Monthly Archives: January, 2024
Sandy Steel, ‘Material Contribution to Damage, Again’
ABSTRACT This case note considers recent statements about the scope of the doctrine of ‘material contribution to damage’ in the tort of negligence. It argues that such a rule continues to exist, as a matter of authority, in single tortfeasor cases, but that the authorities are not entirely reconcilable with each other. It explains five […]
Andelka Phillips, ‘Reading the Fine Print when Buying Your Genetic Self Online: Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing Terms and Conditions’
ABSTRACT Contracts are ubiquitous online. Clickwrap and browsewrap agreements are to be encountered on almost every website a person engages with when accessing services online. Through these documents, people enter into binding contractual relationships, often without reading and sometimes without noticing these documents, when they engage with a wide variety of services online. This article […]
Ioana Bratu, ‘European Space Torts: Contextualizing Liability for Damage Caused by Galileo Services’
ABSTRACT Initially designed for military purposes, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are now used for a variety of civil applications. Our advanced modern societies are increasingly dependent on the services offered by these technologies. Nevertheless, such dependence does not come without risks, especially from a legal perspective. The concept of ‘GNSS liability’ has been on […]
Marie-Christine Janssens, ‘Academic Publishing: Open Access as an Alternative Licensing Market for Academic Publishing and Scientific Communication’
ABSTRACT This paper aims to demonstrate how the academic publishing sector provides an example of an open licensing model that has impacted particular copyright markets. The development of open access (OA) repositories and journals and ensuing open-licensing models have reshaped the academic publishing sector. As this paper will explain, this evolution did not always happen […]
‘The Case for Attracting Litigation Business to the United States’
US state and federal courts routinely and reliably enforce ‘inbound’ forum selection clauses (FSCs) – that is, if a party sues in a US court designated by a contractual forum selection clause, courts will hear the case rather than dismissing on the basis of forum non conveniens. In a recent post, John Coyle urged federal […]
‘Digital Autonomy in Contractual Relationships – On the Relationship between Contractual Autonomy and Control over Data’
It is rare for two Advocates General of the European Court of Justice to differ on the interpretation of a fundamental legal act of the European Union (EU). This is what recently occurred with regard to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In his Opinion of 20 September 2022 (Case C-252/21, Meta Platforms, Inc and […]
Marcus Moore, ‘Developments in Contract Law: The 2020-2021 Term – Appeals to Fairness’
ABSTRACT This article analyzes important developments in Contract Law stemming from consideration by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2020-2021. Due to the large number of Contracts cases during this period, the article focuses on prominent appeals occupied with issues of fairness in Canadian Contract Law. Fairness in contracts emerges as an important concern of […]
Rachel Arnow-Richman and JH Verkerke, ‘Deconstructing Employment Contract Law’
ABSTRACT Employment contract law is an antiquated, ill-fitting, incoherent mess. But no one seems inclined to fix this problem. Employment law scholars, skeptical of employees’ ability to bargain, tend to disregard contract law and advocate for just-cause and other legislative reform. And contracts scholars largely ignore employment cases – viewing them, with some justification, as […]
Jim Rossi and JB Ruhl, ‘Adapting Private Law for Climate Change Adaptation’
ABSTRACT The private law of torts, property, and contracts will and should play an important role in resolving disputes regarding how private individuals and entities respond to and manage the harms of climate change that cannot be avoided through mitigation (known in climate change policy dialogue as ‘adaptation’). While adaptation is commonly presented as a […]
‘Contracting for US Courts in Transnational Commercial Litigation’
Among the most important provisions that litigators search for once alerted of a potential dispute are forum selection clauses embedded in a large number of modern commercial contracts. Over the past several decades, state legislators and the US Supreme Court have increasingly enabled parties to litigate in US courts, even for lawsuits with significant ‘foreign’ […]