Law Commons^™

Local Procedural Review In The Eighth Circuit, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The resolution of substantive disputes is the responsibility that legal scholars, additional federal court observers and the public most closely associate with the United States Courts of Appeals. It is important to remember, however, that circuit judicial councils in each of the courts also discharge significant duties. These obligations are principally administrative, although their comprehensive implementation can be critical to the effective operation of the appellate courts and to the federal district courts within the circuits' purview. The review of local district procedures for consistency and redundancy with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Acts of Congress is one …

Nearing The End Of Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In continuing the series of essays which evaluate and document the phenomenon of federal civil justice reform, this essay initially affords an update on recent developments in civil justice reform at the national level and in the United States District Court for the District of Montana (Montana District). The essay emphasizes the conclusion of two major studies that analyze the national reform effort and the submission to Congress of reports and a recommendation, which were premised substantially on these studies, by the Judicial Conference of the United States. The essay also stresses the completion by the Ninth Circuit District Local …

Reforming Common Sense Legal Reforms, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Contract With America figured prominently in the Republican Party's victories in the 1994 congressional races. During the opening days of the 104th Congress, therefore, approximately one hundred sponsors introduced the Common Sense Legal Refonns Act (CSLRA), which embodied several measures that comprised the Contract's ninth precept. The only constituent of this package of proposals which actually became law was the Private Securities Litigation Refonn Act (PSLRA). Both Houses of Congress did pass products liability reform bills but lacked the requisite votes to override President Bill Clinton's veto. The House of Representatives approved the Attorney Accountability Act (AAA), which would …

The Sources And Scope Of Federal Procedural Common Law: Some Reflections On Erie And Gasperini, Wendy Collins Perdue

Law Faculty Publications

In this Essay I explore what traditional Erie cases would look like if we treated those cases just like classic federal common law cases. I conclude that such an approach is consistent with Erie itself and is also consistent with many of the holdings, if not the language, of traditional Erie cases. This unified approach to substantive and procedural federal common law might have some advantages. In addition to providing conceptual uniformity, this approach would offer an escape from current Erie doctrine, which is confused and unsatisfactory. Under the current doctrine, the Court appears to vacillate between the balancing test …

Did The Civil Justice Reform Act Of 1990 Actually Expire?, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) was intended to reduce the expense and delay associated with federal district court litigation by requiring courts to study and adopt new procedures. The CJR.lrs gains, however, may be erased by the uncertainty surrounding its sunset provision. Professor Tobias argues that Congress or the Judicial Conference should resolve the uncertainty by proclaiming that the CJRA has expired, thus forcing districts to abrogate procedures inconsistent with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The Judicial Conference Report And The Conclusion Of Federal Civil Justice Reform, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990 instituted a nationwide experiment with procedures for decreasing expense and delay in federal civil litigation. Congress required all ninety-four federal district courts to adopt civil justice expense and delay reduction plans and to apply cost and delay reduction measures for at least four years.Congress correspondingly prescribed considerable evaluation of the experimentation which the federal districts undertook. The 1990 legislation mandated that each court annually assess the efficacy of the procedures which the district employed. Moreover, Congress required that an “independent organization with expertise in the area of Federal court management” conduct a …

Civil Justice Reform Sunset, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

This article uses the Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) as the backdrop for addressing efforts to increase uniformity, simplicity, and transsubstantivity, and to decrease expense and delay in civil litigation. Professor Tobias discusses both the origin and the implementation of the CJRA. By requiring each federal district court to formulate a civil justice expense and delay reduction plan, the purpose of the CJRA is to decrease expense and delay in civil litigation. Professor Tobias argues that the CIRA has been successful because districts have applied techniques that have saved cost and time and have provided new data that …

Contemplating The End Of Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In continuation of the series of essays analyzing and documenting federal civil justice reform, this essay first provides an update on developments in civil justice reform nationally and in the United States District Court of Montana (Montana District). The essay then stresses the continuing work of the Ninth Circuit District Local Rules Review Committee and additional issues relating to case assignments in the Montana District. Finally, the essay takes a glimpse into the future.

Some Realism About Federal Procedural Reform, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

A New Confederacy? Disunionism in the Federal Courts is a thought-provoking tour de force about many ills that federal court observers believe plague the modem federal district courts. In Disunionism, Professor Paul Carrington paints a perceptive portrait of the troubling conditions that he asserts impede civil litigation in a number of districts, and he trenchantly criticizes district judges for their contributions to these circumstances while admonishing the Judicial Conference to sweep "our national courts clear of all local clutter."

Magistrate Judges In The Montana Federal District, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Over the last three decades, growing caseloads and finite resources have fostered expansion of the jurisdiction, responsibilities, prestige and compensation of United States Magistrate Judges. Passage of the Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990, which required local experimentation with procedures for reducing expense and delay in civil litigation, propelled this development in many of the ninety-four federal districts across the country. The United States District Court for the District of Montana has quite strongly evidenced these phenomena. Perhaps most important, the CJRA expense and delay reduction plan that the district prescribed in 1991 included an opt-out procedure which it …

The Federalism Pendulum, Ronald J. Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

Following Franklin's example, this essay takes a protracted view of the federalization of criminal procedure. It is important to review how the federalism pendulum has swung over the years to reflect concepts of what the Constitution was meant to mean, what it has come to mean, and what it ought to mean.

Continuing Federal Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

I analyzed refinements in the experimentation which the Montana Federal District Court and other districts have conducted under the Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990 and I assessed certain proposed legal reforms which the Republican Party included in its Contract With America in the last issue of the Montana Law Review. I reported that the Montana Federal District Court had prepared a set of local rule changes in light of the 1993 Federal Rules amendments and that the district had formally proposed those modifications for public comment. I also reported that the United States House of Representatives had passed …

Ongoing Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The essay initially provides an update of pertinent developments respecting civil justice reform in the United States and in the Montana Federal District Court. The paper emphasizes the agreement of House and Senate conferees on a products liability reform measure which involves civil justice reform and the work of the Ninth Circuit Local Rules Review Committee. The essay concludes with a brief glance into the future.

The Civil Justice Reform Act Amendment Act Of 1995, Carl W. Tobias, Margaret L. Sanner

Law Faculty Publications

Four members of the Senate Judiciary Committee introduced the Civil Justice Reform Act Amendment Act of 1995 on February 23, 1995 as Congress was considering numerous aspects of the Contract With America, most relevantly the legal reforms in its ninth tenet. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Charles Grassley (RIowa), Chair of the Subcommittee on Courts and Administrative Practice, Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.), the ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Howell Heflin (D-Ala.), former Chair of the Courts and Administrative Practice Subcommittee, sponsored the legislation. Passage of the proposal by the …

Extending The Civil Justice Reform Act Of 1990, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The passage of the Judicial Amendments act of 1994 postponed several key implementation deadlines prescribed by the Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990. Perhaps most significantly, the new legislation extends for one year the mid-1995 date when the RAND Corporation, which is studying ten pilot districts' experimentation with cost and delay reduction procedures, must submit its conclusions to the Judicial Conference of the United States. Numerous compelling arguments supported congressional postponement of this deadline. Most importantly, the RAND Corporation can now capture much additional data, which are critical to assessing accurately the procedures' effectiveness in decreasing expense and delay, …

Common Sense And Other Legal Reforms, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Enactment of Congress' proposed Common Sense Legal Reforms Act (CSLRA) would impose procedural and substantive reforms that could significantly affect much federal civil litigation and could have substantial systemic impacts on the civil justice process. For instance, the measure's advocates drafted and introduced the proposed legislation with little apparent appreciation for how it might conflict with a number of ongoing public and private reform initiatives, such as an earlier Congress's Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 and the American Law Institute's efforts to adopt a Third Restatement of Torts governing products liability.

The bill's enactment, therefore, could additionally complicate the …

Suggestions For Circuit Court Review Of Local Procedures, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

During the 1980s, both the Judicial Conference of the United States, which is the policy-making arm of the federal courts, and Congress evinced increasing concern about the proliferation of local civil procedures, such as local rules and the procedures that individual judges apply The Judicial Conference and Congress were particularly troubled by those local procedural requirements that conflicted with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Federal Rules) or provisions of the United States Code.

In 1986, the Judicial Conference commissioned the Local Rules Project to collect and organize all local rules, standing orders of individual judges, and other local procedural …

Automatic Disclosure And Disuniformity In The Ninth Circuit, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The 1993 amendment to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1) imposes automatic disclosure and is the most controversial formal proposal to revise the Federal Rules ever developed. The provision requires litigants to divulge information that is important to their cases before commencing formal discovery. The amendment also permits all ninety-four federal districts to vary the revision or to reject it completely. Moreover, judges and parties in specific cases may modify any disclosure requirements adopted by the districts.

The amendment has remained controversial since it became effective on December 1, 1993. Less than a majority of districts subscribe to the Federal …

An Update On The 1993 Federal Rules Amendments And The Montana Civil Rules, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Tobias' recommendations to the Montana Supreme Court regarding the newly amended F.R.C.P. Rules 11 and 26.

Refining Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) has reached the mid-point of its implementation nationally and in the Montana Federal District Court. At this juncture, one of the most important aspects of statutory effectuation is evaluation of the experimentation that federal district courts have conducted under the legislation. The timing is particularly propitious in the Montana federal district because the court recently completed the annual assessment of statutory implementation that the CJRA requires. These developments in civil justice reform, particularly relating to evaluation of the experimentation which has occurred, warrant examination. This Article undertakes that effort.

The Article first …

Why Congress Should Reject Revision Of Rule 11, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The United States House of Representatives recently passed the Attorney Accountability Act of 1995. Section 2 of the measure would modify existing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 by prescribing two-way fee-shifting in diversity cases. Section 3 of the bill would amend Federal Rule of Evidence 702 in ways that limit expert testimony, ostensibly to increase “honesty in testimony.” Section 4 of the legislation would substantially revise the 1993 amendment of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, effectively returning to the 1983 version of the provision. This essay emphasizes section 4 of the Attorney Accountability Act, because I believe that …

Re-Evaluating Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana,, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Part I of this piece initially affords an update of relevant developments relating to civil justice reform nationally and in the Montana Federal District Court. It emphasizes the congressional decision to extend the deadlines governing analysis of experimentation in the pilot districts and recent developments that led the Montana district to delay the preparation of a written annual assessment. Part II of this paper then glances into the future.

Studying Montana State Civil Justice Reform, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Several years ago in the pages of this journal, I asked and attempted to answer the question whether the 1993 session of the Montana Legislature should adopt a civil justice reform act. The article initially afforded a brief analysis of the problems in federal civil litigation that prompted the United States Congress to pass the Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990. I next evaluated whether the state legislature in Montana should enact similar legislation which would govern civil litigation in the state court system. Because there were relatively few important reasons for adopting a measure covering civil justice reform …

A Progress Report In Automatic Disclosure In The Federal Districts, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In this brief article, Tobias gives an update on a controversial amendment in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides for mandatory prediscovery, or automatic, disclosure. This articles serves to update readers on developments and clarifications since the author's previous article on the subject, published half a year earlier.

Elevated Pleading In Environmental Litigation, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The recent United States Supreme Court opinion in Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit is critical to parties and attorneys who participate in environmental litigation. Leatherman proscribed the imposition of pleading requirements that are stricter than those ordinarily applied under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a). Such heightened pleading requirements compel plaintiffs to plead more facts, and courts can dismiss claims that fall short of the mark.

The Leatherman court considered civil rights actions alleging that municipalities are liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.2 Although Leatherman might seem of limited relevance to environmental lawsuits, its holding and …

The Transmittal Letter Translated, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The letter in which Chief Justice Rehnquist transmitted to Congress amendments to various Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which became effective on December 1, 1993 is reproduced. Professor Tobias then offers his "translation" of the letter with his interpretation of what likely took place during the rule revision process involving the Advisory Committee on the Civil Rules, emphasizing the controversial revision of F.R.C.P. Rule 11.

Evaluating Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) has reached the mid-point of its implementation nationally and in the Montana Federal District Court. At this juncture, one of the most important aspects of statutory effectuation is evaluation of the experimentation that federal district courts have conducted under the legislation. The timing is particularly propitious in the Montana federal district because the court recently completed the annual assessment of statutory implementation that the CJRA requires. These developments in civil justice reform, particularly relating to evaluation of the experimentation which has occurred, warrant examination. This Article undertakes that effort. The Article first …

Recent Federal Civil Justice Reform In Montana, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Montana Federal District Court has continued to experiment with nearly all of the procedures that the court included in the civil justice expense and delay reduction plan which it officially adopted during April 1992 under the Civil Justice Reform Act (CJRA) of 1990. The most important procedures are automatic disclosure, co-equal assignment of cases to Article III judges and magistrate judges located in Billings, and rather close judicial case management. The judicial officers, who include three active and one senior Article III judges and three full-time magistrate judges, and many Montana attorneys who practice in federal court have now …

1993 Federal Rules Amendments And The Montana Civil Rules, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

On December 1, 1993, the most comprehensive package of amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Federal Rules) in their half-century history became effective. Although the revisions include a number of changes that are relatively innocuous, modifications in Rule 11 governing sanctions and Rule 26 requiring mandatory pre-discovery or automatic disclosure were and remain controversial. The amendment to Rule 11 altered the 1983 revision of that Rule which had proved to be the most controversial amendment ever developed. The amendment to Rule 26 prescribing automatic disclosure was the most controversial formal proposal changing the Rules in their history. These …

The 1993 Revision Of Federal Rule 11, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The 1983 revision of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("Rule 11" or the "Rule") proved to be the most controversial amendment in the long history of the Federal Rules. Many federal judges inconsistently interpreted the provision's language and inconsistently applied the Rule. The 1983 version fostered much costly, unwarranted satellite litigation over its phrasing and the magnitude of sanctions that courts imposed while increasing incivility among lawyers. Rule 11 motions were filed and granted against civil rights plaintiffs more frequently than any other class of litigant, and numerous judges vigorously enforced the provision against the plaintiffs, …