Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T16:54:45.890Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Commentary on Farwell v. Keaton

from Part II - The Classics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2020

Martha Chamallas
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Lucinda M. Finley
Affiliation:
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Get access

Summary

Farwell v. Keaton is the classic torts case that has introduced generations of law students to the “no-duty-to-rescue” rule which allows individuals to refrain from aiding persons in peril. The case is an exception, imposing a duty on a teenage boy who failed to come to the aid of his companion who died after being beaten by a group of boys. The court emphasized the relationship between the parties and the fact that the defendant had rendered some initial aid to his friend. The rewritten feminist opinion also imposes a duty but replaces the myriad common-law exceptions to the “no-duty-to-rescue” rule. Embracing a humanitarian approach based on the circumstantial connection between the parties in the case, the feminist judgment imposes liability whenever failure to do so would “shock the conscience,” placing US tort law on par with the law in many European nations. The accompanying commentary recharacterizes the case as one involving sexual harassment and stalking, focusing on the behavior of the defendant and his companion who set the chain of events in motion when they followed two teenaged girls who later complained to the assailants.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×