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Class action litigation

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Class Action Litigation In China, Benjamin L. Liebman Jan 1998

Class Action Litigation In China, Benjamin L. Liebman

Faculty Scholarship

Class struggle has moved to China's courtrooms. Since the passage of China's 1991 Civil Procedure Law (CPL), which explicitly permits class action litigation, multiplaintiff groups have brought suits seeking compensation for harm caused by pollution, false advertising, contract violations, and securities law violations. Although administrative bodies continue to resolve most disputes in China, the increasing prevalence of class actions is one aspect of an explosion in civil litigation over the past decade. Class action litigation has the potential to alter the role courts play in adjudicating disputes, increase access to the courts, and facilitate the independence of the legal profession. …


Rethinking The Class Action: A Policy Primer On Reform, John C. Coffee Jr. Jan 1987

Rethinking The Class Action: A Policy Primer On Reform, John C. Coffee Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

Today, virtually everyone has a proposal for "reforming" class action litigation but both consensus and coherence are lacking. Some proposals are bluntly restrictive. For example, the Reagan Administration would reduce attorney's fees, place a ceiling on product liability, and partially repeal treble damage statutes. In the same vein, the United States Supreme Court has shown itself parsimonious on the question of fee awards, by authorizing fee waivers, approving offers of settlement that seemingly permit fee shifting against the plaintiff's attorney, and curtailing the traditional bases on which a fee award may be enhanced. Other proposals have offered essentially neutral procedural …