In this Article, we focus on an important problem involving mass-accident cases that was highlighted by the Deepwater Horizon litigation: overuse of courts to enforce contribution claims. These claims seek to shift incurred or expected liability and damages between the business and governmental...

This chapter deals with the enforceability of U.S. opt-out class actions in continental Europe, with special attention to Italy, France and Spain. The study sets out by a thorough analysis of U.S. precedents concerning the availability of extra-compensatory damages in complex litigation (among...

In contrast to the whirlwind pace and the efficiency with which the science and commercialization of modern biotechnology have developed in the past few decades, the creation of an adequate and comprehensive regulatory regime for agricultural biotechnology has proven to be a lengthy and arduous...

In the United States insurance is regulated both by state insurance commissions and class action litigation. The interaction of these two systems has not been extensively studied. We examine four different facets of the regulation litigation tradeoff. The first is to examine whether a...

This Article proposes a new method of reducing the costs administrative agencies incur in monitoring regulatory compliance by a firm that operates multiple sources of risk, such as air-polluting smokestacks. The expense of individually monitoring such sources directly may consume a large share...

Is autonomy “natural”? In Ecolawgic: The Logic of Ecosystems and the Rule of Law, I argue that a legal system of intrinsic neutrality is one over which no political office or branch of government has control and in which individuals have the autonomy to pursue their own interests. In...

A generation ago observers confidently predicted the death of contract and the triumph of tort. But contract has risen from the dead. Contracts waiving tort rights have become ubiquitous in the American marketplace. We survey the history and doctrine of exculpatory clauses in a wide variety of...

The commercial development of offshore methane hydrates will necessitate planning for accidental risk. Due to the unique risks and hazards associated with the development of offshore methane hydrates, it is unlikely that their development would be capable of beginning without some form of ex...

The Madras High Court recently while hearing a batch of applications filed by various maritime claimants has passed a landmark judgement on a significant question of law. The query which arose for consideration was whether the leave of the Company Court under Section 446(2) of the Company's Act,...