The Intersection with Tort and Environmental Law
Fordham Law Review
Volume 80 | Issue 2 Article 12
2011
The Intersection of Tort and Environmental Law: Where the Twains Should Meet and Depart
Mark Latham Victor E. Schwartz Christopher E. Appel
Recommended Citation
Mark Latham, Victor E. Schwartz, and Christopher E. Appel, The Intersection of Tort and Environmental Law: Where the Twains Should Meet and Depart, 80 Fordham L. Rev. 737 (2011). Available at: http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol80/iss2/12
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Law Review by an authorized administrator of FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact tmelnick@law.fordham.edu.
ARTICLES THE INTERSECTION OF TORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: WHERE THE TWAINS SHOULD MEET AND DEPART
Mark Latham,* Victor E. Schwartz,** & Christopher E. Appel*** The explosion of environmental statutes over the past forty years, giving rise to the field of environmental law, has created a critical and evolving question in our legal system as to how this comparatively new field of law intersects with the common law of torts. Defining the proper role of tort law in remedying environmental injuries is an important matter of public policy; the answer will determine what the tort system can and cannot achieve, inform what it should and should not achieve, and clarify which common law enforcement areas are actually voids. This information assists the judiciary on its role in addressing alleged injuries to the environment, and guides the legislative and executive branches as to whether and when action is required to fashion a legal remedy. Tort law has historically provided the principal mechanism for remedying harms to the environment. The complexities of many modern environmental harms and the actual or perceived inadequacies of the common law, however, have led policy makers such
Volume 80 | Issue 2 Article 12
2011
The Intersection of Tort and Environmental Law: Where the Twains Should Meet and Depart
Mark Latham Victor E. Schwartz Christopher E. Appel
Recommended Citation
Mark Latham, Victor E. Schwartz, and Christopher E. Appel, The Intersection of Tort and Environmental Law: Where the Twains Should Meet and Depart, 80 Fordham L. Rev. 737 (2011). Available at: http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol80/iss2/12
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Law Review by an authorized administrator of FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact tmelnick@law.fordham.edu.
ARTICLES THE INTERSECTION OF TORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: WHERE THE TWAINS SHOULD MEET AND DEPART
Mark Latham,* Victor E. Schwartz,** & Christopher E. Appel*** The explosion of environmental statutes over the past forty years, giving rise to the field of environmental law, has created a critical and evolving question in our legal system as to how this comparatively new field of law intersects with the common law of torts. Defining the proper role of tort law in remedying environmental injuries is an important matter of public policy; the answer will determine what the tort system can and cannot achieve, inform what it should and should not achieve, and clarify which common law enforcement areas are actually voids. This information assists the judiciary on its role in addressing alleged injuries to the environment, and guides the legislative and executive branches as to whether and when action is required to fashion a legal remedy. Tort law has historically provided the principal mechanism for remedying harms to the environment. The complexities of many modern environmental harms and the actual or perceived inadequacies of the common law, however, have led policy makers such