Professor Brownstein Cited in Colorado Appellate Decision

The Colorado Court of Appeals relied heavily upon the scholarship of Professor Alan E. Brownstein in a recent opinion in Purco Fleet Services, Inc. v. Koenig.  The Court repeatedly cited Professor Brownstein's article "What's the Use? A Doctrinal and Policy Critique of the Measurement of Loss of Use Damages," published in Rutgers Law Review in 1985.

At issue was a rental car agency's charges for damage to one of its cars and whether the person who rented and damaged the vehicle should be responsible for not only the cost of repairing it but also administrative fees and the loss of profits that resulted from the agency's inability to rent the car while it was being repaired.

"The commentator who has made the most extensive study of loss of use theory, Professor Alan Brownstein, has noted the policy interests in making sure the chattel owner is adequately compensated for its loss, while attempting to ensure it does not receive a windfall," the opinion states.

Professor Brownstein, a nationally recognized Constitutional Law scholar, teaches Constitutional Law, Law and Religion, and Torts at UC Davis School of Law, where he holds the Boochever and Bird Endowed Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom and Equality. 

Purco Fleet Services, Inc. v. Koenig opinion