This title is a part of our CasebookPlus™ offering as ISBN 9781684672042. Learn more at Faculty-CasebookPlus.com.

This sixth edition, continuing the use of minimally edited cases, serves as a vehicle for teaching first-year students the essential techniques of case analysis and legal method. This edition has been substantially shortened so as to meet the needs of instructors who teach a three or four hour introductory tort course. Throughout, the book is modified to include developments in tort law since the fifth edition was published in 2012. For example, the intentional tort chapter recognizes and discusses the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Intentional Torts. The chapters on negligence and causation recognize and discuss cases relying on and referencing the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Liability for Physical & Emotional Harm. The chapter on duty reflects the framework by which courts think about duty. It brings together in one place all the areas of tort law that apply special duty rules. The Causation Chapter adds material on causation in toxic tort cases and the admissibility of expert witnesses after Daubert. The materials on products liability capture recent developments in that area. The Insurance Chapter incorporates the new restatement on insurance law. The chapter on tort reform updates the empirical research on the operation of the tort system and the effects of tort reform.


Imprint: West Academic Publishing
Series: American Casebook Series
Publication Date: 06/24/2019

George C. Christie, Duke University School of Law

Joseph Sanders, University of Houston Law Center

W. Jonathan Cardi, Wake Forest University School of Law

Mary J. Davis, University of Kentucky College of Law

CasebookPlus™

This title is available in our CasebookPlus format. CasebookPlus provides support beyond your classroom lectures and materials by offering additional digital resources to you and your students. Anchored by faculty-authored formative self-assessments keyed to our most popular casebooks, CasebookPlus allows students to test their understanding of core concepts as they are learning them in class – on their own, outside of the classroom, with no extra work on your part. CasebookPlus combines three important elements:

  • A new print or digital casebook
  • Access to a downloadable eBook with the ability to highlight and add notes
  • 12-month access to a digital Learning Library complete with:
Multiple-choice self-assessment questions, including:
  • Chapter questions keyed to the casebook
  • Black Letter Law questions (available in select subjects)
  • Subject area review questions for end of semester use
Essay and short answer questions with sample answers and expert commentary, in 1L and select upper-level subjects

Leading digital study aids, an outline starter, and audio lectures in select subjects

Students can still utilize CasebookPlus digital resources if they’ve purchased a used book or are renting their text by purchasing the Learning Library at westacademic.com.

With CasebookPlus, you can customize your students’ learning experience and monitor their performance. The quiz editor allows you to create your own custom quiz set, suppress specific quiz questions or quiz sets, and time-release quiz questions. Additionally, the flexible, customized reporting capability helps you evaluate your students’ understanding of the material and can also help your school demonstrate compliance with the new ABA Assessment and Learning Outcomes standards.

A List of Major Changes in the Sixth Edition of Christie, et al. Cases & Materials on Torts

1. The book has been shortened substantially.

2. All chapters have been updated with new cases and secondary source materials.

3. Chapters 14 (Torts for Economic Injury), 15 (Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress), 16 (Defamation), 17 (Privacy), 18 (False Imprisonment and Misuse of Legal Process), and 19 (Constitutional Torts) have been eliminated. [Note: These materials do appear in Christie & Sanders, Advanced Torts.]

4. Chapter 2 on Intentional Torts has been reworked to reflect the ongoing Restatement (Third) of Torts: Intentional Torts materials. It now includes expanded materials on trespass to land. The chapter also has cases on Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and False Imprisonment.

5. Chapter 3 explicitly focuses on breach of duty questions and includes several new cases.

6. Chapters 4 and 6 in the last edition have now been combined into a longer Chapter. This chapter focuses on Duty and collects in one place special duty rules in a number of areas of tort law, including owners & occupiers, negligent infliction of emotional distress, immunities, and pure economic loss.

7. The chapter on causation (chapter 5 in the fifth edition) has now been split into two chapters. Chapter 5 deals exclusively with cause-in-fact. Chapter 6 (entitled “Scope of Liability”) addresses proximate cause questions. Chapter 5 adds material on causation in toxic tort cases and the admissibility of expert witnesses after Daubert.

8. Chapter 9 on Products Liability has been shortened and has added new cases.

9. Chapter 13 has added new research on tort law in action and the effects of “tort reform.”

Learn more about this series.