John G. Fleming; Author, Educator on Personal Injury Law

John G. Fleming, 77, international author and educator on personal injury law. Fleming, best known for his durable textbook “The Law of Torts,” taught on three continents, ending his career with more than three decades at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. Born in Berlin, he was educated in England and during World War II served in the British Royal Tank Corps in North Africa and Italy. He began teaching law at Kings College, University of London. In 1949, he moved to the Australian capital of Canberra, where he became founder and dean of the law school at Australian National University. He joined the Boalt Hall faculty in California in 1960. From 1972 to 1987 he served as editor in chief of the American Journal of Comparative Law. He was also president of the International Assn. of Legal Science and the American Assn. of Comparative Law. His frequently revised “The Law of Torts” interwove legal developments in Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States. Fleming lectured around the English-speaking world. On Sept. 22 in Berkeley of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.