Monday, January 07, 2013

Hearing for mock trial 1.

 

2. Conflicting property rights and the law   
a. Incompatible uses (externalities)

    Boomer (p) v. Atlantic Cement Co. (d) 26 N.Y.2d 219 (1970)

  1. What are the facts of the case?
  2. What remedy did the court ultimately specify?
  3. What do you think the cement company will choose to do?
  4. How does the court think issues of this sort should be handled in general?
  5. What comparative cost information for the two parties did the court mention?
  6. What sort of economic cost is the cement industry investment?
  7. So why consider it?
  8. What is the basic argument raised by the dissent?
  9. How do you think Posner or Coase would respond to it?
  10. What is the difference between temporary and permanent damages?
  11. What adverse incentive effect does the dissent cite with respect to the assessment of permanent damages instead of temporary damages?

Illustrates no injunction but liability for damages
Expresses a preference for legislative policy for handling pollution
Addresses the contrast between temporary and permanent damages

    Advantage to permanent damages: eliminates future litigation costs
    Advantage to temporary damages: preserves incentive to innovate (Ex: pointed out in the dissent in Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co.
    "[T]emporary damages tend to be more efficient given easily measured damages and rapid innovation. Conversely, permanent damages tend to be more efficient given costly measurement of damages and slow innovation." (CU170)

 

    Spur Industries (d) v. Del E. Webb Development (p) (1972)

  1. What are the facts of the case?
  2. What does "coming to the nuisance" mean?
  3. Will a court customarily grant relief to a party that comes to a nuisance?
  4. What incentive effect would result if it did?
  5. What remedy does the court impose in this case?
  6. Would you say that the consequences of Del Webb's expansion were foreseeable to Del Webb?
  7. If so, why grant relief to Del Webb?
  8. What incentive effect results from imposing liability for damages on Del Webb?

Illustrates injunction with liability for damages

    Boomer and Del Webb together illustrate the reciprocal nature of externalities and how court rulings can provide incentives to internalize externalities.