Today in Products Liability

Heard while discussing a textbook problem re: a case involving a kid who got hurt on a playground:

Student: "We need to bring back more biological Darwinism. These plaintiffs are the same parents who put 8 inches of clothes on their kids when they see snow flurries. They need to get over themselves and just let their kids get hurt a little bit."

Prof: "Well, this kid has brain damage...I'm not sure if they can afford to let him get hurt like that."

Student: "He won't do it again, will he?"

The Reason We Have a New Blogger

Guy Fawkes: we used to joke about getting Law Review polos made and then standing outside the undergrad bar with a giant net

mootgoescow: dude you should

Guy Fawkes: to catch drunk girls

mootgoescow: i dont see why it hasnt happened already...maybe some sort of tort

Should There Be a "Duty to Rescue"?

This video, in which a hit-and-run driver hits a man and passers-by do nothing but gawk, sparked a conversation between me and a fellow law clerk about whether tort law should recognize a duty to rescue.

According to the Wikipedia "duty to rescue" article, many European nations at least recognize a duty to contact emergency authorities, although only a few impose a full-fledged affirmative duty to rescue.

What do you guys think American jurisdictions should do with this issue? Should we continue imposing no duty to rescue? Is an affirmative duty to rescue a good idea? Why or why not? What about an intermediate solution such as imposing a duty to contact authorities?

This is a genuine, substantive post. Let's get some comments going for once!

This Could Almost Be A Tort

I always keep water bottles in my car during the day so I don't get robbed by the vending machine. Today, I just let them rolling around in my seat (clear plastic water bottles). When I pick up the bottle later in the day, I notice a burn mark in my leather seat. Now, I'm a non-smoker and haven't had anything that could possibly burn the seat in my car. Turns out that the water bottle magnified the sun (over a course of 3 hours) and burned a 1 inch gash in my seat. This is something that has been widely reported on the internet (see here).

I never would have imagined. From what I've read on the internet so far, several people have come to their car to flaming seats. I really do think I moved the bottle just in time, the burn was rather severe.

Who should I sue? The water company for failure to warn? Should they put a warning on their bottle? As a policy, I hate warnings. I would never forgive myself for being the cause of a warning.

Ouch...

I don't think legs are supposed to bend that way.

Effective Immediately

Dear Registrar, Law Review, and Moot Court,

In an act of sacrifice and remembrance of the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, Noah spent on the ark, Moses spent on Mt. Sinai, Elijah spent walking to Mount Horeb, I will be abstaining from Moot Court and Law Review until the Easter feast. This is all because these things take up most of my time and it is less time to reflect upon religious matters (you know, the whole reasoning behind Lent). You may point out that I am not giving up school. Well, this is much like the practice that meat, eggs and dairy products are generally proscribed, but fish isn't. Aquinas reasoned that they afford greater pleasure as food [than fish], and greater nourishment to the human body, so that from their consumption there results a greater surplus available for seminal matter, which when abundant becomes a great incentive to lust. (Summa Q147). Law Review and Moot Court afford greater pleasure and greater nourishment to my resume, therefore an incentive to lust.

I understand this may put you in a bind. Too bad. You are a state law school and cannot impose on my religious views. Please do not take any discriminatory or retaliatory action against me. See Good News Club v. Milford Central School, 533 U.S. 98 (2001).

Too Good Not to Post

"Little hippie chick" beats the shit out of karaoke singer, cops

Oh dear god, please let us see something like this at the bars this weekend.