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Selected Works

Lisa Litwiller

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

A Slapp In The Face: Why Principles Of Federalism Suggest That Federal District Courts Should Stop Turning The Other Cheek, Lisa Litwiller Dec 2007

A Slapp In The Face: Why Principles Of Federalism Suggest That Federal District Courts Should Stop Turning The Other Cheek, Lisa Litwiller

Lisa Litwiller

This article examines the nexus between state and federal law where SLAPP and Anti-SLAPP statutory schemes are litigated by a federal district court sitting in diversity. In particular, this article will explore the standard the federal court should apply when an Anti-SLAPP early motion to dismiss is brought by SLAPP defendant and the plaintiff challenges dismissal on the basis of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure pursuant to the regime established by the Supreme Court in Hannah v. Plumer.


Has The Supreme Court Sounded The Death Knell For Jury Assessed Punitive Damages? A Critical Re-Examination Of The American Jury, Lisa Litwiller Dec 2001

Has The Supreme Court Sounded The Death Knell For Jury Assessed Punitive Damages? A Critical Re-Examination Of The American Jury, Lisa Litwiller

Lisa Litwiller

LAST TERM, the United States Supreme Court drastically altered the balance of power between judge and jury, and the legal community barely noticed. Although Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. is remarkable for what it does overtly - it changes the standard of review in punitive damages cases from an abuse of discretion review to de novo review; it is even more remarkable for what it does covertly - it arguably takes the right to assess punitive damages in the first instance entirely out of the hands of the jury. According to the Court, [u]nlike the measure of …