Law Commons^™

The Curse Of Bigness And The Optimal Size Of Class Actions, Alexandra Lahav

Alexandra D. Lahav

How big is too big when it comes to class actions? This short essay, written for the Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc roundtable on Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. examines that question. Size in itself should not be a barrier to certification, but courts may rightly be concerned with variation within the class. Variation causes manageability problems, but in some cases (like Dukes) variation can be managed within the class context by judicious use of statistical methods. I also demonstrate why the related argument that this class ought not be certified because it is too big and Wal-Mart will be …

Nulidad Procesal: ¿Es Realmente Una Sanción?, Renzo Cavani

Renzo Cavani

In civil law context, it is common to identify the nullity in civil procedure as a sanction or a penalty because of the influence of the legislative technique. This essay, however, pretends to show that nullity is, actually, a consequence from a violation of a legal rule and not a sanction.

É comum identificar a nulidade no processo civil como uma sanção ou uma pena, por causa da influência da técnica legislativa. Este ensaio, porém, pretende demonstrar que a nulidade é, na verdade, uma consequência da violação de uma regra e não uma sanção.

Es común identificar la nulidad en …

¿Mezclando Agua Y Aceite? Consideraciones Críticas Respecto A La Configuración Y Eficacia De Las Cláusulas Abusivas En El Nuevo Código De Consumo, Fort Ninamancco Córdova

Fort Ninamancco Cordova

No abstract provided.

An Offensive Weapon?: An Empirical Analysis Of The 'Sword' Of State Sovereign Immunity In State-Owned Patents, Tejas N. Narechania

Tejas N. Narechania

The Irrepressible Myth Of Klein, Howard M. Wasserman

Howard M Wasserman

The Reconstruction-era case of United States v. Klein remains the object of a “cult” among commentators and advocates, who see it as a powerful separation of powers precedent. In fact, Klein is a myth—actually two related myths. One is that it is opaque and meaninglessly indeterminate because, given its confusing and disjointed language, its precise doctrinal contours are indecipherable; the other is that Klein is vigorous precedent, likely to be used by a court to invalidate likely federal legislation. Close analysis of Klein, its progeny, and past scholarship uncovers three identifiable core limitations on congressional control over the workings of …

Hearings, Mark Spottswood

Mark Spottswood

This article explores a constantly recurring procedural question: When is fact-finding improved by a live hearing, and when would it be better to rely on a written record? Unfortunately, when judges, lawyers, and rulemakers consider this issue, they are led astray by the widely shared—but false—assumption that a judge can best determine issues of credibility by viewing the demeanor of witnesses while they are testifying. In fact, a large body of scientific evidence indicates that judges are more likely to be deceived by lying or mistaken witnesses when observing their testimony in person than if the judges were to review …

Rough Justice, Alexandra Lahav

Alexandra D. Lahav

This Essay offers a new justification for rough justice. Rough justice, as I use the term here, is the attempt to resolve large numbers of cases by using statistical methods to give plaintiffs a justifiable amount of recovery. It replaces the trial, which most consider the ideal process for assigning value to cases. Ordinarily rough justice is justified on utilitarian grounds. But rough justice is not only efficient, it is also fair. In fact, even though individual litigation is often held out as the sine qua non of process, rough justice does a better job at obtaining fair results for …

It's All About The People: Creating A "Community Of Memory" In Civil Procedure Ii, Part One, Jennifer E. Spreng

Jennifer E Spreng

In Fall 2008, a nascent classroom community emerged among my Civil Procedure students, teaching assistants and I. That term’s adventure eventually became the vital “past” for the fully formed community that would knit students of future classes together as one.

The genesis of this early classroom community was my ideal of “the good lawyer” as the small-firm or small-jurisdiction practitioner I had known as a seven-year solo practitioner in a town of 50,000 people. That ideal was a combination of “the rhythms of the law” that run throughout the specialties; a more respectful and less stratified model of professionalism, and …

Resolving Cases On The Merits, Jay Tidmarsh

Jay Tidmarsh

Prepared for a Symposium on Civil Justice Reform, this essay examines the role of the “on the merits” principle in modern American procedure. After surveying the possible meanings of the phrase, the essay critiques its most common understanding due to its economic inefficiency and its lack of strong philosophical support. Relying on the recent work of Amartya Sen, the essay proposes that the principle be replaced with a “fair outcome” principle that melds both “procedural” and “substantive” concerns.

Solving “The Burklow Problem”: Federal Question Jurisdiction Of Tucker Act And Labor-Management Relations Act Cases After Textron Lycoming V. Uaw, Jennifer E. Spreng, Roberto J. Escobar

Jennifer E Spreng

No abstract provided.

O Controlo Jurisdicional Da Actividade Da Autoridade Da Concorrência, Victor J. Calvete

Victor J. Calvete

Actions - and omissions - of the Portuguese Competition Authority (AdC) are bound to be reviewed by the courts, if parties injured so decide. However, the legal framework that provides for that review is somehow complex - and the more so after Law n.º 52/2008, of August 28, changed the powers of the Commercial Courts. The ensuing analysis predates those changes (accounted for in the final version), and provides a comprehensive guide of the different paths to be followed in reaction to the actions/omissions of the AdC, as well as cautionary warnings on some of the traps along the way.

Procedural Adequacy, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

This short piece responds to Jay Tidmarsh’s article, Rethinking Adequacy of Representation, 87 Texas Law Review 1137 (2009). I explore Professor Tidmarsh’s proposed “do no harm” approach to adequate representation in class actions from a procedural legitimacy perspective. I begin by considering the assumption underlying his alternative, namely that in any given class action both attorneys and class representatives tend to act as self-interested homo economicus and we must therefore tailor the adequacy requirement to curb self-interest only in so far as it makes class members worse off than they would be with individual litigation. Adopting the “do no harm” …

Teoría De Las Medidas Autosatisfactivas. Una Aproximación Desde La Teoría General Del Proceso, José Balcázar Quiroz

José Balcázar Quiroz

No abstract provided.

Régimen De Prisión Preventiva En América Latina: La Pena Anticipada, La Lógica Cautelar Y La Contrarreforma / Pre-Trial Detention Regime In Latin America: The Pre-Trial Punishment, Flight Risk And The Counter Reform, Claudio Fuentes Maureira

Claudio Fuentes Maureira

One of the main reasons that justified the criminal procedure reform in Latin America was the possibility to overcome and changed different practices that were very problematic. One of these complex situations was the excessive use of pre-trial detention in the context of criminal investigations; in particular, the abuse of this institution had a dangerous outcome when it comes to the protection of the human rights of the detainees.

From the mid 90’s onwards, most of the Latin American countries started a reform of their criminal institutions and proceedings. A considerable portion of the legal framework was heavily modified in …

Evidentiary Issues In The New York City Housing Court, Gerald Lebovits

Hon. Gerald Lebovits

Veil-Piercing, Peter B. Oh

Peter B. Oh

From its inception veil-piercing has been a scourge on corporate law. Exactly when the veil of limited liability can and will be circumvented to reach into a shareholder’s own assets has befuddled courts, litigants, and scholars alike. And the doctrine has been bedeviled by empirical evidence of a chasm between the theory and practice of veil-piercing; notably, veil-piercing claims inexplicably seem to prevail more often in Contract than Tort, a finding that flouts the engrained distinction between voluntary and involuntary creditors. With a dataset of 2,908 cases from 1658 to 2006, this study presents the most comprehensive portrait of veil-piercing …