Who Knew? Admissibility of Subsequent Remedial Measures when Defendants are Without Knowledge of the Injuries

Federal Rule of Evidence 407 prohibits the introduction of subsequent remedial measures for the purposes of demonstrating negligence, culpable conduct, or product defect. But the rule breaks down, in application and purpose, when a defendant undertakes the new safety measure after the plaintiff\u27s injury, but before the defendant had knowledge of the loss. Such a situation is not uncommon. Would-be defendants frequently improve their products and product safety for a variety of reasons. Toxic exposure cases, where exposure often predates diagnosis of the injury by a decade or more, represent a prime example of cases where defendants are likely to have made significant product or warning improvements which, if taken before the plaintiff\u27s exposure, may have prevented the injury. Should evidence of these improvements be admissible? The literal text of Rule 407 suggests not. Yet allowing such measures into evidence may not have the same chilling effect as when the measure was taken in response to the plaintiff\u27s injury. In such circumstances, it can be argued the defendant never feared the measure would be used against it. Since the policies behind Rule 407 may not support the exclusion of such evidence, should it still be applied? This article explores Rule 407, its policy underpinnings, courts\u27 differing interpretations of the rule, and how it should be applied to defendants who take subsequent remedial measures without knowledge of a plaintiff\u27s injury. Finally, we suggest an interpretation of and amendment to Rule 407 that clarifies the rule and furthers its policy bases

State Legislative Update

This bill would have prevented employers from requiring employees to arbitrate disputes arising under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). In doing so, it would have changed the established law in California that written agreements to arbitrate disputes are valid and enforceable. Specifically, this bill would have invalidated arbitration agreements between employers and employees if the employer required the employee to sign the agreement as a condition of employment. A.B. 1715 would have applied to employers with five or more employees

State Legislative Update

This bill would have prevented employers from requiring employees to arbitrate disputes arising under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). In doing so, it would have changed the established law in California that written agreements to arbitrate disputes are valid and enforceable. Specifically, this bill would have invalidated arbitration agreements between employers and employees if the employer required the employee to sign the agreement as a condition of employment. A.B. 1715 would have applied to employers with five or more employees

Communicative competence as a fundamental characteristic of the professional-personal formation students

Communicative competence is of great importance in the professional and personal development is the profession of the type «person-person», including in the teaching profession, and is seen as its main component. It is important in the period of study at the University, along with the study of major disciplines in the period of professional training to develop communicative competence of studentsКоммуникативная компетентность имеет большое значение в профессионально-личностном становлении представителей профессии типа «человек-человек», в том числе в профессии педагога, и рассматривается как основная ее составляющая. Потому важно именно в период обучения в ВУЗе, наряду с изучением основных дисциплин, в период профессиональной подготовки развивать коммуникативную компетентность студенто

All solvable extensions of a class of nilpotent Lie algebras of dimension n and degree of nilpotency n-1

We construct all solvable Lie algebras with a specific n-dimensional nilradical n_(n,2) (of degree of nilpotency (n-1) and with an (n-2)-dimensional maximal Abelian ideal). We find that for given n such a solvable algebra is unique up to isomorphisms. Using the method of moving frames we construct a basis for the Casimir invariants of the nilradical n_(n,2). We also construct a basis for the generalized Casimir invariants of its solvable extension s_(n+1) consisting entirely of rational functions of the chosen invariants of the nilradical.Comment: 19 pages; added references, changes mainly in introduction and conclusions, typos corrected; submitted to J. Phys. A, version to be publishe

Invariants of Lie Algebras with Fixed Structure of Nilradicals

An algebraic algorithm is developed for computation of invariants ('generalized Casimir operators') of general Lie algebras over the real or complex number field. Its main tools are the Cartan's method of moving frames and the knowledge of the group of inner automorphisms of each Lie algebra. Unlike the first application of the algorithm in [J. Phys. A: Math. Gen., 2006, V.39, 5749; math-ph/0602046], which deals with low-dimensional Lie algebras, here the effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated by its application to computation of invariants of solvable Lie algebras of general dimension $n<\infty$ restricted only by a required structure of the nilradical. Specifically, invariants are calculated here for families of real/complex solvable Lie algebras. These families contain, with only a few exceptions, all the solvable Lie algebras of specific dimensions, for whom the invariants are found in the literature.Comment: LaTeX2e, 19 page

The atomic structure of large-angle grain boundaries Σ5\Sigma 5 and Σ13\Sigma 13 in YBa2Cu3O7−δ{\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}} and their transport properties

We present the results of a computer simulation of the atomic structures of large-angle symmetrical tilt grain boundaries (GBs) $\Sigma 5$ (misorientation angles \q{36.87}{^{\circ}} and \q{53.13}{^{\circ}}), $\Sigma 13$ (misorientation angles \q{22.62}{^{\circ}} and \q{67.38}{^{\circ}}). The critical strain level $\epsilon_{crit}$ criterion (phenomenological criterion) of Chisholm and Pennycook is applied to the computer simulation data to estimate the thickness of the nonsuperconducting layer ${\rm h_n}$ enveloping the grain boundaries. The ${\rm h_n}$ is estimated also by a bond-valence-sum analysis. We propose that the phenomenological criterion is caused by the change of the bond lengths and valence of atoms in the GB structure on the atomic level. The macro- and micro- approaches become consistent if the $\epsilon_{crit}$ is greater than in earlier papers. It is predicted that the symmetrical tilt GB $\Sigma5$ \theta = \q{53.13}{^{\circ}} should demonstrate a largest critical current across the boundary.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure