Torts is the common law field governing civil liability not arising out of contract. The sweep of the field is exceptionally broad. Tort law traditionally has governed disputes as disparate as trespasses to land, personal assaults, traffic accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, invasion of privacy, defamation, infliction of emotional distress, misrepresentation, and intentional interference with contract, to mention only some of the areas within tort law's expansive reach. In recent decades, tort law principles have been front and center in successive waves of novel disputes, ranging from toxic substance exposure and an array of mass injury cases, to tobacco and handgun litigation. Moreover, the law of torts supplies background principles of causation, damages, and mental state that animate the interpretation of many modern regulatory and statutory regimes. Foundation courses in torts introduce students to common law principles as well as legislation. Advanced offerings in the field of torts cover specialized topics, including the tort system, tort reform proposals, mass torts, damages and remedies, products liability, advanced torts practice, defamation, privacy torts and business torts.
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L6205 ADMIRALTY (2 pts)
(see Civil Procedure and Dispute Resolution)
L6548 COMPARATIVE TORT LAW: U.S. AND ISRAEL (1 pt)
(see International, Foreign and Comparative Law)
L6220 MASS TORTS (3 pts)
W. Ohlemeyer
This course presents a comprehensive review of the legal problems and issues associated with the unique, growing phenomenon of mass torts, e.g., tobacco, Agent Orange, Dalkon Shield, asbestos personal injury litigation, etc.. The course will emphasize such issues as determining medical and scientific causation (including the issue of expert testimony) consolidation of state and federal litigation in one forum, judicial determination of who should appropriately manage the litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants, and punitive damages. The role of insurance, the unique issue of future claims, the development of procedures for the processing of mass tort claims, ethical issues, and issues associated with Congressional intervention will also be covered. The overriding question of whether the courts can dispense individual justice in cases involving thousands of litigants will be explored. The final examination will consist of several essay questions and will be an open book examination. This semester, the required reading will be reduced in order to promote a more interactive and in-depth discussion of the issues.
L6245 REMEDIES (1 pt)
(see Civil Procedure and Dispute Resolution)
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L9006 SEMINAR: ADVANCED TORT PRACTICE (2 pts)
S. Phillips
In large measure this proposed seminar will focus upon what may be characterized as mass tort practice. Accordingly, it will address not only litigation concerning widely dispersed and allegedly injurious products [e.g., asbestos, tobacco, Dalkon Shield, breast implants, Agent Orange, Swine Flu vaccine, Bendectin, and computer keyboards], but also environmental mass disasters [e.g., Love Canal, Bohpal, Three Mile Island, Buffalo Creek, Exxon Valdez, Woburn, Jackson Township, Hanford, Los Alamos, Rocky Flats], as well as discrete catastrophes such as the Pan Am Lockerbie air crash and the MGM Grand Hotel fire.
The intent of the seminar is to explore not only the important doctrinal changes that have occurred as courts struggle to cope with a tidal wave of mass tort litigation, but also to come to grips with the public policy, ethical and economic consequences of these changes. Lastly, this course will attempt to impart a sense of how the evolution of mass tort doctrine and practice has impacted the practice of law and the structure of law firms on both the plaintiffs and the defense sides of the aisle, examining frankly in this context the interplay between law as a business and law as a profession.
L8033 SEMINAR: FALSE ADVERTISING (2 pts)
(see Intellectual Property)
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The following is not offered in 2007-2008 but is part of the regular course offerings at Columbia Law School.
L9197 SEMINAR: TORT THEORY
This seminar is designed to teach the art of close, critical reading. The first four weeks are devoted to an overview of the history and philosophy of the law of torts. The reading assignments for this phase of the seminar are voluminous. After the first four weeks, each seminar session consists of a line-by-line critique of one important modern law review article. One student will prepare a ten-page critique of the article, due the week criticisms, those in the ten-page critique as well as others that may emerge from the class discussion. Each member of the seminar is required to read each article very closely twice before coming to class, and then to prepare one difficult question for the critiquer and one for the defender.
The articles to be discussed are selected to represent a broad range of methodologies, philosophical positions, and topics. All such articles are by highly regarded scholars, no longer than medium length, and ambitious in arguing for a specific, contestable thesis. The pedagogic strategy is to bring together ten students who really have command of the details of a controversial argument about an issue or problem in the law of torts so that they can have a fruitful conversation evaluating the argument.
Overall, neither the amount of reading nor the amount of writing required is great. However, the intensity with which students are expected to read the articles and develop their written and oral critiques and defenses is considerable. Active participation in the class discussion each week is required of all students, not just those who are serving as the critiquer and defender.
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