Contract, that is, might be recast as a special case of tort or fiduciary obligation.
These doctrinal developments were matched by several substantial theoretical innovations that sought to recharacterize contract as reliance-based and thus in effect a special case of tort.
In the case of tort liability, for example, the cases might be best explained by the principle that liability will only arise where the defendant's conduct has been unreasonable, i.e., that both harm to the plaintiff and unreasonable conduct is necessary for liability.
U.S. American lawyers have been familiar with the thought that contract might be best understood as a special case of tort at least since Lon Fuller and William Perdue suggested that reliance-based contractual obligations are easier to justify than expectation-based obligations (Fuller & Perdue 1936 53 577).
The association notes that a personal-injury lawyer who won some of the biggest cases (including $10 billion from Philip Morris, a tobacco firm, on behalf of a group of smokers) made donations to the re-election campaign of the judge who heard some of the cases.Opponents of tort reform say it is all a plot by Mr Bush's big-business pals to avoid paying an appropriate penalty for their misdeeds.
New insurance markets would arise to protect investors in cases of a tort judgment or lien that led to substantial personal risk.
–Damages would double in cases of "intentional tort or other intentional wrongdoing".
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has made the reduction of tort cases against the city, which cost the city millions of dollars, a major part of his legal policies.
In 50 other cases, people filed notices of tort claims, often precursors to lawsuits, and in 21 instances, they asserted serious police misdeeds but took no legal action.
As with the 9/11 fund, this part of the program is intended to be an expeditious, reliable alternative to tens of thousands of tort cases, sparing plaintiffs and the company alike the expense and uncertainty of drawn-out lawsuits.
