PHILADELPHIA — At its 2025 Annual Meeting, members of The American Law Institute approved Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Miscellaneous Provisions, marking the completion of the drafting phase of a major component of the Institute’s decades-long revision of its influential Restatement of Torts.
Torts: Miscellaneous Provisions addresses an eclectic yet important array of tort issues not covered in previous, or other currently ongoing, projects of the Restatement Third of Torts, including vicarious liability, wrongful death and survival actions, parental standards of care, spoliation of evidence, harm before and regarding birth, medical monitoring, statutes of limitations and repose, immunities, interference with the right to vote, and a wide range of additional topics. The project initially included provisions on medical malpractice. However, after the Institute determined that this area of tort law was sufficiently complex and voluminous to warrant independent treatment, the Medical Malpractice portion of the project was cordoned off and produced separately as the Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Medical Malpractice.
The Miscellaneous Provisions project was led by Reporters Nora Freeman Engstrom of Stanford Law School and Michael D. Green of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, and was launched with the assistance of William C. Powers Jr. of University of Texas at Austin School of Law, who served as a Reporter until his passing in 2019. Associate Reporters for the project are Guy Miller Struve, retired partner of Davis Polk & Wardwell, and Tanya D. Marsh (for Right of Sepulcher) and Mark A. Hall (for Medical Malpractice), both of Wake Forest University School of Law.
“Reassessing the law and updating the Restatements is central to the Institute’s mission, and we are now deeply engaged in the Third Restatement of Torts,” said ALI Director Diane P. Wood. “The Institute has already published four parts of the Torts Third Restatement series, in Volumes that each focus on specific areas—Products Liability; Apportionment of Liability; Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm; and Liability for Economic Harm. Final approvals have also been secured for Volumes on Intentional Torts and Medical Malpractice, which are currently being prepared for publication. In addition, work is progressing steadily on torts-related provisions within the Property Restatement, as well as on separate projects addressing Remedies and Defamation and Privacy. Once these efforts are completed, the ALI will have created a body of work that fully supersedes the Restatement Second of Torts.”
In a joint statement, Reporters Freeman Engstrom and Green said:
Our goal was to ensure that vital areas of tort doctrine—those not addressed in other Restatement projects—were given the careful and comprehensive treatment they deserve. This work encompasses legal principles that courts and practitioners encounter regularly, such as vicarious liability and governmental immunities, as well as emerging and evolving doctrines like spoliation and medical monitoring. We are deeply grateful to the many ALI members, Council members, Advisers, and MCG participants who gave their time, ideas, and insights to improve this project. And we must especially acknowledge the foundational contributions of the late Bill Powers, whose brilliance, warmth, and vision helped guide this work from its earliest days. Bill’s influence is present on every page, and we are honored to have helped bring his vision to fruition.
“The completion of Miscellaneous Provisions represents a remarkable achievement and an essential part of ALI’s broader effort to modernize tort law,” added ALI Director Wood. “I am deeply grateful to Nora and Mike, along with Associate Reporters Guy Struve, Tanya Marsh, and Mark Hall, for their thoughtful and thorough work on this complex project. We also owe a debt of gratitude to the Advisers, MCG participants, Council, and staff whose careful engagement brought this Restatement to final approval.”
Following approval by the membership, the Reporters (subject as usual to oversight by the Director) will prepare the official text for publication. This final version will incorporate editorial updates, citation refinements, and any amendments made during the Annual Meeting. Until then, the approved Tentative Drafts represent the official position of ALI and may be cited as such.
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About The American Law Institute
The American Law Institute is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law. The ALI drafts, discusses, revises, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and Principles of Law that are influential in the courts and legislatures, as well as in legal scholarship and education. By participating in the Institute’s work, its distinguished members have the opportunity to influence the development of the law in both existing and emerging areas, to work with other eminent lawyers, judges, and academics, to support the rule of law and the legal system, and to contribute to the public good.
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