Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1982
Abstract
This article will analyze the types of changes that are taking place by examining three expanding areas of tort law: liability for negligently inflicted mental distress, negligently inflicted pure pecuniary loss, and harm caused by defective products. This examination will demonstrate that the scope of liability can be increased in at least two ways. One is by formally expanding the scope of existing causes of action, e.g., relaxing arbitrary barriers to liability or expanding the type of damages which may be recovered. A second method is by relaxing judicial control over the jury. This relaxation of control can take place in many forms. The least desirable form, and the one upon which this article will focus, occurs when a court submits a case to the jury under no standard or under standards so vague or couched in such general terms as to provide no real guidance. The effect of this is to permit—even force—the jurors to decide the case on a basis of their own choosing.
Recommended Citation
David A. Fischer, Tort Law: Expanding the Scope of Recovery Without Loss of Jury Control, 11 Hofstra L. Rev. 937 (1983)