•  
  •  
 

Authors

Steven Gardner

Abstract

Part I of this article examines the contributory negligence doctrine and its history in the United States and North Carolina. Part II describes some of the criticism levelled at the contributory negligence doctrine. Part III examines the comparative negligence doctrine, including a-description of the types of comparative negligence systems, a history of the doctrine, and a look at the history of comparative negligence bills in the North Carolina General Assembly, concentrating on the several comparative negligence bills introduced in the 1980s and one of the principal arguments made against the bills. Part IV discusses North Carolina's stare decisis jurisprudence and judicial deference to the legislative branch in relation to the common law of North Carolina and the contributory negligence doctrine.

Erratum

Page 12, third paragraph, next to the last line: "benefactors" should be -beneficiaries-; Page 38, second full paragraph, second line: "It" should be-The comparative negligence doctrine-; Footnote 396: "well-read" should be -often cited-; Footnote 418: The footnote should read only "Id." The remainder of the footnote is correctly shown in footnote 430.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.