This project is part of ALI’s ongoing revision of the Restatement Second of Torts. Portions of the Restatement Second have been superseded by the Restatement Third of Torts: Products Liability, Apportionment of Liability, Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm, and Liability for Economic Harm.
This Restatement addresses torts dealing with personal and business reputation and dignity, including defamation, business disparagement, and rights of privacy. Among other issues, the updates will cover the substantial body of new issues relating to the internet.
Reporters
Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky
Reporter, Torts: Defamation and Privacy
Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky is the Raymond & Miriam Ehrlich Chair in U.S. Constitutional Law at Florida Law. She previously served as Dean of the University of Missouri School of Law from 2017-2022. The focus of her research and teaching is the intersection of Tort Law and the First Amendment, with an emphasis on free speech issues in social media.
Robert C. Post
Reporter, Torts: Defamation and Privacy
Robert C. Post is Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. He served as the School’s 16th dean from 2009 until 2017. Before coming to Yale, he taught at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. Post specializes in constitutional law, with a particular emphasis on the First Amendment.
Louis W. Hensler III | November 18, 2022 | Torts: Defamation and Privacy
Below is the abstract for “Warren/Burger Courts Exalted “Free” Expression Over Other American Values,” available for download on SSRN. This is an updated version of the article shared on The ALI Adviser on April 6, 2022. Four values coexist within...
Louis W. Hensler III | April 6, 2022 | Torts: Defamation and Privacy
Below is the abstract for “New York Times v. Sullivan Transformed American Defamation Law From Thumper’s Rule to Incented Obloquy,” available for download on SSRN. This essay will add my voice to the chorus criticizing the New York Times actual malice standard...
Pauline Toboulidis | July 16, 2021 | Torts: Defamation and Privacy
David A. Logan of Roger Williams University School of Law was a recent guest on NPR’s podcast On Point, where he discussed rethinking American libel law. Logan’s article “Rescuing our Democracy by Rethinking New York Times v. Sullivan” was cited 16 times in U.S....
Matthew L.M. Fletcher, Lyrissa B. Lidsky, Geoffrey P. Miller, Kenneth W. Simons and Christiane C. Wendehorst | May 4, 2021 | American Indian Law, Compliance and Enforcement for Organizations, Data Economy, Inside The ALI, Torts: Defamation and Privacy, Torts: Intentional Torts to Persons
Have you ever wondered what exactly goes into completing an ALI project? There’s nobody better to talk about the ALI process than four veteran Reporters whose projects may be completed at the 2021 Annual Meeting. In this episode of Reasonably Speaking, Reporter on one...
Richard L. Revesz | April 3, 2019 | Inside The ALI, Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Remedies, Torts: Defamation and Privacy, Torts: Miscellaneous Provisions
At its January meeting, the Council approved the launch of the final three components of the Restatement Third of Torts. The projects tentatively are titled: Remedies; Defamation and Privacy; and Concluding Provisions. With these projects, the ALI aims to complete an...
