Debate - Should Non-Economic Damages Be Available in Tort Cases Involving Injury or Death to Animals?

Stanford Law hosts a debate between Phil Goldberg of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, and Matthew Liebman of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Phil and Matthew will debate whether, in tort cases involving injury or death to animals, plaintiffs should be entitled to noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering or loss of companionship. This debate explores what kinds of liability and damages best protect animal welfare, what effect noneconomic damages might have on primary behavior and veterinary medicine, the treatment in the American legal system of animals as property and, indirectly, the theory of legal personhood for animals.