Law Commons^™

Exceptional Circumstances Justifying Vacatur When Lower Court Decision Mooted By Settlement: Repeat Litigants Slide Into Home With Second Circuit Decision - Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. V. Pacific Trading Cards, Inc., S. Kristina Starke

Journal of Dispute Resolution

At heart in the scholarship advocating Alternative Dispute Resolution are two interests: one, that using processes such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration conserve public and private resources otherwise expended on litigation; and two, that in certain circumstances, these alternative processes may provide better justice than would occur in litigation.' However, once litigation of a case has commenced, and an adverse judgment has been made against one party, that party may not be willing to settle the case unless the adverse judgement is vacated.4 Historically, most state and federal courts would routinely grant vacatur when requested by litigants who settled their …

Symposium, The Florida Tobacco Litigation -- Fact, Law, Policy, And Significance, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

This is the transcript of the Florida tobacco litigation symposium, discussing the s$11.3 billion settlement concerning tobacco in the state of Florida. Jeffrey W. Stempel served as co-chair and moderator of the symposium.

Contracting Access To The Courts: Myth Or Reality? Bane Or Boon?, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

Many scholars of the dispute resolution system perceive a sea change in attitudes toward adjudication that took place in the mid-1970s. Among the events of the time included the Pound Conference, which put the Chief Justice of the United States and the national judicial establishment on record in favor of at least some refinement, if not restriction, on access to courts. In addition, Chief Justice Burger, the driving force behind the Pound Conference, also used his bully pulpit as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to promote ADR, particularly court-annexed arbitration. The availability of judicial adjuncts such as court-annexed arbitration …

Using Decision Trees As Tools For Settlement, Marjorie Corman Aaron

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

While experienced lawyers can some­ times develop an intuitive sense of what a case is worth, their intuition may not be sufficient in a case of considerable complexity. Furthermore, intuitive "gut sense" valuations are hard to support or explain to clients.

Decision trees allow the parties and their lawyers to see more clearly how the strengths and weaknesses of their positions on specific issues will affect the overall value of a case. Long popular in the business community, deci­sion analysis has evolved as a tool for lawyers to help make decisions in complex litigation.

Class Action Settlement Bars, Cross Claims, And Co-Defendants: The Search For A Uniform Standard - In Re U.S. Oil & (And) Gas Litigation, Craig Richard Heidemann,

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Prior to the U.S. Oil & Gas decision, the federal courts had only considered settlement bars as related to non-settling defendants. In the U.S. Oil & Gas case, all of the defendants sought to settle with the plaintiff. 2 Only one settling defendant chose to contest the entry of the bar order. 3 In U.S. Oil & Gas, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was faced with a defendant who settled with the plaintiff but opposed an order barring its seemingly independent claims against the third-party defendant who also settled. For this reason it was a case of first impression. …

Settlement In Securities Fraud: Is Settlement Promoting Litigation - In Re Jiffy Lube Securities Litigation, Brian R. Hajicek

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In the complex securities fraud arena, partial pretrial settlement in cases involving multiple defendants would appear to reduce litigation in the dispute. However, conflict over the proper method of allocating responsibility for a damage award among settling and non-settling defendants can in fact increase litigation. Federal courts disagree as to which method most fairly and equitably apportions damage liability. In re Jiffy Lube Securities Litigation is the most recent case that touches upon the issue of damage allocation among settling and non-settling defendants. This Note will address competing policy considerations which drive courts to choose different allocative methods.

Shackling The Secretary's Hands: Limits To Authorizing Whistle-Blower Settlements Under Section 210 Of The Energy Reorganization Act - Macktal V. Secretary Of Labor, Jay M. Dade

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In seeking to encourage nuclear industry employees to report safety concerns, Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (ERA) acts to protect such "whistle-blowers" in the event they are terminated or discriminated against because of their whistle-blowing activities.2 When an employee and an employer negotiate a Section 210 "whistle-blower" complaint and subsequently submit the settlement for approval, the Secretary of Labor faces certain encumbrances when reviewing the agreement . This limitation on review arises when certain provisions may be in violation of public policy.4 In Macktal v. Secretary of Labor, the United States Court of Appeals for the …

Is Settlement Conditioned On Vacatur An Option - Should It Be, Elizabeth L. Anstaett

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Currently, whether a court grants or denies a motion to vacate resulting from settlement depends more on the particular court in which the request is made, than on the facts of the case and the effect of vacatur. Courts not permitting vacatur have expressed the fear that parties sensing they are going to lose will "buy their way out of an unfavorable precedent often at the relatively cheap price asked by the single opponent they face in that appeal."1 Other courts routinely grant requests for vacatur. Settlements conditioned on the court's granting vacatur, and thereby avoiding precedent or issue preclusion, …

Valuation Of Cases For Settlement: Theory And Practice, Peter Toll Hoffman

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Trial lawyers frequently talk about the value of their cases when they are counseling clients' negotiating with opposing counsel, or conversing with their fellow attorneys. The term "value" may have several definitions when referring to cases, but most attorneys intend it to mean the amount at which they expect a case to settle. However, despite the frequency with which they speak of value, the subject remains cloaked with a miasma of lawyer folklore.

Agenda: Moving The West's Water To New Uses: Winners And Losers, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado Law School professors Lawrence J. MacDonnell and Mark Squillace.

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers will be the theme for this year's water conference, June 6-8 at the Law School in Boulder. The conference will consider the changing demands for water in the West and the need to reallocate a portion of the existing uses of water to new uses.

The first day will provide the background by looking at the most likely sources of water to meet these demands, including agriculture, federal water projects, interstate transfers, and …

Public's Need To Know Vs. Effective Settlement Techniques: The First Amendment Confronts The Summary Jury Trial - Cincinnati Gas And Electric Co. V. General Electric Co., The, Anne E. Billings

Journal of Dispute Resolution

With the proliferation of alternative dispute resolution, the summary jury trial (SJT) has become popular in many federal courts as an alternative to litigation. 2 Because of the SJT's trial-like nature, members of the press argue that the first amendment 3 gives the press the right to report on SJT proceedings. In Cincinnati Gas and Electric Co. v. General Electric Co.,4 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the issue of whether the first amendment right of access attaches to a SJT proceeding.

Effective Lawyering In Judicially Hosted Settlement Conferences, Wayne D. Brazil

Journal of Dispute Resolution

The purpose of this article is to describe in detail the most effective approaches and techniques that I have seen lawyers use in settlement conferences. Having hosted hundreds of negotiations, I have seen many different lawyering styles. In the pages that follow, I share with interested litigators my ideas (unconfirmed by scientific tests) about what works in the settlement dynamic and what does not. I write informally; the "you" that I address so often are the litigators I hope to reach.

Quality Of Settlements, The, Marc Galanter

Journal of Dispute Resolution

When I was a law student, some 30 years ago, I don't recall hearing much about settlement. I am sure that my teachers knew there were a lot of settlements, but they were not worthy of much attention. They were part of the realm of practical nuts and bolts detail that lay outside learning about the law; law school was about cases that were adjudicated.

Judge's Role In Settlement: Opinions From Missouri Judges And Attorneys, The, James A. Wall Jr., Dale E. Rude

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This study investigates judges' involvement in settlement, and the opinions that Missouri judges and attorneys hold toward that involvement. In a survey of 1,100 judges and 1,550 attorneys, we found that Missouri judges differ significantly from Missouri attorneys. Specifically, Missouri judges prefer less judicial involvement in settlement and they, in the cases sent to them, were less aggressive in facilitating settlement. Finally, judges and attorneys from Missouri's metropolitan areas were found to favor stronger involvement in settlement than were their counterparts from the non-metropolitan areas.

Agenda: The Public Lands During The Remainder Of The 20th Century: Planning, Law, And Policy In The Federal Land Agencies, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

The Public Lands During the Remainder of the 20th Century: Planning, Law, and Policy in the Federal Land Agencies (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

Conference organizers and/or speakers included University of Colorado School of Law professors Lawrence J. MacDonnell and Charles F. Wilkinson.

Public land management has undergone major changes in recent years in response to the greatly increased planning responsibilities mandated by Congress.

Public Lands During the Remainder of the 20th Century: Planning Law and Policy in the Federal Land Agencies looked at management and planning issues related to seven major resources in the public lands: timber, rangeland, minerals, wildlife, water, recreation, and preservation values. Charles F. Wilkinson, Professor of Law, University of Colorado, gave a luncheon talk on "Public Land Planning: Will …

Final Offer Arbitration: Time For Serious Consideration By The Courts, Charles Adams

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

This article examines final offer arbitration and recommends its use in court-annexed arbitration programs, which are now operating or being considered in a growing number of federal and state courts. The first portion of the article analyzes the process of the settlement of lawsuits and gives some reasons why settlements are not always reached expeditiously. Next, the article analyzes the final offer arbitration process and shows how it may promote settlement. The last portion of the article examines empirical data on the efficacy of final offer arbitration in promoting settlement. The empirical data comes from two sources: laboratory experiments and …

Dispute Resolution And Preventive Law: A Reply To Professor Brown, E. A. Dauer, J. D. Nyhard

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Within our discussion of scientific models and the processes of dispute resolution,' we suggested a single continuum along which the strategies of Preventive Law and of ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) could be arrayed. Beneath that synthesis lay a proposition which we may not have made entirely clear: That the two bodies of hitherto separate principles address problems which are not themselves distinct.

Thesis (Preventive Law), Antithesis (Adversarial Process), Synthesis (Settlement, Adr): A Comment On Nyhard And Dauer, Louis M. Brown

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In terms of the Nyhart-Dauer article, the goal which is to be attained is "the commercial exploitation of the coastal zone and continental shelf."' The legal system aids the accomplishment of that goal by permitting parties to enter into contracts which "define the measure of present exchange and provide the standards by which executory performance will later be judged... "2 The goal is achieved by performances in accord with "creative arrangements" developed "in such a way that their constituents will be most likely to accept and adhere to the undertakings to which they" are committed.3 It is performance that counts. …

Private Settlement As Alternative Adjudication: A Rationale For Negotiation Ethics, Robert B. Gordon

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A rule of ethics like the one proposed in this Note takes a step toward this goal. Part I explores the general nature of unethical settlement negotiation, and the inadequate responses offered by both the American Bar Association Model Code of Professional Responsibility and the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Part II presents a theory for recognizing private settlement negotiation as a substantive component of the adjudicatory process, deserving of all the ethical protections afforded forensic litigation. Part III evaluates certain proposals for reform and responds to various criticisms commonly leveled against efforts to regulate private negotiation …

For Reconciliation, Andrew W. Mcthenia, Thomas L. Shaffer

Journal Articles

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) movement has garnished much debate with scholars arguing on both sides—for or against—its further implementation into our adversarial system. This Article critiques the arguments against the movement focusing on Professor Owen Fiss’ work. From a theological reconciliation point of view, the Authors argue in favor of its further implementation because the ADR system promotes justice, community values, and the reconciliation of problems rather than resolution.

Attorney-Client Conflicts Of Interest And The Concept Of Non-Negotiable Fee Awards Under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, Emily M. Calhoun

Publications

No abstract provided.

Rhetoric And Reality In The Dispute Settlement Movement, Frederick E. Snyder

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Efforts to demystify and simplify the way disputes are settled in American society seem to have congealed into a nationwide movement within less than a decade: neighborhood justice centers, arbitration, divorce mediation, no-fault auto insurance, do-it-yourself probate, "plain English" land and rental agreements, government ombudsmen, consumer hot lines, community mediation of minor criminal cases. A growth industry, if there ever was one

Judicial Participation In Settlement, James A. Wall, Dale E. Rude, Lawrence F. Schiller

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In the following pages, we will briefly delineate the settlement process, enumerate the techniques currently utilized by judges to facilitate settlement, and discuss the perceived ethics of these techniques. Finally, we will consider the circumstances under which judges typically participate in settlement.

Ogallala Ground Water, Morton W. Bittinger

Groundwater: Allocation, Development and Pollution (Summer Conference, June 6-9)

12 pages.