(University of Oregon School of Law, 2019-06-19) Henricksen, Wes E.
The tobacco, asbestos, and fossil fuel industries, among others, have misled the public about the dangers posed by their products by lying about the science behind the products. Individuals harmed by these misrepresentations should be able to sue for fraud. Plaintiffs in fraud cases of this kind—where the misrepresentation pertains to scientific knowledge—face far greater obstacles to proving falsity, a required fraud element, than do typical fraud plaintiffs. Accordingly, a different falsity standard should apply in such cases. This Article answers three questions about how that standard should be crafted and applied.
