobile leasing and the vicarious liability of lessors.
INTRODUCTION In 2003, some of the largest automobile financing companies determined that they would no longer offer leasing in New York State. (1) These companies ceased leasing because of a 1920s New York law that creates vicarious liability for car owners. (2) The statute, New York Vehicle...

Even more wrongful death: statutes divorced from reality.
INTRODUCTION Conferences convening to discuss matters of legal interest to a particular group are important occasions for gathering information, updating an audience on relevant developments, and sharing recent experiences. More specifically, the Lavender Law conference that spawned this Article also afforded legal academics, judges, and practitioners a...

Private eyes are watching you: with the implementation of the E-911 mandate, who will watch every move you make?
The FCC's E-911 mandate, which will ensure that emergency operators automatically receive a caller's location information, should help save lives. However, privacy advocates have expressed concern over the potential for wireless carriers, the government, and third parties to collect and store personal information. Congress has addressed these concerns with...

A model for emergency service of VoIP through certification and labeling.
I. INTRODUCTION II. EXISTING MODELS FOR CERTIFICATION A. Theory and Practice of Certification B. Certification Examples 1. Underwriters Laboratories and Product Safety Certification 2. Telecommunications Certification: CableLabs and Telcordia 3. Meta-Standard Certification: ISO 9000 4. Certification for Consumers: The Wi-Fi Alliance 5. Self-Regulation and Voluntary Agreements in Environmental Policy...

Tort reform should address reasons why people sue.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. -- Traditional tort reform measures like damage caps won't address some of the fundamental problems with the medical liability system, experts said at a meeting on patient safety and medical liability sponsored by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. To deal with the...

ESA reductions in reclamation water contract deliveries: a Fifth Amendment taking of property?
Two United States Court of Federal Claims cases have given different answers to the question posed in the title of this article. One case found a per se physical taking of water users' property; the other ruled water users lacked property rights protected by the Fifth Amendment. Commentators have...

Avoiding post-transaction blues: mergers-and-acquisitions teams who snub insurance experts do so at their own risk.
The modern world of mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, joint ventures and corporate consolidations is filled with challenges and opportunities. Complex deal and valuation issues for both buyers and sellers require insurance professionals to dig deeper and to negotiate longer about key issues before consummating a transaction. A...

Liability and compensation for harm caused by nuclear activities.
I. INTRODUCTION The body of customary international environmental law has its foundation in cases such as the Trail Smelter Arbitration, (2) which utilized the no-harm rule and the polluter-pays principle, and it is now drawing upon more specific norms that build on these earlier rules, such as...

Business torts.
Robert had a unique business propositions presented to him. He was the head of the automotive division for his employer, a company we shall call CTC. CTC had many franchised retail stores throughout Canada and sales of automobile seat covers at CTC stores represented 60 percent of...

Knave of torts: cooler coffee for $3 million and other lawyer bargains.
Why Lawsuits Are Good for America: Disciplined Democracy, Big Business, and the Common Law, by Carl T. Bogus, New York: NYU Press, 272 pages, $34.95 "WHAT'S GOOD FOR the country is good for General Motors," Charles Wilson, a former chairman of G.M. and secretary of defense, once...