COURSE OUTLINE AND SYLLABUS TORTS 5418: SECTION 23576 UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON LAW CENTER FALL 2008
Professor Barbara J. Evans Office Hours: Office Location: TU-II 104F Wednesday: 8:00 – 8:30 p.m. Phone: (713) 743-2993 Monday: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. E-mail: [email protected] (or by appointment)
Note: This outline and topics to be covered may be adjusted as the course progresses. Adjustments or revisions will be announced in class.
F&R = Franklin & Rabin Tort Law & Alternatives, 8th ed. (2006)
OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTORY ISSUES (Week 1)
A. Class Policies B. Context: Overview of Types of Torts C. When Should Unintended Injury Result in Liability? D. The Tort Litigation Process E. The Parties and Vicarious Liability
Readings for Week 1: Class Handouts provided on first day: READ THESE!! F&R pages 1 – 22 (Reading Unit No. 1 on Syllabus—see page 4)
II. THE NEGLIGENCE PRINCIPLE
A. Breach: Historical Development of Fault-based Liability B. Breach: The Standard of Care/Calculus of Risk C. Breach: The Reasonable Person D. Breach: Custom & Statutes E. Breach: Proof Issues and Res Ipsa Loquitor F. Breach: Medical Malpractice – Special Issues Re: Standard of Care & Proof G. Breach: Medical Malpractice – Informed Consent
III. THE DUTY REQUIREMENT – PHYSICAL INJURIES
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A. Duty: Obligation to Others and Nonfeasance B. Duty: Obligation to Protect 3rd Party C. Duty: 3rd Parties and Premises/Landowner Liability D. Duty: Governmental Immunities E. Duty: Federal Torts Claims Act
IV. THE DUTY REQUIREMENT – NONPHYSICAL HARM
A. Duty: Emotional Harm – Direct B. Duty: Emotional Harm – Bystanders C. Duty: Loss of Consortium,Interference With Procreation and End-of-Life Decisions
V. CAUSATION
A. Causation: Cause-In-Fact, Proof, Partial Recovery B. Causation: Joint and Several Liability; Multiple Defendants C. Causation: Toxic Harms D. Causation: Proximate Cause – Unexpected Extent & Unexpected Type of Harm E. Causation: Proximate Cause – Unexpected Manner of Harm & Unexpected Victim
VI. DEFENSES
A. Plaintiff’s Fault – Contributory & Comparative Negligence B. Avoidable Consequences C. Express Assumption of Risk D. Implied Assumption of Risk E. Preemption
VII. STRICT LIABILITY
A. Historical Origins B. Abnormally Dangerous Activities C. Theoretical Perspectives
VIII. PRODUCTS LIABILITY
A. Historical Origins B. Approaches in Restatements of Torts C. Manufacturing Defects D. Design Defects E. Failure to Warn
2 F. Defenses to Products Liability G. Work-Related Injuries H. Beyond Products
IX. INTENTIONAL TORTS
A. Intent B. Assault, Battery, False Imprisonment, Infliction of Emotional Distress C. Defenses
X. DEFAMATION & PRIVACY-RELATED TORTS
A. Basic concepts, causes of action, elements, and defenses B. Tension with First Amendment Protections
XI. INTENTIONAL ECONOMIC HARM
A. Basic concepts, causes of action, elements, and defenses
XII. THE ROLE OF INSURANCE; TORT ALTERNATIVES AND REFORM
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Introduction
1. F&R 1-24
2. F&R 24-30
Breach: Historical development of fault-based liability; the standard of care/calculus of risk; the reasonable person; the role of customs and statutes.
3. F&R 31-45
4. F&R 45 – 60 (Stop at Section C)
5. F&R 69 – 80 (through end of Tedla v. Ellman)
Breach: Proof issues and res ipsa loquitur; medical malpractice—special issues re. standard of care and proof; medical malpractice—informed consent.
6. F&R 86—110 (to start of Section E). 102 (start Ybarra) – 110
7. F&R 110-122
8. F&R 122-131 Supplement on Informed Consent (distributed via e-mail)
Duty: Obligations to others and nonfeasance
9. F&R 132-148 (before Randi W.)
Duty: Obligations to protect third parties
10. F&R 157 (start Tarasoff) – 168 (before Uhr)
11. F&R 172 (start at note 4) -- 175; 175 - 183 (before Reynolds);
12. F&R 183 (start Reynolds) – 188; 188 (start Vince v. Wilson) – 194;
Duty: Premises and Landowner Liability
13. F&R 195 (start Carter v. Kinney) - 208
14. F&R 209 – 218 (before Section E)
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Duty: Spousal suits and parent/child suits—brief summary
15. F&R 218 (read introduction to Section E on this page only)
Duty: Governmental Immunities and Federal Tort Claims Act
16. 229 (start Section F) – 238 n.5; 251 (start Federal Tort Claims Act) - 263
Duty: Nonphysical harm
17. F&R 264 – 280 (including note 7)
18. F&R 285 (start at note 7) through 298
Duty: Loss of consortium; economic harm
19. F&R 301 – 305; F&R 305-306 (before Nycal)
Duty: Procreation
20. F&R 326 – 338
Causation: Cause in Fact
21. F&R 339 – 369
Causation: Joint and several liability; multiple defendants, toxic harms
22. F&R 369 – 400
Causation: Proximate cause
23. F&R 401-413 note 6; 416-437
Defenses: Contributory and comparative negligence; avoidable consequences
24. F&R 440 - 455. Think about problem on p. 447, parts a,b,c. 459 – 466 (before Section B: Assumption of Risk). See also, Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, Ch. 33 (Proportionate Liability) at http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/cp.toc.htm
Defenses: Assumption of risk
5 25. F&R 466 – 490 (before Levandoski)
Defenses: Preemption
26. Supplemental Readings on Preemption: - ERISA Preemption Supplement (distributed via e-mail) - Excerpts from Torline & Teeter, Federal Preemption in Products Liability Cases, Journal of the Kansas Bar Association (July/August 2007) Westlaw Citation: 76- AUG JKSBA 32 [relevant excerpts will be distributed via e-mail] F&R 496 - 505
Strict liability, generally; Products liability
27. F&R 506 - 509, 534 – 540 (King article—scan this to understand policy goals of strict liability); 545 – 549 (Posner article); 550 – 554 (McPherson); 556- 560 (Escola) . 28. F&R 560 (notes after Escola) – 595 (to start of Section D)
29. F&R 595 (Section D) – 620 (to start of Section E) Supplemental reading on Learned Intermediary Doctrine (distributed by e-mail)
30. F&R 620-637 (Section E and Jones v. Ryobi and Liriano cases in Section F); 648 – 653 (to end of Note 6).
Intentional torts
31. Supplement on Intentional Torts (distributed by e-mail)
F&R 884 -898 (to middle of page 898); 902 – 906 (from start of Section 3 to end of Note 4 on page 906); 908 – 915 (from start of Section 4 to end of Note 8).
32. F&R 931 (start Section 5) -942
Defamation & Privacy-related torts
33. Supplement on Defamation and Privacy Torts (distributed by e-mail)
F&R 972 – 976 (to end of Romaine v. Kallinger); read notes 1, 3, 4, 5 after the Romaine case. Read Matherson v. Marchello on pages 983-84 but skip the notes afterward. In the “Of and concerning” section on page 987 – 989 read ONLY the parts on Identification and Group Libel but skip the Corporations material. Read from the start of “Strict Liability” on 989 to then end of the Liberman case on page 996. Read from the start of the “qualified privileges discussion in the middle of page 1000 to the end of the Liberman case on page 1002. Read notes 3 and 4 on 1003-4.
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34. [If you have not already read NY Times and Gertz in your Constitutional Law class, you should familiarize yourself with these cases]: F&R 1027 – 1038 (to end of NY Times); read “Private Plaintiffs” starting on 1051 to 1063 (to the end of Gertz case)
35. F&R 1121 – 1128 (including Haynes v. Knopf); notes 4 & 5 on 1130 – 32; 1149-51 (read the privacy count only in Humphers; do not read the breach of confidence count).
On false light, read 1158-62 (the Cantrell case); note 3 p. 1163; note 5 p. 1164.
On intrusion, read Nader v. GM on 1167 – 73 (focus on first two pages—understand the fact pattern of the alleged intrusive behaviors). On p. 1188, read the fact patterns of the Schulman case, and on p. 1192-93, focus on the expectation of privacy discussion.
Intentional Economic Harm
36. Supplement on Harm to Economic Interests (distributed by e-mail)
F&R: On deceit and negligent misrepresentation, read 1236 – 1234 (Ollerman v. O’Roarke), and notes 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12 on 1245 – 1252 (skip other notes); on tortious interference with contract, read 1253 – 1255 (Imperial Ice v. Rossier) and notes 1, 4, 6, 10 on 1255-59; on interference with prospective advantageous relations, 1260-64 (court’s opinion only in Della Penn v. Toyota); read notes 7 & 8 on 1269-73.
Role of insurance; alternatives to tort; tort reform
37. Excerpts from Albert C. Lin, Beyond Tort: Compensating Victims of Environmental Toxic Injury, 78 SCALR 1439 [Relevant excerpts to be distributed]
38. Excerpts from F. Patrick Hubbard, The Nature and Impact of the Tort Reform Movement, 35 HOFLR 437 [Relevant excerpts to be distributed]
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