Review “America Online, Inc. v. St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co.” in Chapter 8. Students will respond to the following:
o Explain “the economic loss doctrine.”
o Explain how it applies to AOL.
o Explain how it applies to Transport Corporation.
o Explain what AOL could have done to better protect itself in the process of making an insurance deal.
• Lecture on economic loss doctrine, manufacturer liability for consumer uses, and government regulation of product safety.
• Class Discussion: Students will respond to the following:
Biotech medicines---proteins made by modifying the DNA of bacteria, yeast or mammal cells and infused into sick patients---are the fastest growing category of health spending. Sales reached $40 billion in 2006, when reports indicated there were more than 400 biotech products being synthesized to treat cancer, AIDS, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and a hundred other diseases. The manufacture of biotechs is more complex and costly than conventional medicine, and the cost to patients can run as high as $25,000-50,000 a year. Some members of Congress have introduced legislation that would give consumers access to lower-cost copies; one would authorize the FDA to approve safe, lower-cost versions of biotechnology drugs without the full range of tests normally required for new products.
o Explain who the stakeholders are who will be affected by such legislation.
o Create arguments for and against the legislation.