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- Title
CALMING THE FIRE: HOW A NEGLIGENCE STANDARD AND BROAD COST-RECOVERY CAN HELP RESTORE NATIONAL FORESTS AFTER WILDFIRES.
- Authors
RIORDAN, CHARLES
- Abstract
This Note provides an overview of the statutory and common law relating to forest fires, with a particular focus on fires started by power lines in National Forests. Fire is a constant threat to America's forests and is capable of doing enormous damage to critical ecological systems. Yet the legal ramifications of forest fires are often determined by state law, which leads to doctrinal inconsistency. Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has joined California courts in allowing the federal government to bring broad damages claims against utility companies responsible for forest fires. Other states, by contrast, limit the types of damages that the government can claim. The standard of liability for forest fires can be similarly ambiguous. The best way forward, from an environmental perspective, is to condition recovery on a showing of negligence, while granting restoration costs in cases where culpability is clear.
- Subjects
UNITED States; COMMON law; FOREST fire laws; FOREST fire prevention &; control; STATE laws; UNITED States. Court of Appeals (9th Circuit); LEGAL liability; RESTITUTION &; indemnification claims (1933- )
- Publication
Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, 2014, Vol 41, Issue 1, p233
- ISSN
0190-7034
- Publication type
Article