State appellate courts transformed liability standards and abolished longstanding immunities after 1950.

Evidence

These rules have changed dramatically since the 1950s. State appellate courts have transformed the standards for determining liability, abolished longstanding immunities from suits, and reduced or eliminated many other barriers that plaintiffs faced in recovering damages for injuries they have suffered. Particularly controversial have been state courts’ innovations relating to product liability—that is, the responsibility of manufacturers or sellers for injuries suffered by consumers of their products. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3399

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the course’s examination of state judicial policymaking and common-law change.