ALI to Cosponsor Economic Torts Conference in Tucson on March 3 and 4

With its new Torts Restatement project on liability for economic loss currently under way, the Institute, along with the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and the international law firm of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, LLP, is cosponsoring Economic Torts: The Dan B. Dobbs Conference on Tort Law, to be held on March 3 and 4 at the law school in Tucson. The conference will gather together more than 30 distinguished academics, judges, and practitioners participating on five panels to address the appropriate scope and definition of economic torts. These torts include established causes of action such as fraud, misrepresentation, professional malpractice, bad faith, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional and negligent interference with contract and opportunity, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, and disparagement, as well as emerging torts such as conversion of intangibles.

Judge Richard A. Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will be the opening speaker on Friday morning, March 3. Also participating are Professor Mark P. Gergen of The University of Texas School of Law, the Reporter for the Institute’s Torts: Liability for Economic Loss project; Professor Michael D. Green of Wake Forest University School of Law, the R. Ammi Cutter Co-Reporter for the ongoing Restatement Third, Torts: Liability for Physical Harm, and the Co-Reporter for the completed Restatement Third, Torts: Apportionment of Liability; and Professor Deborah A. DeMott, of Duke University School of Law, Reporter for the recently approved Restatement Third, Agency.

Professor Dobbs, the Regents & Rosenstiel Distinguished Professor for the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, for whom the conference is named, has been an ALI member since 1982 and is the author of two leading treatises, The Law of Torts and The Law of Remedies; a coauthor of the treatise, Prosser & Keeton on Torts; and a coauthor, with Professor Ellen M. Bublick, of Economic and Dignitary Torts—Business, Commercial and Intangible Harms (forthcoming 2006). He will be the moderator for Panel 1 on Friday.

The full conference program and registration form may be found at www.ali.org/TortsConfAZ05.pdf. To register, one must print and mail the form to the College of Law in Tucson. For more information, please contact Donna Ream (520-626-1629 or ream@law.arizona.edu).