Ten Half-Truths About Tort Law

John Goldberg (Vanderbilt) takes on what he sees as ten items of conventional wisdom about tort law that don’t stand up to close scrutiny in this SSRN posting (to be published in Valparaiso Law Review).  The ten:

I.  Tort is a Miscellaneous Category.
II.  Tort Law is 150 Years Old, Give or Take.
III.  Tort Law is Accident Law.
IV.  The Life of Tort Law Has Been Experience, Not Logic.
V.  Tort Theories are Either Unified or Pluralist.
VI.  Tort Damages Aim to Make the Plaintiff Whole.
VII.  Tort Liability Exists on a Spectrum from Strict Liability to Intent.
VIII. Settlement and Insurance Have Rendered Tort Law Obsolete.
IX.  Tort Law is Common Law.
X.  Torts is a Class, Not a Subject.

It’s an interesting and entertaining read.  What half-truths would you add?

–BC