UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF LAW — A new book from Professors Kenneth S. Abraham and G. Edward White of the University of Virginia School of Law reveals how judges and social change played a central role in the evolution and expansion of tort law over the past 175 years. “Tort Law and the Construction of Change: Studies in the Inevitability of History,” published by the University of Virginia Press this month, covers little-known turning points in the history of torts. A tort — an act or omission leading to injury or harm that may be addressed in the civil court system — relies on common law legal precedents made by courts, rather than legislators. What plaintiffs could sue over — what was considered a “cause of action” in legal terms — has radically expanded over time as the body of common law grew. As late as the middle of the 19th century, there was limited liability for causing tangible physical harm and very little liability for causing intangible harm. Abraham and White’s book takes a close look at exactly how judges weighed existing case law against social pressures that pointed to the need for change. What they found will educate readers, they said.