Reviewing the law reviews.

• Author: Youngdale, Elizabeth M.

Law Review Highlights:

Libel Tourism

The increased availability of the written word internationally--not only through the online publication of works, but also through online booksellers like Amazon--has led to a heightened awareness of the potential ramifications of libel suits filed against American writers or publishers in foreign courts. Several recent articles have analyzed some of the concerns over U.S. First Amendment protections and possible responses by U.S. courts.

In his article, Please Do Not Publish This Article in England." A Jurisdictional Response to Libel Tourism, Robert McFarland addresses how U.S. courts can use jurisdiction rather than substantive reasons to reject the judgments of foreign tribunals. (1) Professor McFarland looks specifically at the case of Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, a counter-terrorism expert who published a book on the international financing of extremist groups. She was sued in an English court by a citizen of Saudi Arabia for libel. The U.K. court accepted jurisdiction because the book had been bought in England via Amazon.com, and because the first chapter of the book was available on the ABC News website, and was, therefore, viewable throughout England. Dr. Ehrenfeld refused to appear and a default judgment was issued against her. The article examines not only how U.S. courts might respond to enforcing this judgment, but also suggests legislative and diplomatic strategies to help protect the expressive rights of American authors.

Doug Rendleman also uses the Ehrenfeld case (though fictionalized on some points) as the foundation for an article addressing collection on such judgments in the U.S. (2) Professor Rendleman argues that though many domestic courts have refused to honor judgments from foreign courts in libel suits, the U.S. should be wary of rejecting foreign judgments out of hand. Instead, he suggests that Congress should respond by implementing a national approach that would protect the rights of U.S. citizens while still respecting the holdings of foreign courts.

Finally, a student comment takes a slightly different approach to the subject by considering libel tourism by American entertainers. (3) In her article, Ellen Bernstein provides an introduction to both American and British libel law and discusses some of the potential dangers of the current trend of forum shopping for libel suits. She concludes by proposing protections from those risks and evaluating such solutions.

The following list is a selective bibliography of current law review literature thought to be of interest to civil defense counsel.

Damages

Jessica J. Berch, The Need for Enforcement of U.S. Punitive Damages Awards by the European Union, 19 MINN. J. INT'L L. 55 (2010).

Steve P. Calandrillo, Penalizing Punitive Damages: Why the Supreme Court Needs" a Lesson in Law and Economics, 78 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 774 (2010).

Firat Cengiz, Antitrust Damages Actions." Lessons from American Indirect Purchasers Litigation, 59 INT'L & COMP. L.Q. 39 (2010).

Richard Aaron Chastain, Note, Cleaning up Punitive Damages': A Statutory Solution for Unguided Punitive Damages Awards" in Maritime Cases, 63 VAND. L. REV. 813 (2010).

Alison F. Del Rossi and W. Kip Viscusi, The Changing Landscape of Blockbuster Punitive Damages Awards, 12 AM. L. & ECON. REV. 116 (2010).

Patrick H. Foley, Note, Oil and Water: How the Polluted Wake of the Exxon Valdez Has Endangered the Essence of Punitive Damages, 43 SUFFOLK U. L. REV. 475 (2010).

Joni Hersch and W. Kip Viscusi, Saving Lives" Through Punitive Damages, 83 S. CAL. L. REV. 229 (2010).

John D. McCamus, Liquidated Damages and the Criminal Rate of Interest: More Unintended Consequences of Section 347, 25 BANKING & FIN. L. REV. 229 (2010).

Francis E. McGovern, Punitive Damages and Class Actions, 70 LA. L. REV. 435 (2010). Colin Morrissey, Note, Behind the Music: Determining the Relevant Constitutional Standard ,for Statutory Damages in Copyright Infringement Lawsuits, 78 FOROHAM L. REV. 3059 (2010).

John Murphy, The Nature and Domain of Aggravated Damages, 69 CAMBRIDGE L.J. 353 (2010).

Kyriaki Noussia, Punitive Damages in Arbitration." Panacea or Curse?, 27 J. INT'L ARB. 277 (2010).

Michael F. Sturley, Vicarious Liability for Punitive Damages, 70 LA. L. REV. 501 (2010).

Rick Swedloff and Peter H. Huang, Tort Damages and the New Science

of Happiness, 85 IND. L.J. 553 (2010).

Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, Do Liquidated Damages Encourage Breach?

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