Multiple former students of mine sent this to me today—which I guess makes sense since our dog (Fiona) is the main tortfeasor in all of my classes, midterms, and exams (all unfolding in the City of Los Fionas, in the State of Fionaland!)

This is terrific resource for lawyers contemplating whether and how to sue the feds - a comprehensive and clear guide to Federal Tort Claims Act claims 👇🏻👇🏻

I spoke to the New York Times about the legal problems with Trump’s proposed $1.8B settlement fund. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/u...

I’m so grateful to @profadamszimmerman.bsky.social for presenting my paper, (towards?) “A Theory of Statutory Torts,” at our faculty workshop—and for all of the insightful comments from everyone else! And, yes, we do have a great time workshopping (very rough) ideas at @uscgould.bsky.social!

It was wonderful to be back at Yale Law School today to present a working paper at the Yale-Toronto-Columbia Private Law Theory annual conference. I can't say I missed Pepe's pizza, but it was so nice to see some old (and older!) friends!

Beginning in 2020, the Supreme Court sent two signals it was easing off its qualified immunity crusade: 1) its decision in Taylor v. Riojas, holding qi should be denied for obvious violations, even if no case on point; 2) slowing its shadow docket qi reversals. Does Zorn mark the end of #2?

As we brace for temperatures below 50F, something tells me Fiona’s never traveling back to the East Coast

This is definitely outside my area of legal expertise, but I’m not seeing obvious reasons why ICE—the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—should be operating abroad, at the Olympics…

Does anyone have an article or other publication with the text of a bill to create liability for federal law enforcement officers? Not just what's wrong with the current situation but a proposed bill?

Federal officers do not have absolute immunity, but there is a web of doctrines that make civil suits against them nearly impossible to bring successfully. Congress knew they needed to fix this in 2020, and new reasons why they should are coming fast and furious now. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Thrilled to see my job-talk paper in print! Many thanks to the amazing editors of the @califlrev.bsky.social!

Regardless of whose “fault” this is (firms blame schools; schools blame firms), everyone can agree this makes zero sense. My 1Ls were worrying about applying for 2L summer jobs (not a typo) even before we read Palsgraf—and they were asked to fly out for callbacks in the middle of 1L fall finals!

Erin and I had been talking about how much we missed fall here in LA…until last week, when fall reached to the two beautiful maple trees outside our home and the piles of leaves appeared. Still mildly strange to use a leaf blower in 81F weather, but a much needed break from exam writing!

I joined Short Circuit (@shortcircuitij.bsky.social) to discuss my forthcoming article, Section 1983: A Strict Liability Statutory Tort (@califlrev.bsky.social). If you’re into civil rights litigation, qualified immunity, or tort theory, check it out! Here's a thread about the basic argument (1/8)

My torts exam writes itself.

It's worth asking how differently things might look on the ground right now if #SCOTUS hadn't eviscerated Bivens—and made it all-but impossible to bring damages suits against federal officers (like ICE agents) who violate our constitutional rights. This is from my rebuttal in Hernández v. Mesa:

Sincerely wondering: what remedies does Justice Kavanaugh believe are and should be available in federal court these days for excessive force violations by federal immigration officials?

Fiona definitely did not find the “lighted squib” case as engaging as I do!

First day of torts @uscgould.bsky.social? ✅ It was so much fun to see the reactions of 1Ls when presented with the choice between negligence v. strict liability (especially at 8:00 AM!). This is a going to be a great class!

Truly a dream come true to go on @strictscrutiny.bsky.social — somehow the peerless @leahlitman.bsky.social managed to make talking about even these depressing legal developments lots of fun

Much of the reporting notes this will hurt schools that rely on foreign students to boost their finances. But, really, this primarily hurts the students—including many on financial aid, seeking a visa to become the first in their families to graduate from college. I was one of them. Just terrible.

I’m going out on a limb here by guessing that the pawing followed by a sneeze (clear sign of annoyance) plus a yawn-bark-yawn (???) means she is done with tort law for the evening

Jotwell Torts: Anthony Sebok, The Return of Private Law, JOTWELL (April 24, 2025) (reviewing Yotam Kaplan, Adi Libson, & Gideon Parchomovsky, The Renaissance of Private Law, 19 Nw. U. L. Rev. 1427 (2025)), torts.jotwell.com/the-return-o....

The Rights and Wrongs of Constitutional Torts - Torts buff.ly/fmLMXTf

I’m immensely grateful to Dean John C.P. Goldberg (@hls.harvard.edu) for his kind and thoughtful review, over at Jotwell, of my forthcoming article in the California Law Review on Section 1983 and tort law. (1/3)

Hi! 👋🏼 I’m new here. For the past few years, I’ve spent the day working as an appellate lawyer and the night writing about torts. Not sure I’ve done half a decent job at either! (1/2)