Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Common law can be simplistically described as a system comprised
of general principles for fairly adjudicating certain types of civil disputes,
and of courts that provide a forum and special rules for hearing the dis-
putes, clarifying their factual content, and applying the general principles
to resolve the disputes. In the United States, each of the fifty states has its
own common law system, and over time, each state's courts have devel-
oped their own variations on the principles, with some state courts being
notably flexible in modifying or adapting the principles to address new
factual circumstances or when presiding judges feel it necessary to “do
justice” in resolving the disputes.
Because disputes are brought to these courts by an aggrieved per-
son (the plaintiff) who claims that a personal injury or economic harm
has been caused by the wrongful action of a named party (the defen-
dant), the remedy sought is usually a court judgment that would impose
an obligation on the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for the harm
suffered, that is, to impose legal liability for compensatory damages. The
plaintiff may also seek additional remedies such as the award of punitive
damages to punish the defendant more severely if the court finds that
the defendant acted recklessly or in willful disregard of the plaintiff. The
plaintiff may also seek a court order to enjoin a continuing activity that is
allegedly wrongful, or to enjoin a defendant from commencing an activ-
ity on grounds that it is highly likely to create imminent, significant, and
irreversible harm. At any point prior to a court decision in such cases,
the parties may settle the dispute out of court and terminate the lawsuit.
Procedural requirements and rules of evidence regarding use of
expert witnesses and testimony, and the ability of the parties to bear
the transactional costs involved, such as fees for attorneys and expert
witnesses, are among the many factors that influence the progress and
outcomes of the lawsuits. In recent years, courts have often consolidated
into a single “class action,” the many similar lawsuits that may follow a
major accident at an industrial facility or the widespread sale of a harm-
ful product.
The principles, so-called theories of liability, that have proven over
decades to be most appropriate for plaintiffs to rely on in cases
