A Recipe for Balanced Tort Reform
A Recipe for Balanced Tort Reform

Author: Jeffrey O'Connell

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13:

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This book begins with detailed and evocative accounts of the workings of several actual personal injury cases with all their turbulence and tribulations. It then closely analyzes the (one-sided) tort reforms, both proposed and enacted, that leave too much of the present dysfunctional system intact, while even further undermining it. The authors provide a detailed account of a proposed reform: a device for encouraging defendants' "Early Offers" of claimants' economic losses designed to benefit both sides as well as society generally. This system, while greatly lessening the daunting uncertainty and delay plaguing personal injury claims today, would also make far better use of the resources that are expended. The book ends with an economic analysis documenting the dramatic savings in time and money from the early offers reform, exemplified in medical malpractice and product liability cases.

Out of Balance
Out of Balance

Author: Jonathan B. Wilson

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0595347177

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Why are there so many frivolous lawsuits? How much money does America waste on litigation every year? Out of Balance counts the cost of our out-of-control litigation system and identifies the legal procedures and economic incentives that effectively reward lawyers who pursue weak and even silly legal claims. Using real world examples, Jonathan B. Wilson (an attorney and the general counsel of a publicly traded company) describes how the pursuit of attorneys' fees rests at the heart of our litigation system. He recounts alternative proposals to change the law and sets out prescriptions for reform designed to deter cases that should never be filed and resolve those that are. "[Out of Balance shows] how the American justice system front-loads scanty information, unpredictability, and the certainty of escalating legal costs to leverage weak or non-meritorious cases and victimize defendants of every kind." --John H. Sullivan, President, Civil Justice Association of California "Wilson takes an evenhanded approach to the subject of lawsuit reform, reporting in equal measure the clear evidence of America's runaway tort system that favors trial lawyers and the alternatives for systemic procedural reform that will level the playing field for all participants in the legal system. . . . [Out of Balance is] a behind-the-scenes user's guide for reform-minded business advocates and lawmakers who want to fight back and win."--Steven B. Hantler, DaimlerChrysler Out of Balance is an invaluable guide for changing our legal system and restoring its sense of balance and fairness.

Scholars of Tort Law
Scholars of Tort Law

Author: James Goudkamp

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-10-03

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13: 1509910581

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The publication of Scholars of Tort Law marks the beginning of a long overdue rebalancing of private law scholarship. Instead of concentrating on judicial decisions and academic commentary only for what that commentary says about judicial decisions, the book explores the contributions of scholars of tort law in their own right. The work of a selection of leading scholars of tort law from across the common law world, ranging from Thomas Cooley (1824–1898) to Patrick Atiyah (1931–2018), is addressed by eminent current scholars in the field. The focus of the contributions is on the nature of the work produced by each of the scholars in question, important influences on their work, and the influence which that work in turn had on thinking about tort law. The process of subjecting tort law scholarship to sustained analysis provides new insights into the intellectual development of tort law and reveals the important role played by scholars in that development. By focusing on the work of influential tort scholars, the book serves to emphasise the importance of legal scholarship to the development of the common law more generally.

Lawyer Barons
Lawyer Barons

Author: Lester Brickman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-01-31

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 1139497189

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This book is a broad and deep inquiry into how contingency fees distort our civil justice system, influence our political system and endanger democratic governance. Contingency fees are the way personal injury lawyers finance access to the courts for those wrongfully injured. Although the public senses that lawyers manipulate the justice system to serve their own ends, few are aware of the high costs that come with contingency fees. This book sets out to change that, providing a window into the seamy underworld of contingency fees that the bar and the courts not only tolerate but even protect and nurture. Contrary to a broad academic consensus, the book argues that the financial incentives for lawyers to litigate are so inordinately high that they perversely impact our civil justice system and impose other unconscionable costs. It thus presents the intellectual architecture that underpins all tort reform efforts.

PRODUCT LIABILITY
PRODUCT LIABILITY

Author: Helmut Koziol

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2017-11-07

Total Pages: 630

ISBN-13: 3110545810

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Where products develop ever more rapidly, the law may face difficulties in responding accordingly to new security threats which may arise. In the field of product liability, an extraordinary need for legal development has thus been perceived, with legislators and judges feeling compelled to find new solutions and to look across borders for these. In the detailed reports in this book, the World Tort Law Society proves that it is in an ideal position to examine the most significant concepts. The report on North America studies the special regime for product liability from its origin in the case law of the US; the European report is centred around the EU Product Liability Directive with its merits and faults; and the influence of these two systems as well as new answers are shown in the reports on Asia, Russia and four key jurisdictions in the rest of the world. Similar questions are discussed worldwide: How can a strict liability regime for products be justified, and can it be justified in all cases? How does the special regime relate to general rules of tort law? Should services be subject to a similar regime? The Members of the Society seek to provoke thought for solutions to these pervasive problems. In this spirit, the volume’s comparative conclusions invite discussion, and the book includes four responses to that call from eminent tort lawyers from different legal backgrounds.

Civil Justice Reconsidered
Civil Justice Reconsidered

Author: Steven P. Croley

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2017-08-22

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1479811971

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Prosecutes the civil litigation system and proposes practical reforms to increase access to the courts and reduce costs. Civil litigation has come under fire in recent years. Some critics portray a system of dishonest lawyers and undeserving litigants who prevail too often, and are awarded too much money. Others criticize the civil justice system for being out of reach for many who have suffered real injury. But contrary to these perspectives and popular belief, the civil justice system in the United States is not out of control. In Civil Justice Reconsidered, Steven Croley demonstrates that civil litigation is, for the most part, socially beneficial. An effective civil litigation system is accessible to parties who have suffered legal wrongs, and it is reliable in the sense that those with stronger claims tend to prevail over those with weaker claims. However, while most of the system’s failures are overstated, they are not wholly off base; civil litigation often imposes excessive costs that, among other unfortunate consequences, impede access to the courts, and Croley offers ways to reform civil litigation in the interest of justice for potential plaintiffs and defendants, and for the rule of law itself. A better litigation system matters only because of what is at stake for real people, and Civil Justice Reconsidered speaks to the thought leaders, litigation reformers, members of the bar and bench, and policymakers who can answer the call for reforming civil litigation in the United States.