Civil Law Commons^™

Nothing For Something? Denying Legal Assistance To Those Compelled To Participate In Adr Proceedings, Stephan Landsman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The traditional view of the courts in their handling of unrepresented litigants has been that those who proceed pro se must look out for themselves and that there is no constitutional right to receive personal instruction from the trial judge on courtroom procedure. The opposing view, which has received increasing support, is that courts have a duty to ensure that pro se litigants do not lose their right to a hearing on the merits of their claim due to ignorance of technical procedural requirements. This Article explores the treatment of unrepresented litigants in ADR (alternative dispute resolution) settings, contends that …

Human Rights Violations As Mass Torts: Compensation As A Proxy For Justice In The United States Civil Litigation System, Elizabeth J. Cabraser

Vanderbilt Law Review

On July 26, 2000, final approval was granted to a landmark $1.25 billion settlement of the claims of an international class of Holocaust victims against Swiss Banks that engaged in massive looting and misappropriation of assets entrusted to them by hundreds of thousands of Jews and other groups imprisoned, murdered, and dislocated by the Nazi regime. The Swiss Banks complaints linked the actions of Swiss financial institutions to the Nazi regime and its program of genocide.

The Swiss Banks litigation was brought and settled under federal class action rules in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of …

A Historical Inquiry Into The Right To Trial By Jury In Complex Civil Litigation, Morris S. Arnold

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Some Practical Questions Concerning The Effect Of The Proposed Federal Securities Code On Civil Litigation, J. Vernon Patrick, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

A major impetus for the launching of the Federal Securities Code project in 1969 was the view, widely held by businessmen and their lawyers, that it was far too easy for investors to bring class action suits under the federal securities laws, seeking multi-million dollar judgments against business corporations, directors, accountants, and lawyers.' The business community's concern about possible exposure to large judgments in securities litigation was heightened by the news that plaintiffs had obtained a judgment in a class action brought against the issuer and several "outside director"defendants in Escott v. Bar Chris Construction Corp., and by several United …

Survey Of Literature On Discovery From 1970 To The Present: Expressed Dissatisfactions And Proposed Reforms, Daniel Segal

Federal Judicial Center Reports

Eight years have passed since the last major revision of the discovery provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. During those years, there has been a substantial amount of writing on the discovery rules. While much of it has been aimed at helping practitioners understand the rules, a large portion has been critical in nature, examining how well the rules are functioning, isolating their problem areas and making suggestions for reform. It was the purpose of the study on which this Report is based to survey and analyze that critical literature. The Report's first section sets out in detail …

Judicial Controls And The Civil Litigative Process: Discovery, Paul R. Connolly, Edith A. Holleman, Michael J. Kuhlman

Federal Judicial Center Reports

This report should be viewed as a beginning. It explores from one perspective the operation of the federal rules governing discovery as revealed in more than 7,000 docketed requests appearing in more than 3,000 terminated cases in six United States district courts, (A survey of practitioners in the six districts suggests that the docketed requests cover the great bulk of discovery activity.) The report is a continuation of the Center's District court studies Project, the first report of which (Case Management and Court Management in United States District Court) appeared several months ago.

Indigent Access To Civil Courts: The Tiger Is At The Gates, Wayne H. Scott

Vanderbilt Law Review

The accusation that justice in America has become a luxury has been heard with increasing frequency in recent years. An often criticized aspect of this perceived discrimination is that the poor are systematically deprived of effective access, and frequently of any access at all, to the judicial process by the varied and burdensome expenses of civil litigation.' Although these financial barriers have been subjected to increasingly successful attacks in the courts, the extent to which they have been lowered remains unclear. Nevertheless, an examination of the steps already taken to alleviate the problem of the indigent civil litigant raises hopes …