June 22, 2006

Critical Developments in Toxic Torts Seminar Series:
Impact of New Tort Liability Theories and Venue Rules

On June 22, ELI convened a seminar at Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago to address the impact of new tort liability theories and venue rules. Market share liability found traction in 2005, with courts adopting commingled product theory and risk contribution theory in some cases. Public nuisance claims, defective product claims, and property damage claims are also increasingly common features of tort suits. Added to this, new federal legislation on class actions came into effect, and states adopted rules making forum shopping more difficult. What does this mean for toxic tort cases in 2006 and beyond? Are theories of liability expanding while venues for large rewards are shrinking?

Speakers included:
Richard Epstein, University of Chicago Law School
Robert Graham, Jenner & Block LLP
Michael Nilan, Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson, P.A.
Robert Olian, Sidley Austin LLP

Click here for information on the other seminars in this series.