| The Federal Claims Collection Act |
| The Federal Claims Collection Act (FCCA) was enacted in 1982 in order to allow the federal government to recover compensation for damages to or for loss or destruction of government property. Under the FCCA, the government is entitled to recover compensation for damages that result from negligent or wrongful acts.More... |
| No Strict Liability for Defamation |
| A lawsuit for defamation has the following basic elements: (1) making a false statement (2) about a person (3) to others, and (4) actual damages (if the harm to the person is not apparent). There is a fifth element when the person is a public official or public figure. The person who made the statement has to have made it with a known or reckless disregard of the truth. This article discusses a matter related to the fifth element, the prohibition against strict liability.More... |
| Tort Action for Failure to Provide Facilities to the Public |
| Under the common law, a person commits a tort when he or she fails to provide a public utility or a public facility to a member of the public. In order to be liable for this tort, the person must have a non-contractual duty to provide the public utility or the public facility to the public. A denial of the public utility or the public facility constitutes a breach of that duty. More... |
| Opinion and Other Defenses to Defamation |
| Defamation lawsuits are not easy to win because the plaintiff must both prove the difficult elements of his or her case and avoid the many defenses to defamation. This article discusses some of the standard defenses to defamation, including the defense of opinion.More... |
| Hedonic Damages |
| In the context of personal injury law, "hedonic damages" are damages to compensate a plaintiff for "loss of enjoyment of life," i.e., a diminished ability to enjoy the day-to-day pleasures of life. More... |


