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Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Civil Procedure
The Problem With The “Non-Class” Class: An Urgent Call For Improved Gatekeepers In Merger Objection Litigation, Josh Molder
The Problem With The “Non-Class” Class: An Urgent Call For Improved Gatekeepers In Merger Objection Litigation, Josh Molder
Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law
Until recently, class actions dominated merger objection litigation. However, plaintiff’s lawyers have constructed a “non-class” class where an individual suit can benefit from the leverage of a certified class without ever meeting the stringent class certification requirements of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23. This new development has initiated a shift in merger objection litigation where plaintiffs are increasingly filing individual suits instead of class actions. However, this shift has left shareholders vulnerable to collusive settlements because plaintiff’s attorneys have significant control over these suits and a strong incentive to settle quickly for a substantial fee. Additionally, corporate defendants are …
Comments On A Class Action Rule For Mississippi Comments, Howard M. Erichson
Comments On A Class Action Rule For Mississippi Comments, Howard M. Erichson
Faculty Scholarship
In my primary contribution to this Symposium, I address whether Mississippi ought to adopt a class action rule. In that article, I show that the lack of a class action rule prevents neither mass disputes nor mass aggregate litigation. I argue that for some mass disputes, class actions provide a superior mechanism for dispute resolution, and that Mississippi therefore should adopt a rule permitting class actions. There is another important question, however, which is what such a rule should contain if adopted. Indeed, the questions of whether to permit class actions and what a class action rule should contain are …
Mississippi Class Actions And The Inevitability Of Mass Aggregate Litigation, Howard M. Erichson
Mississippi Class Actions And The Inevitability Of Mass Aggregate Litigation, Howard M. Erichson
Faculty Scholarship
It's not about whether there will be mass aggregate litigation, but how. As long as the economy features mass marketing, mass employment, mass entertainment, mass transportation, mass production of goods, and mass provision of services, disputes will arise in which a mass of claimants seek relief from a common defendant or set of defendants. Lawyers on both sides naturally handle such matters collectively rather than individually. With or without the judicial imprimatur of class certification, multi- claimant disputes routinely are litigated and resolved on a collective basis. The real question is not whether there will be mass litigation, but whether …
For Every Weapon, A Counterweapon: The Revival Of Rule 68, John P. Woods
For Every Weapon, A Counterweapon: The Revival Of Rule 68, John P. Woods
Fordham Urban Law Journal
Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure applies generally where a non-moving party's settlement offer is rejected, and the court judgment awarded to the moving party, or claimant, is for less than the prior offer. The non-moving party may then be entitled to "costs incurred after the making of the offer." In Marek v. Chesny, the Court made it clear that "costs" includes attorney's fees. Congress should consider revising Rule 68 to clarify its application. However, Rule 68 appropriately induces plaintiffs to thoroughly consider a defendant's offer, under threat that rejection of the offer may include reducing attorney's …