Ep.172 – Evelyn Atkinson on Telegraph Torts

Evelyn Atkinson, an incoming professor at Tulane Law School, joins the Business Scholarship Podcast to discuss her article Telegraph Torts: The Lost Lineage of the Public Service Corporation. In this article, Atkinson recounts the history of the telegraph tort, a private action against telegraph companies for failure to deliver messages about a loved one's death or illness. The telegraph tort, Atkinson observes, reflected affective relationships between telegraph companies and the public and points to early expectations that corporate purpose encompasses public service.
This episode is hosted by Andrew Jennings, assistant professor at Brooklyn Law School, with editing by Steven Rozenfeld, a third-year student at Brooklyn Law School.