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The article discusses the growing number of lawsuits arising from the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. BP was accused of gross negligence concerning its operational decisions and supervision of the drilling rig and the subcontractors. Also noted is the complaint against Transocean Ltd., owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, for equipping the rig with only one blowout preventer. Wrongful death actions were filed by some of the families of Transocean workers who were killed in the well blowout.

The article focuses on the criminalization of negligence under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in the U.S. It cites a case involving container ship M/V Cosco Busan which leaked heavy fuel oil into the San Francisco/Oakland Bay in California following an allision accident. It examines several provisions under CWA that allow the prosecution of negligence on the part of the San Francisco Bar pilot and the ship operator. It stresses that the criminalization of environmental negligence brings tension to the civil and criminal liability constructs.

Reports that a California woman has been charged with a criminal misdemeanor for contributing to the death of her baby boy by failing to follow her doctor's advice before the infant's birth. Details of the case; Legal precedents; Policy implications on family law and the justice system.

Reports on a California Second District Court of Appeals ruling on the liability of an automobile club for the death of a teenager who was killed by a drunk driver while waiting on the side of the road for the club's lost tow truck. Summary of the lower court ruling which was reversed by the appellate court; Application of the general rule requiring the use of ordinary care to prevent causing injuries to others.