Tort Law

Tort Law: The American and Louisiana Perspectives, Fifth Edition, has as its primary objective the study of tort law in the United States and Louisiana. It differs from most other torts casebooks, however, in that it also serves as an exercise in comparative law.

In the United States, we often overlook the fact that the common law system prevailing throughout most of the nation is not the only legal system in the world. Much of the world follows a civil law tradition, in which a civil code plays a more prominent role than case law. In an era when trade, economics, politics, and law increasingly cross-national borders, it has become ever more important to understand and engage with other legal systems.

Louisiana, the only state in the United States that can be described as a mixed jurisdiction, combining elements of both civil law and common law, provides an excellent model for examining, comparing, and contrasting these two legal traditions. This book invites readers not only to study tort law, but also to consider the similarities and differences between the common law jurisdictions and a state whose civil code shapes the respective roles of the courts and the legislature in distinctive ways.