Law Commons^™

Winning The Battle But Losing The War: Towards A More Consistent Approach To Prevailing Party Fee Shifting In The Contractural Context, John R. Schleppenback

Florida A & M University Law Review

As a general matter, history has not been very kind to losers. In the turmoil of the Middle Ages, loss on the battlefield could also mean the looting of one's property, the sacking of one's home, and potentially even the assault of one's spouse. The nineteenth century was the era of "to the victors belong the spoils," meaning that an electoral win allowed the prevailing political party a complete monopoly on political appointments and government contracts to the exclusion of the loyal opposition. Even today, professional athletes would sooner face anonymity than defeat on the playing field, living by the …

Mythbusting: Why The Critics Of Litigation Finance Are Wrong, Roni Elias

Florida A & M University Law Review

Critics of ALF contend that such financing methods create various problems: they violate well-established principles of common law about the relationship between litigants and third-parties; they are tantamount to usurious loans; and they threaten the integrity of the judicial system by making it easier for litigants with few resources to bring frivolous lawsuits.

This article discusses both sides of this debate and concludes that the most prevalent criticisms of ALF are based upon misconceptions and myths about the nature of ALF transactions and of the interests of the parties involved in those transactions. When ALF is carefully considered, it is …

A Critique Of The Uniquely Adversarial Nature Of The U.S. Legal, Economic And Political System And Its Implications For Reinforcing Existing Power Hierarchies, Areto A. Imoukuede, Jim Wilets

Journal Publications

This article argues that the uniquely adversarial nature of the United States litigation system, rooted in the medieval English system of "trial by battle," has replicated itself in almost all aspects of American society, distinguishing the United States from even its common law counterparts that shared the genesis of their legal systems in English "trial by battle." This "trial by battle" is often characterized in the context of speech by terms such as the 'marketplace of ideas," or in the context of economics by terms such as "the law of the jungle.," Even resolution of basic Constitutional concepts are subject …