Liability Cases Research Articles

When Federal Standards Crash and Burn: The Need to Distinguish Aviation Product Liability Claims from In-Air Operations Cases

If you are injured in an aviation disaster or lose a loved one in a plane crash, may you seek recovery under state law? Do federal regulations provide adequate opportunities to compensate aviation crash victims? These are questions few people think to ask themselves. A more common query is what entity regulates the more than 16 million flights that occur yearly in the U.S., and how do you know whether the aircraft you fly on are safe? The tragic Boeing 737 MAX crashes initiated a federal oversight investigation into the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Industry whistleblowers revealed severe lapses in the FAA’s aircraft certification regime and a culture that promoted unsafe practices in aircraft design and manufacturing. Despite crucial reforms, the ability of uniform federal standards to protect aviation consumers is under fire. In a majority of U.S. jurisdictions, the Federal Aviation Act and associated federal regulations preempt all state law claims in aviation safety cases. The effect of this approach—few plaintiffs recover in aviation product liability suits, and the families of aviation crash victims go uncompensated. However, in Sikkelee v. Precision Airmotive Corp., the Third Circuit offered a new approach that advocates for field preemption for in-air operations claims but allows recovery under state law for aviation product liability cases. This approach adequately compensates aviation crash victims without undermining the FAA’s extensive and effective in-air regulatory scheme. This Comment addresses recent reforms to the FAA’s aircraft certification program and the ongoing circuit split regarding federal preemption of aviation safety claims. Further, this Comment seeks to analyze the fundamental differences between in-air operations regulations and rules governing aircraft design and manufacture to explain why different treatment of these claims is warranted. Ultimately, this Comment advocates for the Sikkelee methodology to provide ample opportunity for plaintiff recovery without unnecessarily undermining FAA regulatory authority.

Real Property

This Article covers Real Property cases from Southwestern Reporter (Third) volumes 633 through 652 and federal cases during the Survey period that the authors believe are noteworthy to the jurisprudence on the applicable subject. A number of significant cases, mostly from the Texas Supreme Court, have been handed down during this survey period. The due process requirements for the scope of inquiry for substituted service have been promulgated in MAP Resources. Additional procedural issues for service on financial institutions, which were decided differently by various state and federal courts, were resolved in Moss. The Texas Supreme Court provided helpful guidance on the measurement of consequential damages in Signature, and offered a cautionary tale to practitioners about the drafting of consequential damage waivers in James. In another cautionary tale to practitioners, the Tyler Court of Appeals in Tiner addressed the enforceability of a fixed price 100-year option contract. Likewise, in Rancho Viejo, following guidance from the Texas Supreme Court, the San Antonio Court of Appeals narrowly interpreted a restrictive covenant to allow construction of a solid waste facility. The narrow interpretation of restrictive covenants was again reiterated by the Texas Supreme Court in JBrice. The supreme court has also addressed, in a case of first impression, the issue of implied revocation of an outstanding offer in Tauch. In premises liability cases, it also discussed the “dual capacity” for successor liability in Eagleridge, and the “necessary use” doctrine in Sandridge. The Texas Attorney General issued guidance on the meaning of “person” for purposes of nonjudicial foreclosures. Unfortunately, the limitations period for equitably subrogated lien claims, under Howard I and its prodigy, continued in Howard III. From a governance perspective, the Texas Supreme Court refined the fiduciary duties of directors in the Poe decision. Regulatory takings were addressed in Schrock, but with significant possible changes in jurisprudence raised in the concurring opinions. Additionally, the Texas Supreme Court jumped on the Dallas to Houston highspeed train project in defining an interurban electric railway.

Big Data Analysis Report on Trial of Obstetrics and Gynecology Medical Damage Liability Dispute Cases in China from 2017 to 2021

Objective: To analyze the data of the trial cases of medical damage liability disputes in obstetrics and gynecology from 2017 to 2021, with a clear understanding of Chinese medical damage liability disputes. Methods: The data of medical damage liability dispute cases in obstetrics and gynecology during 2017-2021 were collected and analyzed. The analysis directions included (1) The trial types of civil litigation cases in each year; (2) Annual distribution of civil litigation cases in obstetrics and gynecology in an annual year basis; (3) Distribution of the amount of the subject matter and the amount of civil compensation; (4) The geographical distribution of litigation cases; (5) Characteristics of the medical institution as defendant; (6) Distribution of litigation departments in medical institutions; (7) Common causes of action in obstetrics and gynecology cases; (8) Results of common injuries in obstetrics and gynecology cases; (9) Court confirmation of disputes over medical records. Results: According to the data analysis results, the distribution of litigation trial types, annual distribution, compensation amount distribution, regional distribution and other basic data were obtained, and based on the analysis of the characteristics of medical institutions, department distribution, causes of litigation, damage structure and court recognition results were systematically discussed. Conclusion: Although the liability disputes for medical damage in obstetrics and gynecology have been declining in recent years, the problems in medical treatment and management can not be ignored. Attention should be paid to them and medical problems should be avoided.

Pension Fund Calculation Using Traditional and Projected Unit Credit Methods for Total Actuarial Liability and Normal Cost Cases

The DSH Meat Kiosk is a kiosk that sells one of the foodstuffs, namely Beef. This DSH Meat Kiosk has been around for more than 20 years. However, as long as this kiosk is established, the manager still finds it difficult to analyze the profit from the sale. Therefore, this Profit and Loss Financial Statement is intended to assist traders in managing the profits generated. In this report a financial analysis is made in November 2021 and February 2022. The method used in making this report is to use primary data by collecting data in the form of interviews with kiosk owners relating to things needed in making profit and loss statements such as assets that owned, total revenue, operating costs and others. The results of this report show that sales in February 2022 decreased by 17.88% compared to November 2021. With this report, it is hoped that this report will help and make it easier to manage the profits generated and make decisions to generate the best profits.The discussion of the selected questions will look for what actuarial obligations are and what normal costs are based on the data provided. The purpose of this discussion is to know, understand, and be able to perform actuarial calculations regarding the unit credit method used. The unit credit method used is the traditional unit credit and the projected unit credit. The formula used for each question is as follows. andThe result of solving the first problem shows that the total actuarial liability on 1/1/95 is IDR 405,339.095. While the results of the second question show that the normal cost for 2021 on 1/1/2021 was IDR 1,071.43. From these results, users can find out how much actuarial obligations are and what normal costs are based on the data that has been provided.

Implementation of Hospital Absolute Responsibility in Health Services in Indonesia

Doctors and patients are a legal relationship in a business agreement (inspanning verbintenis) and not an outcome agreement (resultaat verbintenis). Even so, the doctor is still responsible for any negligence that brings harm to the patient. Until now, there is still confusion in Indonesia, whether medical liability is based on default or tort, although as an inspanning verb, a more appropriate basis for lawsuits to use is tort. This research was conducted by making a comparison of law with statutory approaches, conceptual approaches and case approaches. An analysis of absolute liability cases in Indonesia is needed to provide justice for the community, especially in health law.

Overwhelming Supervening Acts, Fundamental Differences, and Back Again?

Jogee established that, if the victim was attacked in a manner different to that which the accessory envisioned, the accessory will not be liable for a resulting death, provided the fatal act amounted to ‘some overwhelming supervening act [OSA]… which nobody in the defendant’s shoes could have contemplated might happen and is of such a character as to relegate his acts to history’. Jogee further suggests that OSA has replaced the fundamental difference rule (FDR) which used to keep the foresight test in parasitic accessory liability (PAL) cases in check, by absolving accessories of liability for murder or manslaughter, where the principal had caused the victim’s death with a different and more lethal weapon or in a different and more dangerous manner than had been foreseen by the accessory. In Jogee, the UKSC appreciated this role of the FDR, and therefore, in a misguided attempt to appease the defenders of PAL, abolished it along with PAL. While they left OSA in place in its stead, the judgment is unclear about its scope, role, and function. Since then, OSA has been considered on several occasions by the Court of Appeal. However, there is still no clarity as to when OSA ought to be left to the jury. This paper will explore OSA, its role, scope of application, and relationship with the FDR. It will be argued that OSA is a concept of remoteness which, like the FDR before it, functions as a corrective to constructive liability for accessories to murder and manslaughter. It aims to attribute to the accessory only those consequences of the principal’s acts that are sufficiently linked to the risk that the accessory set or supported by his acts of assistance or encouragement. The paper concludes that, in fleshing out OSA, the courts ought to pay greater attention to this role and purpose, and the principles of fair attribution that underpin it.

Parent company liability, forum non conveniens and substantial justice

This article examines the forum non conveniens doctrine in English parent company liability cases, focusing on the recent Vedanta, Unilever and Okpabi trilogy. It explains the dilemma that English courts, like other common law courts, have faced when confronted with arguments that foreign courts are unable to deliver ‘substantial justice’ to claimants. On the one hand, English courts do not wish to appear chauvinistic, but on the other they do not want to leave claimants without a remedy. This dilemma is even more pointed in the context of parent company liability cases which involve claims against English parent companies for harms caused by the operations of their subsidiaries in developing countries and, in particular, when the subsidiaries are of such economic importance (and are sometimes even partly owned or controlled by the developing country itself) that there is a real risk of corruption in the judicial process to protect those economic interests. The article shows that, in the recent trilogy, this dilemma has been sidestepped by allowing substantial justice arguments, but on less controversial procedural grounds, such as the absence of litigation funding in the foreign forum.

Characterization of Legal Claims Involving Patients with Pyoderma Gangrenosum.

To review the litigation literature related to patients with pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) to characterize the legal issues they face. Data sources include law databases Casetext and Lexis Nexis. All disability and medical liability claims directly involving patients with PG were included. Data extraction came directly from Casetext and Lexis Nexis. All cases extracted came from September 1965 to December 2020. This resulted in 32 cases, 18 of which were excluded because they did not mention the plaintiff having a diagnosis of PG (n = 14). The review found a total of six medical liability cases in which adverse health outcomes were reported, including prolonged suffering (2/6 cases), unnecessary treatments or procedures (2/6), exacerbation of disease (1/6 cases), and permanent scarring (1/6 cases). Despite this, two plaintiffs won their case and only one of them received any monetary award. Similarly, of the eight disability claims in the review, four were ruled in the favor of the plaintiffs and only two resulted in immediate awarding of benefits. Half of medical liability cases occurred in correctional facilities after the denial of appropriate care. The findings demonstrate a need for access to specialty care in incarcerated populations. Cases that occurred in a hospital setting also stress the importance of initiatives such as telemedicine to efficiently increase access to care in a cost-effective manner. Further, PG has been recognized as a severe impairment in disability claims despite patients being denied because they were deemed able to perform other work.

Full Compensation for Damage in International Carriage Law with Regard to the Carriage of Goods – Rule or Exception?

The purpose of this article it to outline the legal nature of limitations of the amount of compensation stipulated in international carriage conventions. The paper tries to answer the question whether these limitations in an array of cases of carrier liability allow a conclusion that the principle of limited compensation applies here or whether perhaps the principle of full compensation remains valid and limitation of the amount of compensation is still an exception. Having analysed the legal character of limits to the amount of compensation, having demonstrated derogations from the application of provisions that limit the sum of the compensation and having taken into account the incomplete regulation under international carriage conventions and its lack of autonomy (falling under the civil law), the author points out that limiting the sum of compensation, despite being applied in the majority of cases of carrier liability, is not a rule but an exception from the full compensation principle. An answer to the fundamental question allows appropriate interpretation of provisions on establishing the amount of compensation due from the carrier. If one were to assume that these regulations maintain their exceptional nature, they will need to be interpreted in a restrictive manner, according to the exceptiones non sunt extendendae principle, and any doubts will have to be settled according to the full compensation principle.

Inferior Vena Cava Filter Litigation Review: An Analysis of Medicolegal Cases Pertaining to Inferior Vena Cava Filters

PurposeTo identify and analyze all medical malpractice and product liability lawsuits pertaining to inferior vena cava (IVC) filters published within a well-recognized legal research database. Materials and MethodsLexisNexis, a legal research database, was used to retrieve cases that mentioned harm from IVC filters, or lack thereof, as the cause for legal action. A total of 672 cases were analyzed for type of case (medical malpractice or product liability), filter model implanted, filter complications, court decisions, and settlement payments if any. ResultsOf 95 analyzed cases, 20 (21.1%) were medical malpractice cases and 75 (78.9%) were product liability cases. C.R. Bard was the manufacturer associated with the most lawsuits (n = 41, 48.8%). The most litigious filters were the G2 filter from C.R. Bard (n = 17, 20.2%) and Greenfield filter from Boston Scientific (n = 17). The most common complications were IVC penetration (n = 26, 29.9%), filter migration (n = 26, 29.9%), filter fracture (n = 23, 26.4%), and tilt (n = 16, 18.4%). The number of product liability cases has increased from accounting for 25.0% (2 of 8) of filter lawsuits between 2000 and 2010 to 83.9% (73 of 87) during 2011–2020. Of the 20 medical malpractice claims, 9 (45%) were filed for failure to place a filter. One physician was found liable for filter-related complications by a state court in 2014. ConclusionsThe majority of recent IVC filter–related lawsuits are filed against manufacturers on the basis of product liability claims, with the main litigious filters being the G2 and Greenfield filters. Most cases resulted in rulings for physicians or manufacturers. Some were filed against physicians for filter-related complications or for failure to place an IVC filter.

The Practice of Administrative Proceedings in the Course of Centralized Control and Supervisory Activities of the Public Administration in Cases of Bringing to Administrative Responsibility

The review examines the procedure for the actions of courts in the consideration of administrative cases arising during the centralized control and supervisory activities of the public administration in cases of bringing to administrative responsibility; analyzes the practice of courts in various regions of the Russian Federation. The paper examines various types of judicial proceedings in this category of cases, examines the competence of courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration courts, focuses on administrative cases involving administrative liability in cases related to the conduct of activities without a license, or with violation of licensing requirements, as well as bringing to administrative responsibility for non-compliance with regulations on the elimination of violations of mandatory requirements.

Perioperative Pharmacologic Prophylaxis of Venous Thromboembolism: A Professional Liability Analysis.

Fear of medical liability is a major driver for broad administration of perioperative prophylactic anticoagulation, despite the persistently low rates of clinically symptomatic venous thromboembolism events (VTE) postoperatively. This study was undertaken to evaluate the medicolegal landscape of perioperative VTE and its pharmaceutical prophylaxis. The Westlaw legal database was retrospectively searched for verdicts in medical professional liability cases in the United States between 2009 and 2020. One search strategy focused on perioperative VTE, and a second on claims of hemorrhagic complications in patients receiving perioperative anticoagulation. The search for VTE revealed 129 cases, and the search for hemorrhagic complications identified 24 cases. Almost half of the VTE cases were brought following orthopedic surgery (49%), and 29% following general surgery. The most common claims were failure to diagnose and treat during hospital stay or after discharge (74%), and failure to prescribe/administer anticoagulation (46%). Verdict for the health care professional (i.e., the defendant) was reached in 75% of cases. The median payout for patient verdicts was 1,213,644 USD (interquartile range 1,014,100; 150,000-7,700,000). Of hemorrhagic complication cases, 42% occurred in patients receiving VTE prophylaxis. In these cases, 82% resulted in a defendant verdict. Reasons for in-court medical professional liability claims involving perioperative VTE were mainly failure to diagnose VTE and rescue patients from complications postoperatively. The high rate of defendant verdicts supports the notion that decisions on VTE prophylaxis should not be influenced by fear of liability.

항공 운송인의 화물 파손 책임에 대한 연구

Advances in aviation have led to the establishment of international rules of air transport. In present, the Montreal Convention is the new International Aviation Rule. Montreal convention stipulates the responsibilities between passengers/shippers and carriers. Therefore, the purpose of the introduction and the revision process of this international convention related to aviation is confirmed. Two points are analyzed in this paper. First, comparison and analysis of liability for cargo damage in Montreal Convention and air transport regulations in our country’s commercial law. Second, analyze of liability cases for damage. Through, it examines how the international air transport rules interpret and apply liability for cargo damage.

Implementation of professional activity as an alternative to guilt in civil law: theory and practice

The subject of this research is the legal norms, doctrinal provisions and case law on the conditions of civil liability. The relevance of this topic is determined by the tendency to expand the list of cases of strict liability detected in comparison the current and Soviet legislation. However, the principle observed by the legislator in transferring cases from the "regime of fault liability" to the "regime of strict liability" is still a puzzle. For the purpose of systematicity of legislation and reasonable claim of strict liability, such principle should be captured in legislation. The goal of this research lies in determination of the condition of civil liability without fault. Using the method of legal induction, the author formulates the conclusion on the condition of strict liability based on the analysis of separate court decisions and legal norms dedicated to various cases of strict liability. A number of cases of civil liability without fault specified in the law are substantiated by a different (instead of fault) condition of liability, namely the implementation of professional activity that entailed civil violation. If the case of liability without fault specified in the law does not contain any other condition of liability alternative to fault, the corresponding rule should be excluded from the law due to groundlessness (for example, the rule on strict liability for obligations of the trustee in relation to individuals who are not the subjects of professional activity in this sphere; the rule on compensation for moral damages irrespective of guilt for distribution of discrediting information by a person who is not a professional distributor of mass media products). The author offers to legislate the principle of civil strict liability.

Particular issues of legal regulation of non-contractual liability in maritime transport

A distinctive feature of non-contractual liability as a legal concept is the existence of noncontractual liability for parties that are not in a contractual relationship with each other. The damage caused in this case will be recognized as a consequence of actions not related to the violation of contractual obligations. In this situation, the tortfeasor violates the general absolute obligation not to encroach on other people’s subjective rights. It should be noted that non-contractual liability is often equated with delictual liability arising from harm. Delictual liability is the most common among non-contractual liability. However, the concept of non-contractual liability is much deeper and subject to expanded interpretation, that is, it includes various cases of liability in the absence of contracts besides delictual liability. Problematic issues related to non-contractual liability in maritime transport are an urgent problem in contemporary legislation. Resolving the given issues will be useful for law enforcement. The author investigates problematic issues of the application of non-contractual liability in maritime transport, and proposes to clarify and supplement the legislation in the field under consideration.

ГРАЖДАНСКО-ПРАВОВАЯ ОТВЕТСТВЕННОСТЬ ПРИ РАЗРАБОТКЕ И ПРИМЕНЕНИИ СИСТЕМ ИСКУССТВЕННОГО ИНТЕЛЛЕКТА И РОБОТОТЕХНИКИ: ОСНОВНЫЕ ПОДХОДЫ

Introduction: when studying legal issues related to safety and adequacy in the application of artificial intelligence systems (AIS), it is impossible not to raise the subject of liability accompanying the use of AIS. In this paper we focus on the study of the civil law aspects of liability for harm caused by artificial intelligence and robotic systems. Technological progress necessitates revision of many legislative mechanisms in such a way as to maintain and encourage further development of innovative industries while ensuring safety in the application of artificial intelligence. It is essential not only to respond to the challenges of the moment but also to look forward and develop new rules based on short-term forecasts. There is no longer any reason to claim categorically that the rules governing the institute of legal responsibility will definitely not require fundamental changes, contrary to earlier belief. This is due to the growing autonomy of AIS and the expansion of the range of their possible applications. Artificial intelligence is routinely employed in creative industries, decision-making in different fields of human activity, unmanned transportation, etc. However, there remain unresolved major issues concerning the parties liable in the case of infliction of harm by AIS, the viability of applying no-fault liability mechanisms, the appropriate levels of regulation of such relations; and discussions over these issues are far from being over. Purpose: basing on an analysis of theoretical concepts and legislation in both Russia and other countries, to develop a vision of civil law regulation and tort liability in cases when artificial intelligence is used. Methods: empirical methods of comparison, description, interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; special scientific methods: legal-dogmatic and the method of interpretation of legal norms. Results: there is considerable debate over the responsibilities of AIS owners and users. In many countries, codes of ethics for artificial intelligence are accepted. However, what is required is legal regulation, for instance, considering an AIS as a source of increased danger; in the absence of relevant legal standards, it is reasonable to use a tort liability mechanism based on analogy of the law. Standardization in this area (standardization of databases, software, infrastructure, etc.) is also important – for identifying the AIS developers and operators to be held accountable; violation of standardization requirements may also be a ground for holding them liable under civil law. There appear new dimensions added to the classic legal notions such as the subject of harm, object of harm, and the party that has inflicted the harm, used with regard to both contractual and non-contractual liability. Conclusions: the research has shown that legislation of different countries currently provides soft regulation with regard to liability for harm caused by AIS. However, it is time to gradually move from the development of strategies to practical steps toward the creation of effective mechanisms aimed at minimizing the risks of harm without any persons held liable. Since the process of developing AIS involves many participants with an independent legal status (data supplier, developer, manufacturer, programmer, designer, user), it is rather difficult to establish the liable party in case something goes wrong, and many factors must be taken into account. Regarding infliction of harm to third parties, it seems logical and reasonable to treat an AIS as a source of increased danger; and in the absence of relevant legal regulations, it would be reasonable to use a tort liability mechanism by analogy of the law. The model of contractual liability requires the development of common approaches to defining the product and the consequences of violation of the terms of the contract.

The Case for Vicarious Municipal Liability

The Case for Vicarious Municipal Liability

Mehanizmi obeštećenja kod štete prouzrokovane terorističkim aktima

The issue of compensation for the damage caused by a terrorist act is relevant and important today, especially in the context of selection of mechanisms or models of compensation. For that reason, domestic and comparative positive legal solutions, case law, and legal literature are analyzed. This paper aims to show that there are several mechanisms of compensation that the legislator can choose and that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as well as that the current legal situation in the Republic of Srpska regarding this issue is not satisfactory and that one could consider improving the model provided by Yugoslav Law on Obligations ('ZOO'), which has been adopted by all of the former Yugoslav republics. For quality selection of mechanisms, it is necessary to confront attitudes about the need for a special case of liability for the damage due to a terrorist act, with attitudes about possible other compensation mechanisms outside the rules of tort law (for example,existence of certain funds for reparation, insurance, and alike). The paper uses the dogmatic and normative method, comparative law and sociological method, historical method, and the method of conceptual analysis.

The Case of David vs. Goliath. On Legal Ethics and Corporate Lawyering in Large Scale Civil Liability Cases

The Case of David vs. Goliath. On Legal Ethics and Corporate Lawyering in Large Scale Civil Liability Cases

Uwarunkowania prawne odpowiedzialności za odesłania internetowe w Niemczech

This article attempts to present the legal framework of liability for Hyperlinks in the German legal system. With the 1997 Teleservices act, this country was Europe’s first to adopt a complex regulation of electronic communication, including a special liability regime for Intermediary Service Providers, applicable horizontally to all types of legal claims. Still, even after a total revision of the law in 2001, required by the process of implementation of the 2000/31/ EC E-commerce Directive, and after a, maybe less revolutionary, transformation of the Teleservices act into the Telemedia act in 2007, which left the ISP liability section of the law unchanged, the problem of liability for hyperlinks has not been regulated directly. This doesn’t mean however, that the issue of liability of persons inserting hyperlinks into their web services poses a problem for German courts. This may have been the case under the original 1997 Teleservices act, when sometimes even very similar cases have been adjudicated differently by different courts. Paradoxically during that time the special ISP liability regime of the law was widely believed to be applicable to hyperlinks. The situation changed significantly after the revision in 2001, as the lawmaker, the doctrine and the judiciary unanimously stated the revised wording of the law, leaves no room for its direct application to hyperlinks. Worth mentioning here is the minority opinion, represented a.o. by Ulrich Sieber, claiming that, for certain types of hyperlinks (especially deep links provided automatically by search engines), an per anlogiam application of the Teleservices act may be possible. Nevertheless, with the new law the question as how to handle cases of alleged liability of hyperlink providers was entirely up to the court’s interpretation of general legal provisions. The practice of legal assessment hyperlinks, or the practice of inserting thereof into web services, has been widely developed and confirmed especially by German jurisprudence. The Federal Supreme Tribunal in its 2003 “Paperboy” ruling confirmed the general admissibility of linking as such, both in form of simple links and deep-links. Later on, in 2004, its “Schöner Wetten“ judgment the Tribunal introduced a procedure for testing particular cases of linking. According to the Tribunal, when assessing the legality of hyperlinks, first to consider is the possibility of so called “appropriation” (sich–zu–eigen–machen) of 3rd party information. Originating from press law, this legal institute was incorporated into the 1997 Teleservices act. After revision of the law in 2001 the institute of appropriation wasn’t transferred into the new wording of the law, nevertheless it continued to be applied by courts. With regard to hyperlinks, such “appropriation” of third party information may by assumed in situations when the ISP designs a hiperlink in a manner which may cause the average user to wrongly believe the information, the user is being directed to, was provided by the same ISP. This may often be the cas, when ISP’s own information is visually combined with 3rd party information, accessible by link (e.g. by using frames or in-line links). In such cases the ISP should be subject to liability just as if he were the content provider of such information. In cases of civil liability, when the test for “appropriation” of information falls out negative, courts should continue the assessment with regard to the possibility of “disturber liability” (Störerhaftung) of the ISP, according to section 1004 of the German Civil Code. According to the Federal Supreme Tribunal this type of liability prerequisites the existence of ISP’s obligation to monitor the information. By assessing if such obligation exists, the Tribunal noted, several factors need to be considered, which are: (a) the general context in which the hyperlink is used; (b) the purpose of the link, (c) the awareness of the ISP as to the illegality of the information directed to; and (d) if the ISP can be reasonably expected to recognize such illegality. The Tribunal also emphasized the importance of the time of linking, noting, that the ISP isn’t obliged to monitor a hyperlink once inserted, thus he can’t be made liable if a previously legal information (targeted by the link) has afterwards been changed.