Professors Joanna Apolinsky and Jeffrey Van Detta, long-time collaborators and co-authors, continue to make a significant impact in the legal field. Their scholarly work, particularly their critique of legal doctrines and their innovative takes on complex issues, has drawn the attention of federal courts.
One of their most notable contributions, an article on the liability of vaccine manufacturers for injuries caused by vaccines, was published in 2010 in the Cornell Review of Law & Public Policy. This article gained widespread recognition when it was cited by Justice Antonin Scalia in his opinion for the U.S. Supreme Court case Bruesewitz v. Wyeth in 2011, which addressed the scope of vaccine manufacturer immunity. In the same year, their work was also cited by renowned legal lexicographer, Professor Bryan A. Garner, in his Dictionary of Legal Usage.
In addition to their work in vaccine law, Apolinsky and Van Detta have turned their attention to choice-of-law doctrines in the United States. Their 2020 article, “The Antebellum Irony of Georgia’s Disguised Lex Fori Doctrine: O Where Have You Gone, Brainerd Currie?”
50 Cumberland L. Rev. 407 (2020) was cited by Judge Grimberg in Monopoli v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, No. 1:21-CV-01353-SDG, 2022 WL 409484 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 10, 2022)
, published in the Cumberland Law Review, critiques Georgia’s reliance on an outdated antebellum choice-of-law rule. This article has been cited by federal courts, further proving its influence.
The article was first cited in February 2022 by Judge Grimberg in Monopoli v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC in the Northern District of Georgia. The court referenced their analysis of Georgia’s approach to choice-of-law in addressing complex legal issues.
More recently, on December 31, 2024, U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty cited their article in the case Sowa v. Mercedes-Benz Group AG. In her opinion, Judge Geraghty noted concerns about the precedent set by Georgia’s choice-of-law doctrine, which she described as “anachronistic,”
Sowa v. Mercedes-Benz Grp. AG, No. 1:23-CV-636-SEG, __ F. Supp.3d ___, 2024 WL 5290887, at *10-11 n.15 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 31, 2024).
echoing the critiques made by Apolinsky and Van Detta in their article.
Their scholarship continues to shape and challenge legal thought, with a forthcoming article by Professor Van Detta, Erie Mistakes: The Eleventh Circuit Misconstrues Already Problematic Georgia Precedent On Choice of Law, set to be published in the Spring 2025 issue of the University of Miami Law Review. This work will build on their ongoing critique of Georgia’s legal practices and further highlight the evolving role of legal scholarship in shaping judicial decisions.
Apolinsky and Van Detta’s citations by federal courts reflect their continued influence and the high regard in which their work is held within the legal community. Their dedication to scholarly excellence is a testament to the powerful role of academia in informing and guiding the law.