Law Commons^™

Frivolous Defenses, Thomas D. Russell

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article is about civil procedure, torts, insurance, litigation, and professional ethics. The Article is the opening article in a conversation with Stanford Law Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom, who has written about the plaintiffs’ bar and settlement mill attorneys. The empirical center of this piece examines 356 answers to 298 car crash personal injury cases in Colorado’s district courts. The Article situates these cases within dispute pyramid elements, including the total number of miles-traveled within Colorado and the volume of civil litigation. The Article then analyzes the defense attorneys’ departures from the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, especially Rule 8. …

A Call To Clarify The "Scope Of Authority" Question Of Qualified Immunity, Pat Fackrell

Cleveland State Law Review

It is no secret the doctrine of qualified immunity is under immense scrutiny. Distinguished jurists and scholars at all levels have criticized the doctrine of qualified immunity, some calling for it to be reconsidered or overruled entirely.

Amidst this scrutiny lies uncertainty in the doctrine’s application. Specifically, the federal courts of appeal are split three ways on the question of whether an official exceeding the official’s scope of authority under state law at the time of the alleged constitutional violation can successfully assert qualified immunity. Some courts of appeal do not require the official to demonstrate he acted within the …

Transactional Law In The Required Legal Writing Curriculum: An Empirical Study Of The Forgotten Future Business Lawyer, Louis N. Schulze Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article will examine whether the expansion of required LRW courses into the realm of transactional drafting is justifiable. Part II will assess the need for required transactional drafting instruction by showing, empirically, that many students lack a disposition towards litigation or have an affirmative inclination towards non-litigation work. This Part includes both a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the issue: It includes a survey of nearly one-thousand first-year law students nationwide and a set of questions and responses from a number of law students who self-identified as future transactional lawyers but who were members of traditional litigation-centric LRW courses. …

The Proposed Securities Private Enforcement Reform Act: The Introduction Of Proportionate Liability Into Rule 10b-5 Litigation, Alan S. Ritchie

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this note is to evaluate the ramifications of this particular proposed amendment to the 1934 Act. Part II will summarize the current status of the proposed bill and its provisions. Part I will briefly survey the history and requirements of the private cause of action under Rule 10b-5, particularly the scienter requirement because of its impact on the understanding of the proposed reform. Finally, Part l will address the justifications for the proposed reform, and the effects the reform will have on 10b-5 litigation.

Staying Patent Validity Litigation Pending Reexamination: When Should Courts Endeavor To Do So, Steven M. Auvil

Cleveland State Law Review

This note will discuss the circumstances under which it is appropriate for a court to exercise its authority to stay patent validity litigation pending reexamination of the patent-in-suit. The question must be analyzed with due regard to the unique relationship that exists between Patent Office reexamination and district court litigation. As a point of departure, the note explains the substance and procedure of statutory reexamination. Secondly, it will discuss the possible effects that reexamination may have on concurrent litigation in a district court. Thirdly, the note will examine the discernible factors that courts have considered in deciding whether to suspend …

Pioneering Approaches To Confront Sex Bias In Housing, Betsey Friedman

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note will be a national review of the past experiences with and potential action in the area of sex discrimination in residential real estate transactions. Emphasis will be on sex discrimination in the rental of real property, with a brief review of the more commonly acknowledged problem of credit discrimination in home sale financing. The present suitability of available state remedies will be discussed, with an analysis of the charges filed. And, the emergence of Fair Housing Act racial litigation will be explored, with a view towards its application in sex discrimination housing cases.

Rx For Malpractice, Albert Averbach

Cleveland State Law Review

Every tragedy that becomes the subject of extensive coverage by the news media shortly turns into a focal point of malpractice litigation. This, of course, is inevitable and will ever be thus. Doctors for many years have been "spoon fed" stories and warnings about malpractice suits and hazards. Nothing, however, has been constructively advocated as to how this tide can be stemmed or what can be done in the face of it. Some years ago, Mark Twain wrote, "Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." It is our objective in this article to not only alert …

How To Try A Personal Injury Case, James Dooley

Cleveland State Law Review

Proper presentation of a case in court is dependent upon proper preparation. Proper presentation means an intimate knowledge of the facts, the parties, possible witnesses, and, o fcourse, the governing legal principles. Indeed, proper preparation means far more than knowledge. It embraces true compre-hension. Before an advocate can present his client's cause or meet his adversary on equal terms, he himself must completely understand the problem. Clear expression of an idea is impossible without a clear understanding of it.