Introduction

III. SOURCES OF LAW

A. Restatement as source of law:  In addition to cases and treatises, the principal sources for the black-letter rules stated in this outline are very influential Restatements of Torts, drafted by the American Law Institute.

1. Second Restatement:  The Second Restatement of Torts was published in the 1960s and 70s.

2. Third Restatement:  As of this writing (mid-2015), most major torts topics have been covered by a Third Restatement, including Liability for Physical & Emotional Harm (final), Products Liability (final), Apportionment of Liability (final) and Liability for Economic Harm (Proposed Final Draft #2). We discuss these parts of the Third Restatement where appropriate.

B. Term “plaintiff’s decedent” not used:  Many of the cases discussed in this outline are ones in which a death resulted, and which the tort claim was brought by the executor or administrator of the dead person’s estate. In this situation, it is the executor or administrator who is actually the “plaintiff,” and the dead person is called the “plaintiff’s decedent.” However, for purposes of simplicity, the cases are discussed here as if the dead person were the plaintiff, and the term “plaintiff’s decedent” is not used.