CASES BROUGHT BY ALASKA LAWYERS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
| Evans v. State of Alaska, Case No. 4BE-98-32 Civ. (Alaska 1998) | |
| Robert Wagstaff and Grant Callow, two Academy members who have long been involved in the Tort Reform fight, have challenged the constitutionality of the Alaska Legislature’s 1997 wholesale tort reform changes. The case is now on appeal and will clarify the rights of all personal injury claimants when the Alaska Supreme Court issues its ruling. | |
| Gillispie v. Beta Construction Co., 842 P.2d 1272 (Alaska 1992) | |
| In 1992, Academy member, Rick Vollertsen, challenged the rule in Alaska that the parents did not have a claim for damages arising out of the death of their child. Alaska’s rule arose out of old English law that women and children were merely chattel or property, and the parents had no compensable emotional losses if the child were killed. The case involved claims by a 14-year-old boy killed by traffic in a construction zone. The Alaska Supreme Court threw out the old rule, which had limited parents’ rights in Alaska since 1900, and now allows parents to recover for their emotional losses. The case also established the liability of contractors and the State of Alaska for injuries in a construction traffic zone. Today, plans are made in each construction zone to provide a safe walking area for pedestrians. | |
| Arctic Motor Freight v. Stover, 571 P.2d 1006 (Alaska 1977) | |
| Mike Moody, a long-standing Academy supporter, challenged that when a person files a lawsuit, the right to the confidentiality of medical records is completely waived. Under the ruling, in that case, a person’s privacy is protected, and they must disclose only those medical records directly relevant to the claims between the parties. | |