Re: shielding from liability
On Fri, 22 Aug 1997 22:57:29 -0500, Paul Serice wrote:
>john@win.bright.net wrote:
>>
>> Paul Serice writes:
>> > Suppose, Bruce is "going to drive tomorrow to Santa Cruz (from
>> > Berkeley) to participate in a meeting for Debian," and on the way
>> > he causes an accident. Before incorporation, no one knew how far
>> > the liability tail extended.
>>
>> Are you an attorney? I'm not. I find it hard to believe that there
>> is no case law on this.
>
>I'm looking here through Prosser on Torts regarding the "Joint
>Enterprise." It states as follows:
As Barron's contains no defination we look to Webster (as a court would):
Main Entry: enúterúprise
Pronunciation: 'en-t&(r)-"prIz
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Old French entreprendre to
undertake, from entre- inter- + prendre to
take -- more at PRIZE
Date: 15th century
1 : a project or undertaking that is especially difficult, complicated, or risky
2 : readiness to engage in daring action : INITIATIVE
3 a : a unit of economic organization or activity; especially : a business
organization b : a systematic purposeful activity
<agriculture is the main economic enterprise among these people>
Show me the risk of a free venture. Show me the business orginazation, before
Debian Inc. was formed. Show me the money! There was none before, and that was
why what you just quoted would never have applied to the Debian maintainers.
They had no collective assests!
Now it's arguable they do. **NOW** it's an enterprise. NOW they have liabity
extended to all of them.
>Prosser then makes a distinction between business and non-business
>joint enterprises. Two cases it cites found enterprise liability for
>members of a hunting party and for people involved with dismantling a
>sawmill. I'm out of my depth here, but based on the above, it's
>arguable that, prior to incorporation, Debian could have been
>classified as some type of joint enterprise.
You're kidding right?
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