Richard L. Cupp

Professor Richard Cupp is widely recognized as a leading scholar and commentator in the fields of torts and products liability law. Along with numerous influential scholarly articles, he is coauthor of a leading products liability casebook. Professor Cupp is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and he has served as chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Torts and Compensation Systems.

Professor Cupp also writes and speaks extensively about the legal and moral status of animals. He has advised many organizations on these subjects, including the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Neuroscience, the National Association for Biomedical Research, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Animal Health Institute.

Full Bio

Research and Scholarship

• Richard L. Cupp Jr., Edgy Animal Welfare, 95 DENVER L. REV. 865 (2018)

• Richard L. Cupp, Jr., Litigating Nonhuman Animal Legal Personhood, 50 TEX. TECH L. REV. 573 (2018)

• Richard L. Cupp Jr., Cognitively Impaired Humans, Intelligent Animals, and Legal Personhood, 69 FLA L. REV. 465 (2017)

• Richard L. Cupp, Jr., Animals as More Than 'Mere Things,' but Still Property: A Call for Continuing Evolution of the Animal Welfare Paradigm, 84 CINN. L. REV. 1023 (2016)

Media Appearances

Professor Richard Cupp serves as the John W. Wade Professor of Law at Pepperdine Law School and teaches animal, products liability, remedies, and tort law. He loves teaching and working with students. He is widely recognized as a leading scholar and commentator in the fields of torts and products liability law. He has authored more than 20 significant scholarly articles and numerous shorter articles. Professor Cupp is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and he has served as chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Torts and Compensation Systems.

In addition to his work in torts and products liability, Professor Cupp writes and speaks extensively about the legal and moral status of animals. He has advised many organizations on these subjects, including the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science, Technology and Law, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Neuroscience, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Association for Biomedical Research, the Animal Health Institute, and the American Animal Hospital Association.

Professor Cupp served Pepperdine Law School previously in administrative capacities as vice dean, as associate dean for academics, and as the school's first associate dean for research.     

NY court hears arguments that chimps have rights, AP.org

Animal Cruelty Laws Don’t Depend on Animal Rights, NYTimes.com