October 2022 Council Meeting Updates
At its meeting on October 20 and 21, 2022, the Council reviewed and discussed Council Drafts of five projects and approved drafts and portions of drafts as listed.
Torts in the American Law Institute
This Article suggests that, in the domain of tort law, The American Law Institute has had important successes when proceeding in the manner of an appellate court, and has courted trouble when operating in the other modes.
The Institute in the Courts: Supreme Court of Nevada Adopts Sections of Restatement of the Law Third, Property (Servitudes)
Recently, in Moretto Trustee of the Jerome F. Moretto 2006 Trust v. ELK Point Country Club Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., 507 P.3d 199 (Nev. 2022), the Supreme Court of Nevada adopted Restatement of the Law Third, Property (Servitudes) §§ 6.7 and 6.9 “to govern issues concerning an association’s authority to enact rules regarding the restriction of individually owned property.”
The Flow of Projects
This Director’s Letter was originally published in the summer 2022 edition of The ALI Reporter. The American Law Institute is defined by its substantive work, principally its Restatements of the Law, its Principles of the Law, and its Model or Uniform Codes. I thought that it would be informative to provide a sense of the flow of our projects during that time. What new projects did we undertake? What projects did we complete? How much are we accomplishing? What is next on the horizon?
ALI Group Cited in Proposals to Reform and Modernize ECA
Two proposals were recently introduced which include legislation to reform and modernize the outdated Electoral Count Act of 1887 to ensure that the electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s vote for President.
Recognition for Electoral Count Act Reform Principles
A Washington Post article by Richard Hasen on revising the Electoral Count Act (ECA) mentions proposals presented in the Principles for ECA Reform. A recent CBS News article indicates that the senators have reached a general agreement and are working on text.
Project Updates from the 2022 ALI Annual Meeting
Learn more about the actions taken at this year’s ALI Annual Meeting, held last month, where the membership met to discuss and vote on twelve ALI project drafts.
The Institute in the Courts: Court of Appeals of Oregon Cites Restatement of the Law, Children and the Law
In In re C. L. E., 502 P.3d 1154 (Or. Ct. App. 2021), the Court of Appeals of Oregon cited Restatement of the Law, Children and the Law § 15.30 (Tentative Draft No. 2, 2019) (subsequently renumbered as § 13.40), which the membership approved at the 2019 Annual Meeting.
More on the Proposals for Electoral Count Act Reform
At the invitation of The American Law Institute, a group whose members span a range of legal and political views met to consider the way forward on ECA reform. We came to agree on the following principles, distilled from a longer treatment, which could provide a path to bipartisan reform.
The ALI Convenes a Group to Address Electoral Count Act Reform
The attack on the Capitol on January 6 shocked most Americans and focused attention as well on the law that governs Congress’ count of the state’s electoral votes for President and Vice President. To the members of The American Law Institute, that day’s events also marked a challenge: how to ensure that the very essence of our democracy is not placed at risk again in the future. To undertake this important project, ALI convened 10 individuals with extensive experience in law and government to study the Electoral Count Act and to make proposals for reform.